"I become kind of obsessive about research.
James Franco "
The best part of a librarian’s job is the opportunity to meet and interact with a great number of people who have a passion for learning and research. On the flip side the librarian’s professional skills can be held to ransom by any odd enquirer knowingly or unknowingly .A gentleman called me last week seeking a face to face meeting on a matter which he did not want to discuss over the phone. There are enough crazy nuts in Kolkata who would not think twice before opening their hearts to strangers. I was initially hesitant but on second thoughts agreed to see him. This gentleman appeared sensible but I could guess he was chasing a passion. I met him this week.
He was an ordinary employee of Indian Railways and a writer. For the past few years he was involved in independent research .The topic of his research was Indian Railways and Railways in general and their impact on human lives .He was looking for material on the subject from a broader perspective. The Railways had an archive in Delhi but he was not sure whether he would find any useful material there. He was not aware of any active history cell present in Indian Railways .He had been visiting the National Library but they were unable to help. I suggested he should speak to a reference librarian and not to any staff member manning the information counters. I also asked him to write to British Library,UK. The BL, UK has been a big help on many occasions. An elderly writer has been engaged in historical research for years now and the BL, UK has helped him with lot of important materials. Since it is convenient to do bank transfers nowadays it was not difficult for the acquisition process to be completed. I remember this elderly gentleman had once received some documents from BL, UK even before the payment was processed formally. The gentleman was overjoyed.
Let me come back to this current researcher on railways. This gentleman had received responses from several foreign countries including some foreign libraries. He spoke about the influence of railways on authors and filmmakers. He spoke in an animated manner as he cited examples from important works of various authors and filmmakers. He did not have any funds to match his ambitions but he was hardly deterred by such mundane obstacles. Since he did not have expectations of any kind of material gains before him people usually ridiculed him. Why pursue such a thankless, useless goal in life was the standard question put across to him by well wishers. He replied he was following his heart and his passion.
The librarian has to have lot of patience while handling such customers specially if the subject matter holds little interest for him or her..It can be at times quite tiring to listen to such obsessive talk which usually tends to turn into a monologue .
Ref : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/research_3.html#ixzz1dr5lLm8G
James Franco "
The best part of a librarian’s job is the opportunity to meet and interact with a great number of people who have a passion for learning and research. On the flip side the librarian’s professional skills can be held to ransom by any odd enquirer knowingly or unknowingly .A gentleman called me last week seeking a face to face meeting on a matter which he did not want to discuss over the phone. There are enough crazy nuts in Kolkata who would not think twice before opening their hearts to strangers. I was initially hesitant but on second thoughts agreed to see him. This gentleman appeared sensible but I could guess he was chasing a passion. I met him this week.
He was an ordinary employee of Indian Railways and a writer. For the past few years he was involved in independent research .The topic of his research was Indian Railways and Railways in general and their impact on human lives .He was looking for material on the subject from a broader perspective. The Railways had an archive in Delhi but he was not sure whether he would find any useful material there. He was not aware of any active history cell present in Indian Railways .He had been visiting the National Library but they were unable to help. I suggested he should speak to a reference librarian and not to any staff member manning the information counters. I also asked him to write to British Library,UK. The BL, UK has been a big help on many occasions. An elderly writer has been engaged in historical research for years now and the BL, UK has helped him with lot of important materials. Since it is convenient to do bank transfers nowadays it was not difficult for the acquisition process to be completed. I remember this elderly gentleman had once received some documents from BL, UK even before the payment was processed formally. The gentleman was overjoyed.
Let me come back to this current researcher on railways. This gentleman had received responses from several foreign countries including some foreign libraries. He spoke about the influence of railways on authors and filmmakers. He spoke in an animated manner as he cited examples from important works of various authors and filmmakers. He did not have any funds to match his ambitions but he was hardly deterred by such mundane obstacles. Since he did not have expectations of any kind of material gains before him people usually ridiculed him. Why pursue such a thankless, useless goal in life was the standard question put across to him by well wishers. He replied he was following his heart and his passion.
The librarian has to have lot of patience while handling such customers specially if the subject matter holds little interest for him or her..It can be at times quite tiring to listen to such obsessive talk which usually tends to turn into a monologue .
Ref : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/research_3.html#ixzz1dr5lLm8G
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