[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: Email & Increased Research Requests
Joan,
I know this will sound harsh, but I don't do research for anybody - not
in-person, not on the phone, not electronic. I will, however, steer people
in the direction of the pertinent literature that will help them define
their research parameters, so that they can come back and say, "This is
what I need", rather than their initial "Waddaya got on _____?" My
catalogs (primitive as they are) are on-line, so I also steer
out-of-towners to them to see the resources I have on-hand.
Because I have other, non-archival duties, and because my office is
physically separated from the records (yes, I am chagrined to admit to the
stereotype of ATDU being down in the basement ;-> ), I require folks to
make an appointment in order to access the materials. In the phone
interview, I can figure out exactly how much research they need to do
before they show up on my doorstep. When they do get here, though, I bend
over backwards to help them and perhaps even dig out materials they hadn't
requested originally.
But, to tell you the truth, Tech Data seems to be a last stop on the
research train for most people. They've pretty much exhausted all the
other sources of information and are often steered here by librarians and
other scientists in the geology sphere. "Check with Jill, maybe she's got
something that will be useful." So, regardless of their method of contact,
by the time they get to me, they pretty much know exactly what they want.
Makes my job pretty easy most days..... :)
Cheers - Jill in Alaska.
Jill L Schneider
USGS - Alaska Technical Data Unit
907-786-7457
jschnidr@usgs.gov
http://alaskaminerals.wr.usgs.gov
"Denman, Joan"
<JDenman@WW2.FSU.ED To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
U> cc:
Sent by: Archives & Subject: Email & Increased Research Requests
Archivists
<ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.
MUOHIO.EDU>
08/07/2002 12:08 PM
Please respond to
"Denman, Joan"
In earlier emails, Rick Barry and Peter Hirsch, wondered if the example
of the Bentley Historical Library's three weeks delay in responding to
reference requests is portending the future. I think it is.
We are finding that many people, especially students with paper
deadlines fast approaching, will contact us for assistance on a World
War II topic. Since we have a limited staff that can assist with
reference requests, we have had to ask people if they intend to visit
the Institute or not. Currently we are unable to conduct any research in
our collections for on-line (or phone) patrons and must insist that
people use our facilities on-site. Those who are willing to travel to
Tallahassee are given as much assistance as staffing will allow. It is
becoming more apparent that numerous people expect your complete
collections to be online or for you to provide them with extensive
research. What is the experience of other repositories?
--
Joan E. Denman
Senior Archivist &
Archival Manager
Institute on World War II
& the Human Experience
Department of History
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-2200
850-644-9033
Email: jdenman@ww2.fsu.edu
Institute's Email: ww2@ww2.fsu.edu
Institute's webpage: www.fsu.edu/~ww2
A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
*or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu
Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html
Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>
A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
*or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu
Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html
Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>