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Email & research requests



I must live in a parallel universe. Admittedly, we don't receive the sheer
volume of inquiries that others do. But here is my take, for what it's
worth.

My job currently is temporary, and every inquiry that makes its way to me -
whether in person or by phone, fax or e-mail - helps justify the existence
of my position. I keep statistics on inquiries for all our special
collections and university archives. This has given our director the
information he needs to show our administration what I'm doing, as well as
how busy the library staff would be if my position didn't exist.

I like getting inquiries by e-mail, because there isn't that urgency that
comes with a walk-in patron or a ringing phone. And we're pleased that
people have started finding us on the Web - our director has asked me to
include that in my statistics when applicable.

On the flip side, I have used the Web and e-mail to make inquiries of other
libraries and archives and have been pleased (mostly) with the results.
Getting a quick reply - even if it's a boilerplate response that they've
received my inquiry and will get back to me in time - has been very
reassuring.

If I receive an inquiry while I'm in the middle of a high priority project
that can't be interrupted, I'll fire off a quick e-mail or make a phone call
to let the person know I've received their request and will get back to them
within a certain amount of time. And then I follow up as I said I would.
Working with some of our researchers has been like taking a crash course in
state history, politics, or university history, and I learn just as much, if
not more, from them than they do from us.

Finally, our university is busy fundraising for a new library. The way I see
it, the people making the inquiries could be potential donors.

Laurie Langland
Project Archivist
Layne Library
Dakota Wesleyan University
Mitchell, SD
http://www.dwu.edu/library/

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