Tag: Refer Madness

• Refer Madness: A Name that Named Names

  Refer Madness spotlights strange, intriguing, or otherwise noteworthy questions I encounter at the library reference desk. A patron who calls regularly — usually looking for the value of an old book or baseball card — had a pretty direct question for me today: “Was Lee J. Cobb blacklisted?” Nope, but just barely. Born Leo Jacoby (get it? Lee J. Cobb[y]?), Cobb…

  Apr 13, 2016

  # 12 Angry Men, blacklist, Communism, Elia Kazan, history, Lee J. Cobb, libraries, On the Waterfront, politics, Refer Madness

• Refer Madness: England Murder Bicycle Chemistry

  Refer Madness spotlights strange, intriguing, or otherwise noteworthy questions I encounter at the library reference desk. During an otherwise quiet evening on the desk, someone messaged my co-librarian on our library’s chat service with a specific, but not quite specific enough, request. She wanted the title and author of a book in a murder mystery series, published post-2000. She then…

  Feb 10, 2016

  # Google, libraries, Neil Gaiman, readers advisory, Refer Madness

• Refer Madness: PB & A

  Refer Madness spotlights strange, intriguing, or otherwise noteworthy questions I encounter at the library reference desk. Here’s an interesting one that came to the desk: the PseudoBulbar Affect. (Pseudo “false” + Bulbar, referring to the brainstem.) A patron said she had it and was looking for some scholarly information about it. According to PBAinfo.org, PBA occurs when “certain neurologic diseases…

  Nov 27, 2015

  # Charles Darwin, libraries, medicine, pseudobulbar affect, Refer Madness, science

• Refer Madness: The Library Lives of Others

  Refer Madness spotlights strange, intriguing, or otherwise noteworthy questions I encounter at the library reference desk. Earlier this year I started keeping a list of things people have asked me at the library information desk. It’s not totally comprehensive: some questions either aren’t noteworthy (“Where’s the bathroom?”) or slipped my mind during a busy rush. But even as a scattershot…

  Oct 8, 2015

  # librarians, libraries, Refer Madness, reference desk

• Refer Madness: Librarians Advisory

  Refer Madness spotlights strange, intriguing, or otherwise noteworthy questions I encounter at the library reference desk. If you’re a librarian, it’s likely you’re expected to provide readers advisory. (Or is it reader’s?) Every librarian has his or her own area of expertise and blind spots, but whether through direct knowledge or other resources, you’re supposed to be able to give patrons who ask…

  Jul 13, 2015

  # Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, librarians, libraries, Linda Ronstadt, music, Refer Madness, reference desk, Trio

• Refer Madness: Pole Stars

  Refer Madness spotlights strange, intriguing, or otherwise noteworthy questions I encounter at the library reference desk. Summer is finally (almost, sorta) here. “Bees they’ll buzz / Kids’ll blow dandelion fuzz…” The AC is on at the library, but at the ref desk it’s still a bit muggy. The perfect time for this patron question: Do you have…

  Jun 8, 2015

  # Antarctica, books, Ernest Shackleton, explorers, Hampton Sides, libraries, North Pole, Refer Madness, Robert Falcon Scott

• Refer Madness: Let Your Free Flag Fly

  Refer Madness is a new feature that spotlights strange, intriguing, or otherwise noteworthy questions I encounter at the library reference desk.  The patron is a regular. He usually asks for pictures of movie stars or the address of a celebrity he can send a picture to for an autograph. (The V.I.P. Address Book makes that pretty easy.) One time we…

  Jun 2, 2015

  # America, flags, Ghostbusters, libraries, Refer Madness