Writing, Illustrating & Publishing > Research

Research series: library databases and resources

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Amanda Coppedge:
As I get time, I want to put on my librarian hat and highlight some commonly available resources that are invaluable for writers. You savvy researchers are probably familiar with some or most of them, but I hope I have a trick or two up my sleeve that will surprise you. :) Some of these resources are just neat websites that don't require a login. Others are quite expensive databases you can access for free via your library's website, and may require a library card number for access. Some libraries will let you apply for a card online which lets you access databases but not check out books--this is very helpful if you live far from your library or don't have a chance to make it in.

Are you a non-student who longs for access to your local college or university's library? Ask if you can get a card! Sometimes they are in a cooperative program with the public library system or are otherwise willing to give cards to local non-students.

Don't forget that you have access to a much wider pool of physical resources than you thought you might. Many libraries offer interlibrary loan services so you could request a book from halfway across the country and have it loaned to you for free or cheap. It's also worth asking around to see what kind of special collections or ephemera your local public and academic libraries might have. For example, my public library system has a fantastic Audubon collection and my university library has a collection of postcards and correspondence from Abraham Lincoln. Librarians love to talk about special collections! Go in and ask and you never know what treasure trove you may unearth.

Ask a librarian for help doing advanced searches in the catalog computer. They're usually a little more picky and complex than an online bookstore's search function, but can yield great results if you know what you're doing. They're all different--for example, my catalog system uses a $ as a wildcard and not the standard *. You can do a lot with boolean search functions too, using AND, OR and NOT. (For example, potter NOT harry would eliminate J. K. Rowling's books from your results.) This is so useful if you want to search for books with specific plot elements--you can learn how to limit to just children's book results, or only books published from 2000 on, or whatnot.

When in doubt, ask a librarian! If she is grumpy, ask another librarian! The stereotypical librarian dream job is helping writers do research, so believe me, you will find somebody who adores helping you. Don't give up if the first librarian you talk to is not that person.

Amanda Coppedge:
Of course I'm going to choose my favorite database to talk about first: Gale's Biography In Context.

What it's most useful for: historical fiction research, information on daily life, political atmosphere, occupations, famous people of a particular era or place, etc.

You can access this via your library's database page (may be under "electronic resources," "online research resources," etc.). It may still be listed under its old name "Biography Resource Center."

The most obvious search is by name, to look up specific people. However, you can also do searches by nationality, occupation, birthplace or death place. For example, I was looking for a real-life person that my main character could be a namesake of. I wasn't looking for the actual name, more the life of a person in a particular profession who lived in a particular country during a particular time. I was able to find several people who might fit the bill and get an idea of what kind of blood might run in the veins of this character's family. And, the super creepy part, the most perfect person for this "job" had the same name I had already given my character.

:ghost

Results:

* encyclopedia entries
* newspaper and magazine articles
* videos
* transcripts and audio of NPR broadcasts
There are entries on modern people too so if you're trying to get the feel for a person's life, or a particular occupation, or what have you, it can be really invaluable. I have gotten in the habit of looking up people I'm interested in because I always learn something new about them. For example, singer Aimee Mann was kidnapped when she was a kid! I have never heard that anywhere else. You are also getting vetted, bona fide information here, not hearsay from a website or speculation repeated as fact.

Moonshade:
Amanda, thanks for the info. I just used Gale's database two weeks ago doing some research for my story.

JodyJS:
Amanda,

Thanks so much!!  This thread is a great resource and very helpful.

I love my library's online search capabilities.  I just completed four PB biographies of today's stars, and Gale's Biography in Context was invaluable.

Keep the tips comin'!

Jody

Amanda Coppedge:
Moonshade and Jody: yay for using library databases!

Another thing that people may not think of is that every time you use a library database, your library knows it's been accessed. When budgets get tight, seldom-used databases are often the first to get axed because they are quite expensive. So every time you use them you are "voting" for your library to keep paying the subscription fee for its users.

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