Getting the Most Out of Library Research
Getting the Most Out of Library Research
By Julie Tollefson
Dallas Long knows research both as an author — he writes scholarly works and short mysteries — and as dean of Milner Library at Illinois State University. Here, Dallas offers five tips for getting the most out of your library research.
1) Know what you don’t know — Writers who think critically about what they need before they visit the library are likely to have a better, more successful research experience, Dallas says.
“The best way writers can prepare for research is having a handle on what they don’t know and realizing where they need to fill in gaps in information or what facts or details they need to verify,” he says. “One of the common obstacles we experience is when a writer has a sense of the storyline but they have not thought about what kind of information is going to best help them along the way.”
Even so, librarians are up to the challenge.
“We’re in a helping profession. We love engaging researchers in their work,” Dallas says. “We love discussing ideas with writers and being able to help that writer articulate or sharpen their research questions. Seeing the light go on for a person and realizing that person has found exactly what they’re looking for is incredibly satisfying for us.”
Looking for inspiration, not specifics? No worries. Dallas and his colleagues tailor their help depending on the need. For instance, his library has a nationally prominent collection of materials related to the American circus, including nearly a century’s worth of photographs, business records, posters, and more related to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
“We love working with writers who know that their book is probably going to be about the circus but don't know exactly who their characters are going to be," he says. “We can pull materials, like diaries, news stories, and costumes, and help them explore.”
2) Find the right library — One persistent misperception is that every library’s collections cover every topic and hold answers to every question.
“Even large university libraries tend to specialize their collections based on the curriculum the university offers or the research interests of faculty,” Dallas says. “I think some writers are surprised that their information journey isn’t going to end at that one particular library, that they’re going to have to expand their research.”
Your trip to the library will be much more effective if the library’s holdings match your research interests. Before you go, look at the library’s catalogs, research their digitized collections, and look at librarians’ areas of specialization. Doing this pre-visit research will help you determine whether the library has the expertise and resources that match your needs.
A writer interested in the daily life of a 14th century samurai warrior, for example, will find little of interest in the Milner Library’s Circus and Allied Arts Collection.
Finding the right library also means figuring out whether a university library or public library is your best bet for the information you seek.
“Public libraries are less likely to have very in-depth information or older information sources, but they would be able to help the writer figure out what kind of academic library or museum to get in touch with,” Dallas says. “We’re going to have more in-depth, older, more focused, and very specialized niches.”
The exception? Public libraries rule when it comes to hometown history. If you need historical maps or old business directories, your local public library should be the first stop on your research journey.
3) Make contact before you visit — Make the most of your research time by reaching out to the library before your visit to explain what you need.
“We can be better prepared for your visit and use your time more effectively by doing some pre-research and pulling maps, collections, manuscripts, diaries,” Dallas says. “That is actually a very labor-intensive process. When writers show up unannounced, they might get frustrated with the amount of time it takes us.”
It’s also helpful, he says, for writers to let librarians know if they’ve already searched and failed to find the information they seek.
“We don’t want to duplicate what the writer has already tried,” he says.
Most academic libraries offer online staff directories listing email addresses and librarians’ specialties. Some libraries may offer an online chat service, which can be effective, too. But know that a chat service is likely going to connect you to a general reference librarian, who may need to refer you to a specialist.
4) Make friends with specialists — Many of the resources that will be most helpful to you, especially if you’re looking for primary sources, will not be found in digital collections or on the internet. For those, you need the help of specialists. Special collections librarians, genealogists, librarians with expertise in music or art or maps have deep passion for their subject areas.
“They tend to have collections that are the least digitized and require the most extensive personal knowledge,” Dallas says. “And those are usually the librarians that are the most eager to share that information with you.”
Papers, records, maps, and other resources available only in print may not even be detailed in catalog records, making the librarian’s expertise invaluable.
“I think for many of us drawn to the library profession, we find the research process to be fun,” he says.
As a fiction writer, Dallas sometimes finds it challenging to know when to stop researching. His characters work in conservation biology and are involved in combatting the illegal wildlife trade. When he dives into research for a story, he can get lost in government documents, treaties, and academic publications. But those sources also have helped him create a network of real-life working biologists who he can turn to for the little details that bring his characters to life.
5) Be prepared to pay — Research is a time- and labor-intensive process. You will encounter costs associated with travel, and you may have to return to the library more than once to find all the answers you need.
Here, too, you may find help from the library.
“Major research libraries may offer financial support,” Dallas says. The Milner Library, for example, offers up to $1,500 for people using primary sources from the circus collection in research that will lead to publication. The stipends are made possible by donors eager to raise the profile of the library’s collection. It’s worth checking with your library to see whether it offers similar support.