What to Take With You to the Library
Plan to spend most of your first visit becoming familiar with where to find things and how to use the card catalog and databases. You will need note cards to write down each book you are going to look for in the stacks, a notebook to take notes while reading, a pen or a pencil, and money for the copy machine. Take a tote bag to carry home the books you check out.
Today’s libraries keep their book catalogs on computers. Most also have computers you can use to surf the Web or use a word processor. Call before you go to find out if you need to reserve one of these computers. You may also need money for printing; take dollar bills and use the bill change rather than weighing yourself down with coins!
If you have a laptop computer, take it with you. (Invest about $20.00 in a security cable that let’s you tether your laptop to a library table.) You can take your notes directly on your computer and not have to transcribe them. Many libraries offer free wireless network access if you have a wireless network card for your computer. Call before you go to find out if wi-fi is available. When you arrive at the library, ask a librarian for instructions on accessing the network.
A personal digital assistant (PDA) can also be used for taking notes and some will accept add-on keyboards. Several companies make small, hand-held scanners that let you scan lines or paragraphs of text in a book and later transfer the text to a computer. These are most useful for scanning a few lines at a time. You will still want to use the copy machine for one or more pages in a book.
