My degree is in Information, and a librarian’s job is to help you locate authoritative, reliable information. (Along these lines, my colleague created a guide to help community members identify misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation.) It may sound surprising, but there are times when I recommend another library to a researcher searching for something specific. Of course, we do our best to ensure that the staff of Princeton Public Library can meet all of your information needs, but there are specialized areas of knowledge or resources that may exist elsewhere that complement our collections.
For example, you may want to…
Dig deeper into a legal issue. You’ve started with our books and logged into the Legal Information Reference Center database to find forms and references, but you need a little more guidance on researching specific legal issues or using additional legal databases. I’d suggest contacting the New Jersey State Library’s Law Library, where you can find law librarians who specialize in these questions.
Immerse yourself in the life of a favorite writer or artist. You’ve read books by Toni Morrison, Mario Vargas Llosa, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, and you know about the work of publishers like Sylvia Beach. Through Princeton University Library’s Special Collections, you can discover the stories behind their works, see margin notes in their own hands, and more. For example, if you’re interested in F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, you can see a beautiful velvet coat belonging to Zelda in addition to collections of the pair’s letters and manuscripts. Anyone age 14 or older can register as a researcher to view materials at Special Collections.
Enrich your understanding of local history. Once you’ve used the Princeton Room and our online Princeton History resource guide to find maps, books, and more, then it might be time to explore the Historical Society of Princeton’s digital database to add visuals to the information you’ve found. For example, here’s an image of one of Princeton’s relocated houses actually being moved. You can also visit the Historical Society in person to view exhibits and collection items that help bring your reading to life.
Get creative with a new art form. You’ve spent some time on CreativeBug or LinkedIn Learning to boost your skills in collage, mixed media, digital art, and more. Now it’s time to find some material to work with. Did you know that some institutions offer free assets like images or sound recordings that can be used for personal projects? Explore the Smithsonian Open Access collection to find millions of images to fuel your creativity.
These are just a few examples. Explore our resource guides to be linked to other information on a wide range of topics offered by reputable organizations. Let us know if we can help you research.
Photo by Eliott Reyna on Unsplash.