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WISE BIRDS: Even in information age, librarians remain go-to resources
(Columbus Dispatch (Ohio) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Mar. 5--Librarians love a treasure hunt.
And central Ohioans happily oblige them.
Despite having the powerful Internet search engine Google at their disposal, many people still call the Columbus Metropolitan Library information line to satisfy their curiosity.
"It's about questions and searching for answers to everything from 'Is there a God?' to 'Who led the league in triples?' " librarian Josh Duke said.
The Main Library has provided information to the public by telephone since 1925.
The latest line, created in 1989, was revamped in 2004 to handle calls for the entire 20-branch system.
Last year, librarians fielded in excess of 320,000 queries -- more than 10 times the number in 1950.
"We love quirky questions," librarian Susan Malloy said.
Even with the ease of finding information through various Web sites, Monica Carroll thinks she knows why many patrons prefer the information line.
"People need to reach out and receive human contact," the librarian said. "Computers and automation are great timesavers, but there's nothing like a real (human) being on the other end of the phone."
At 8:55 a.m. on a recent Wednesday, Duke, Malloy, Carroll and two other librarians headed for a room in a secondfloor corner of the library.
They sat in front of phones and computers, and talked quietly.
Five minutes later, when the library opened, the phones rang in unison -- and the hush gave way to chatter.
By closing time at 9 p.m., the 15 to 20 librarians taking shifts with the information line had answered 1,002 questions -- ranging from the mundane ("How late is the library open?") to the bizarre ("How can I get a conceal-carry permit for a handgun in the state of Florida?")
During one call, Malloy fielded two.
"Pete Rose was the MVP of the 1975 World Series," she said, closing one computer screen and opening another. "And the messengers in the Harry Potter series are owls."
Because the library provides a source for each answer, Malloy asked the caller to wait.
"I told him I wanted to verify the answer about owls, and he said: 'It's right. It fits.' "
A crossword-puzzle junkie.
Yet he isn't the only type of customer.
"Anything that someone is curious or unsure about is worthy to be explored," librarian Jennifer Hrusch said. "That is why we at the library try to have such a broad range of knowledge about how and where to find an answer."
Their creed is simple: No question is stupid.
Patrons use the information line for practical purposes -- to reserve or renew a book, check overdue fines or ascertain the time or place of a library event.
At its heart, though, it serves to satisfy an unsated curiosity.
"We had an elderly woman call, and she remembered a book she'd read as a child that she had taken down off the shelf at her grandmother's house," said Macrina Porter, assistant manager of the line.
"She knew it was set in an industrial town -- maybe like Pittsburgh -- and featured characters named Mary and Paul. She thought maybe there was a scene in it that described a flood."
Duke took the call and posed the question on a national librarian "listserv," an automated mailing list that allows online discussions via e-mail.
Within an hour, a librarian from the Johnsonburg Public Library, northeast of Pittsburgh, had offered a response.
"It was a book called The Valley of Decision by Marcia Davenport, published in 1942," Porter said. "The customer was thrilled that we came up with the answer."
The librarians are trained to search reference books and, especially, the Internet, where they have access to resources not available to the public.
"We know all the best, most reliable databases," Porter said. "We often refer to the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb. com) and the Dead People Server (dpsinfo.com/dps)."
Note: Vic Damone is still alive; Rodney Dangerfield is not.
By 6 p.m. on weekdays, the queries have started arriving from the younger set as students turn to their homework.
What is Henry Clay famous for?
How do I find pictures of 1960s fashions?
What were the four ways that the United States removed native Americans from their land during the Indian Removal Act?
The most intriguing, humorous or just-plain-weird inquiries earn a spot in the "Interesting Questions File," begun several years ago by librarian Dan Sponseller.
"Some questions," he said, "are just too good to be forgotten." beichenberger@dispatch.com
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