Monday, January 22, 2007

Interlibrary loan

I must tell you that I have become addicted to interlibrary loan. What better way to research than to talk to your reference librarian about checking out a book that is from a far away library or another state. Interlibrary loan isn't just about books. Some historical societies and archives will loan out microfilmed documents. The Kansas State Historical Society, www.kshs.org, will loan out microfilm of Kansas newspapers. I was able to look at voter registration logs from Texas through the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, www.tsl.state.tx.us. So when you are looking at state historical societies, a state library or an archive, see if the documents you want are microfilmed and are available through interlibrary loan. At my library this service costs $3.00 per item with a limit of 10 items at a time. Talk to your reference librarian or check out their website to see what is involved.

No comments: