Help me help you

I became a librarian 13 years ago for many reasons, but the most important reason of all is because I believe that my mission is to help alleviate suffering by connecting people to the information they need in order to live better lives. Suffering can take many forms, from mild to severe: “Why does my piecrust always turn out tough and how can I fix it?” does not have the same weight as “I don’t know how to apply for nutrition assistance to feed my hungry children” but all people deserve answers to their questions - whether they are trivial or substantial - in order to try to solve their own problems, and that starts with information. When totalitarian regimes attempt to control populations for their own ends, they often begin by destroying universities, museums, and libraries, for these are the repositories of knowledge that give people a sense of their own history and the possibilities of the future; and most importantly, they are full of vital sources of information people can use to shape their own destinies. There is nothing more important than ensuring people have unfettered access to information.

But access to information is not the same as being able to use it well, or even to find it easily. Public libraries have been a fixture of American life for many years. It is true that the Constitution was written by elite white men with solidly Classical educations, but a byproduct of that education was an avid appreciation for books and the knowledge they contained. The first truly public library, one that was meant to ensure free access to all members of the community, was founded in America in the early 19th century, and as of this writing, there are now at least 16,000 public libraries throughout the nation. Those libraries contain multitudes, and their collections are vastly more diverse than the latest New York Times bestselling novels. In addition to print collections of fiction, nonfiction, reference materials, magazines and newspapers, public libraries provide access to an entire galaxy of electronic materials, from popular fiction to academic journal articles . . . but most users don’t know that.

It is not for lack of trying on the part of the library staff. Public libraries are funded with taxpayer dollars, and it will not be a surprise that in order to balance budgets, some towns and counties are forced to make financial decisions that affect areas such as the hiring of staff and marketing materials budgets. Some library systems used to have staff members specifically assigned to work on outreach or liaison, but many of those positions have been cut and show no signs of returning. Nevertheless, at the state level most library systems still offer the same remarkable array of electronic databases as ever but there are no designated librarians to work with the public to guide them towards these treasures, and so they lay undiscovered by a great many people.

I am an independent school librarian, and as such I manage my own budget and make my own decisions regarding what resources - whether print or electronic - I purchase for the students and faculty I serve. My budget is adequate, but no budget can purchase absolutely everything, and consequently I have made broad use of the state-based library resources that are available to me and to all residents of the state. It is astonishing what is available: the scope and depth of electronic materials that I can access with a few keystrokes from my dining room table would have been unthinkable just fifteen or twenty years ago. But I stumbled upon these myself, learned to meander through these digital stacks, and eventually created some very specific guidesheets and quick videos to help my students navigate it as well. Vendors of electronic resource products frequently make tutorial videos and most libraries post some kind of user guide as well, but there is nothing to compare to being taken by the hand by your very own personal librarian and having a private tour of exactly what you need for whatever your particular issue might be.

I have done this for friends many times, usually ones who needed access to academic journal articles for professional reasons but who worked outside of a university research setting. Scholars who are not officially affiliated with a university are generally denied access to university library resources, yet their work is valid and meaningful. These are the people for whom “just Googling it” is not adequate, and yet that is often what they must do for lack of access. Except they do have access, they just don’t know it; or the navigation on the page is so internecine it is nearly impossible to find one’s way around; or they don’t know they can apply for and instantly receive a library card online; or they think the branch library down the street is the only library they are entitled to use.

I am a nimble and capable researcher. I can navigate any state-based library system easily and well, know all the ways to ensure the search process can be limited or broadened to ensure good results, and am endlessly passionate about helping any curious person use what is freely available - in actuality, paid for with their own tax dollars - to best advantage, but I do not work for the state library system and indeed would prefer not to limit myself to just one state. What I propose is making myself available to independent scholars, to writers of every kind and to organizations in need of access to high-quality research on a per-hour basis; not to do the research on their behalf but to teach them how to do the research themselves. “Everything is online now” is a popular notion, and there is an utterly astonishing amount of information available digitally, but the more information that is created and stored, the more pressing the need for help in navigating it. Spend one afternoon with me as your personal tour guide around your particular state’s online library resources and thereafter you will be better equipped to find anything you need in the future. Memberful software can help me do that more effectively by organizing access to me as a resource as well: ongoing advice for long-term projects; subscription access to general research skill modules; or recurring research tutorials on topics of specific interest for individual users. I’m eager to get started - the sooner I can begin, the sooner I can help people solve their own problems, be they big or small.