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Re: Question about Reference questions



I keep a file of reference questions, because I occassionally come across
some more information that I was not aware of to send to the person. I have
only been here since spring of 2000, but I have yet to weed it, and as far
as I know, it was never weeded prior to that. I don't allow public access to
it, though.

Barbara M. Pope, M.L.S.
Reference Librarian
O.J. Cloughly Alumni Library
St. Louis College of Pharmacy
4588 Parkview Place
St. Louis, MO 63110
Voice: +1 314-367-8700, ext. 1001
Fax:    +1 314-367-2784
Email:  bpope@mail.stlcop.edu


-----Original Message-----
From: Joy Kingsolver [mailto:jkingsolver@EARTHLINK.NET]
Sent: 27 August, 2001 4:17 PM
To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
Subject: Re: Question about Reference questions


I keep a database to record the results of searches
if I think the questions will come up again.  It's come
in handy many times, especially when I'm trying to
help someone on the phone and need a quick way to look
things up.  But I've also been surprised to find that keeping
paperwork on questions for at least a year has also come in
handy.  I've had people (usually genealogists) repeat the
same questions to me after a long interval--either forgetting
that they had already asked me, or hoping that this time the
answer would be different.  In one case, I had a person who
asked me the same thing 3 different times. I finally just sent
her copies of our correspondence from the year before.
I wonder sometimes whether this happens in other archives
as well, or am I just -- umm, lucky?

Joy Kingsolver
Chicago Jewish Archives



At 04:23 PM 8/27/01 -0400, Fitzgerald, Rebecca wrote:
>I've thought about keeping the paperwork for a year or two and then
>putting the replies with substantive information into vertical files.
>However, I'd have to figure out a way to strip out researcher
>identification unless they were willing to share their interests, and
>I'd also have to find time to do it.  I had a student intern do that for
>some older genealogy research, and I found it useful.

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