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NYPL Librarians Take Questions 24/7
By
Jen Carlson
Published Feb 15, 2010
Modified Feb 15, 2010
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Feb 15, 2010
Modified Feb 15, 2010
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The crack team at the New York Public Library is where to go when the Google machine leads you down a dead end. Today the NY Post talks to the six senior librarians who field hundreds of questions a day from their station in the Rose Reading Room. While the most common calls are simply inquiries about obtaining library cards, there are also several dozen "cherry questions" a day.
Those cherry calls often come from the writers of Mad Men, who have been making sure their portrayal of the early '60s is accurate. Bernard van Maarseveen says it's questions like those that "keep us coming in each day." Recently the writers have asked when taxis got their "off duty" lights, and what programming was scheduled to be on TV the day Kennedy was assassinated.
It can often take days or weeks to answer the questions, as well, because digging offline can be necessary. Isn't it sort of nice to know you can't find out everything on the internet? Plus, they're available via phone, email, online chat and text message, 24 hours a day! Just don't go sexting them— one librarian told the Post they won't answer personal questions like, "What are you wearing?"
Tagged
librarians
mad men
new york public library
nypl
reference
research
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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