Boy With Squirrell (detail)
by John Singleton Copley
RANDOM ACCESS
Why Do 18th Century Paintings
Have So Many Squirrels?
In 2014 the New York Public Library found an old recipe
box in the archive labelled "Interesting Reference
Questions". Inside were index cards with questions
the reference librarians had been asked from the
1940s-1980s. Questions included:
➤ How much did Napoleon's brain weigh?
➤ What does it mean when you dream you're
being chased by an elephant?
➤ Please give me the name of a book that
dramatises bedbugs!
Nowadays
most people turn to the internet
for answers, googling them online. However, how do
you know what is true in what you research? In this
article from #AskALibrarian, you are talked through
the best way to interpret search results based on the
google query “Do games improve learning?”
www.cilip.org.uk/blog/askalibrarian-do-gamesimprove-learning
Once you’ve learned the best way to google, what would
your answer to the squirrel question be?
Since December 2014 the NYPL has been issuing a
photograph a week of these queries on Instagram and
Twitter at #letmelibrarianthatforyou. If you want to know
what it was like to be a reference librarian in the days
before the internet, try to work out what reference works
(if any!) you would need to answer these questions:
And if you don’t believe there are that many portraits
with squirrels check out:
b-womeninamericanhistory18.blogspot.
co.uk/2014/03/squirrels-in-paintings-of-18camerican.html
➤ What time does a bluebird sing? Woman was
writing a song and wanted to use as part of the
lyrics. "The bluebird sings from 9 to 5."
➤ Does the female human being belong to the
mammal class?
➤ Do camels have to be licensed in India?
➤ What kind of apple did Eve eat?
IGNIS
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