preparation

To anyone starting out on their research journey, visiting an unfamiliar library can be intimidating. Here are some tips to help you prepare.

• Know what you’re looking for. (1) Have you been able to check the catalogue online and get the shelf references?
• Know what you’re looking for. (2) Have you got all the bibliographical details to hand? You might need them to look something up once you’re on site, in a card, microfiche or some other retro catalogue format. You also might need to ask someone to fetch items for you – reference libraries don’t have all their stock on open access, and special collections/archives never do – so it’s only reasonable to have as much info as possible to share with the staff who’re going to help you.
• Know what you’re looking for. (3) Be clear in your own mind as to why you’re going to see these resources, what you’re intending to look out for, how much you can reasonably get through, and what it will take for you to feel you’ve had a successful day. This is crucial!
• Practicalities (1) If you have to order things up in advance, be sure you’ve allowed enough time between your request and your visit.
• Practicalities (2) Check travel arrangements and book in advance if necessary.
• Practicalities (3) Have a pencil, rubber and ruler. Pens may not be permitted. Take your laptop cable. Find out about wifi access.
• Practicalities (4) Ask if you can use your phone to take photos. There could be a form to fill in.
• Be prepared for different rules and procedures. Answering your phone with a whisper might be okay in your usual library, but an absolute faux-pas somewhere else! Last week, I answered my phone in a public library, and had just started to explain that I couldn’t speak because I was in a lib …. (you’ve guessed the rest. Shhhhh! My own fault for answering it in the first place.)
• Have an open mind. Be prepared for unexpected finds! If it looks useful, note it. AND note the page you found it on! Don’t scribble something so cryptic that you’ll never remember why you wrote it.
• Get there early, if possible. Have a leisurely coffee before you start, because there’s always the chance you’ll be so engrossed or busy that you won’t want to waste precious time later on!
• On your way home, try to go through your notes. Highlight anything you need to follow up.

I had a great trip to Edinburgh yesterday. The sun shone; I made it up the 122 News Steps to the Royal Mile without ending up completely out of breath; and I was so early that I was able to have a very leisurely coffee indeed in the sunshine, before heading to George IV Bridge. I had only ordered four actual items to look at, but I was looking at them quite intensively, so that was exactly right for the time I had available.

‘Lost Works’, meaning No Known Library Holdings at all

I took notes and photos, found a couple of extra unexpected features (evidence of ‘lost works’, no less – that’s a book history term meaning that we know the title did exist, but no copies are extant in libraries today), and on the way home, I was able to email another library with a question about their own edition of a piece of music I’d just been looking at.

Sadly, I can’t assure you that every research visit will be as sunny or as successful as mine was – but at least you’ll have given yourself the best chance!