1 post tagged “google”

I seriously dislike our online catalog. I can't find anything with it, and I am an information professional. No wonder people get frustrated when they come into this library and can't find what they are looking for.

It really frustrates me when a patron is looking for an item and I am unable to find it for them. This happens several times a week. I just feel incredibly ineffective and wonder why I spent two years in grad school. Anyone can fumble; I'm supposed to know what I'm doing.

This morning I was trying to find a biography to include in a finding aid. While I was over in the reference section, a woman asked me a question. Not being very familiar with anything outside of the Special Collections bubble, I was unable to answer the question. I had to go back to the reference section a couple of times, and she was still searching. The main reference desk had merely pointed her toward the aisle, and left her to it. I decided I was going to find a call number for the book. She told me it was called "Hitemans", but she had no more information than that.

Ok, classic reference case. I can solve this one. I went to our catalog and typed in "Hitemans". The catalog thought maybe I meant "Hitman's". Most of the entries on the screen were for Hitler. I decided to do a search by call number, entering the call number of the book I had been using. I paged through a few screens, but found nothing. Unwilling to give up, I turned to my trusty companion, Google. I typed in "hiteman revolutionary war". The very first link:

Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army During the ... - Google Books Result