PSSST…Secret CIA Information

Do you want the latest, most up-to-date, country information for your student’s report? The best site I’ve found is the CIA’s World Factbook https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ As of this posting, the site was last updated on August 7, 2008. And, here’s the best part: It’s Free! Not to mention how cool it will be to cite the CIA as your information source! Talk about inside information.

Cramming for the GED

I saw a sign years ago that I would like to put up at the library. It states “Poor Planning on Your Part Does Not Constitute an Emergency on Our Part.” Such a sign would have been handy the other day when a patron came in requesting, as she put it, books about reading, math, social sciences, and biology. As my assistant worked to find books fitting this very generic description, the patron indicated that she was really in a hurry because Continue Reading »

What’s in the bag?

My boss tells the following story from her days as a reference librarian. One day a patron approached her and asked for a book about snakes, particularly snakes in that region of Florida. After she had retrieved some snake books, her eyes fell on the paper bag that the patron had placed on the counter. “What’s in the bag?” she asked. Continue Reading »