The main problem that I find myself continuously running into while answering reference questions on the Internet Public Library (IPL) is the kinds of references I have to use. I always go to databases, print materials, all of these paid subscriptions since that’s what I learned to search
The IPL is a public library, and doesn’t [...]
Posts Tagged ‘conundrums’
The Challenge of the IPL
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged conundrums, libraries, research on November 14, 2008 | 1 Comment »
754 – Taxonomic Identification?
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged conundrums, curiosities, manuscripts on June 24, 2008 | 1 Comment »
If one discovers an ancient dead fly smushed and preserved nicely in the book one is cataloging, does one catalog it? We catalog all illustrations, pagination discrepancies, so shouldn’t we note that on f. 77 there is a dead fly near the phrase “arbitrium est” in Seneca’s “de ira”?
Cataloging Scents
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged conundrums, curiosities, manuscripts, silliness on June 20, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Since we already catalog physical description and condition, maybe we should start expanding to other categories outside the realm of sight and touch. The one I’m thinking of in particular is that of smell. Books all have very distinct smells, and what sent me on this tangent is – once again – the Anabaptist manuscript. [...]
Genre Dilemma
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged conundrums, manuscripts, philosophical ramblings on June 20, 2008 | 2 Comments »
I’ve been working on this manuscript on Anabaptists in Muenster for a couple of days now, and am just about finished. I follow a certain pattern when cataloging a manuscript:
pagination/foliation
physical description
title/author/table of contents/provenance, etc.
summary
and finally, subject headings and genre terms.
Doing an initial foliation can be extremely helpful, not simply because you need page numbers when [...]
