HARJANTI:
Pardon me, can you tell me where I
can find Charles Johnson, the science research librarian?
RESEARCH
LIBRARIAN: That's
me. Apologies for not having a sign on my desk.
HARJANTI:
That’s OK, I'm glad I found you. The
librarian at the circulation desk told me I would find you here, but I think I
got a little turned around in the hallway.
RESEARCH
LIBRARIAN: That's
no problem. I often get lost myself in this building. So, what can I help you
with?
HARJANTI:
Well, I have a research paper
assignment for my history of astronomy course, and I need some help researching
a topic.
RESEARCH
LIBRARIAN: Of
course. Do you have any initial ideas about what you are going to write your
paper on?
HARJANTI:
Well, I wanted to research something
related to women in science in eighteenth-century England. Do you think there
will be much information on that?
RESEARCH
LIBRARIAN: That
sounds like a great topic, and yes, I think we will have plenty of information
for that. We recently purchased an e-subscription to a journal called Women in Science and we also have
access to the Royal Society's science and biographical archives.
HARJANTI:
Will I have access to them if I'm not
in the library?
RESEARCH
LIBRARIAN: Certainly.
All current students can access the university's databases with their student
ID number and PIN number.
HARJANTI:
Wow, that's good news because I live
off campus, and I don't want to be restricted to doing all my work in the library.
RESEARCH
LIBRARIAN: It's
part of the new technology initiative the university started last year.
However, if there are any reference books you need, you will have to remain in
the library to use them. You said it was a history of astronomy class, correct?
HARJANTI:
Yes, I'm hoping that there will be at
least a few women connected with astronomy from that period. Otherwise I will
have to get a new topic.
RESEARCH
LIBRARIAN: It
looks like the name Caroline Herschel comes up several times in the Royal
Society archives…have you heard of her?
HARJANTI:
No, I don't think so. Our professor
did mention a William Herschel, who is credited with discovering Uranus.
RESEARCH
LIBRARIAN: It
just so happens that Caroline was his sister, and she also made some important
astronomical discoveries. In fact, she discovered several comets. Does that
sound like something you would be interested in, or should we keep looking?
HARJANTI:
No, that sounds perfect. Are there
any recent scholarly articles about her, by chance? Or is all of the
information in the Royal Society archives? My professor is requiring us to have
at least one secondary source, and he’d prefer it be within the last five
years.
RESEARCH
LIBRARIAN: It
says here that Molly Flannigan, a professor at the University of Cambridge,
just wrote an article in Women in
Science last year about Herschel's discovery of the M110 galaxy in 1783.
HARJANTI:
Oh, that sounds great. Is it a long
article?
RESEARCH
LIBRARIAN: The
search results indicate that it’s 40 pages. You're more than welcome to use
this computer to read it over.
HARJANTI:
Thank you, but I have another class
in fifteen minutes, so I don't think I will have time right now. Could you
please write down all the bibliographical information? That way I can read it
when I get home tonight.
RESEARCH
LIBRARIAN: I can
actually print out this page, which will have abstracts for this article as
well as several others that you might find interesting.
HARJANTI:
That would be perfect. Do you also
have instructions for how to access library's online databases?
RESEARCH
LIBRARIAN: Absolutely.
I will staple a copy to the bibliography page. Here we are…you’re all set. Good
luck with your research, and now that you know how to find us, please come back
if you need any more help.
HARJANTI:
I sure will. Thank you again for all
your help. Just one more question.
RESEARCH
LIBRARIAN: Sure,
what is it?
HARJANTI:
How do I get out of here?
RESEARCH
LIBRARIAN: Haha…we
don’t need you getting lost again. Just walk down to the end of the hall, take
a right, and follow the stairs at the end. That will take you right to the
front entrance.
HARJANTI:
Perfect. Thanks again, and have a
great day!
RESEARCH
LIBRARIAN: Any
time.