Have a Question? We know who to ask for the answer.

When you need to know something at the library, or really need to know anything at all, the first place to stop should be the reference desk at one of the Mercer County Library System branches.

The reference desk is staffed by knowledgeable people trained in the fine art of finding things out. While I do not work as a reference librarian myself, during my time at MCLS I’ve come to realize there are no questions too big or too small for those who staff the reference desks around Mercer County.

I know the reference staff get their fair share of what we would call “normal” questions. They are constantly helping patrons find books, track down articles, sign up for programs, learn how to get books onto their electronic device, and many other library related tasks. 

Either over the phone or in person, you’re likely to hear one of the reference librarians answering questions about the upcoming weather forecast, directions and hours of local stores, how to pay bills online, providing the resources to decide on the best bird feed, and much more.

But the reference staff also get their share of tough and unusual questions, and they will not stop looking for an answer until they find one.

I’ve overheard enough to know many of these questions are a challenge. But I also decided to reach out to several members of the Mercer County Library System reference staff to see what their most challenging or unusual patron requests have been over the years.

Among those requests were, “Do you know if that nursery near the high school sells wildflower honey?” As well as “Can you let me know the schedule for this weekend’s USFL games and which teams are going to make the playoffs?” or “Can you help me print out a picture of my feet?” and of course “Can you let me know the speed limit on this road? I got a speeding ticket, but I didn’t think I was speeding.”

One of our reference librarians had a wonderful exchange over the phone with a patron that went like this:

Caller:  "Hi, what's another word for [blank]"

Reference Librarian:  [suggests word]

Caller:  "No, too many letters. Needs to be seven letters, 'U R' in the middle"

Reference Librarian:  "Journey?"

Caller:  "Yes. That's it. Thank you very much." 

The caller hangs up. Short and sweet. But at least they got their crossword puzzle solved.  

One of our librarians had a chance to go on a deep dive to help a student with a school project.

“Part of the grade school curriculum was a local history component, which included visiting and researching historic sites throughout the Township. One of the locations students could visit was the Woosamonsa Schoolhouse (located where Woosamonsa Road and Poor Farm Road meet). As a bonus, students offered their interpretation of where the name "Woosamonsa" came from. I had a third-grader visit the reference desk to find THE etymology of "woosamonsa."  Through a deep search into the New York State Museum's digital archives, we learned that researchers believe that early recorded iterations of Woosamonsa, such as Wishilimensy and Achilomonsing, resemble the Munsee words wchulamiinzhuy, “wrinkled or shriveled tree,” and wchulamiinzhiing, “place of wrinkled or shriveled trees.” (Grumet, Robert S. (2014). Beyond Manhattan: A Gazetteer of Delaware Indian History Reflected in Modern-Day Place Names).”

Sometimes the questions are even tougher to find the answer to when you don’t have all the necessary information.

“One man asked me to show him his goats in Namibia on Google Earth. There were only dirt paths, and he didn't know the longitude and latitude of his patch of ground.”

And occasionally even our experts are stumped.

“I had a question earlier this year that I couldn't find an answer for. A patron asked me if I could find a citation for the article in which Jay Westerveld had coined the term "greenwashing." The author and environmentalist is widely credited with coining the term "greenwashing," which describes corporate initiatives that seem to be ecologically friendly, such as having people reuse towels at hotels, that really don't have much of an impact. 

“Most sources say it appeared in an essay in 1986, but despite looking in all of our databases as well as asking the MCCC library to look in the Readers' Guide, I couldn't find an exact citation. Some articles mentioned that it appeared in a "literary magazine" in New York, but no specifics. I even found an interview with him from the local newspaper in Warwick, NY where he currently resides, but it didn't give any information about the name of the essay or where it appeared. I also tried to use a site called Project Wombat which allows you to post difficult reference questions, but it appears to be defunct. So, I couldn't find the answer to that question, but it was an interesting question nonetheless.”

“One older man asked what language Adam and Eve spoke. I think he was trying to impress us with the depth of his questions. He also wanted to know what his number was. If they knew the population of the world and the United States, he thought he should have been number such and such on the planet.”

And sometimes the questions are so easy that anyone in the library can answer it - even if you don't work here!

“Once someone asked at the circulation desk where the reference desk was. A patron standing in the check-out line pointed to the big blue sign that reads REFERENCE across the ceiling.”

Bob N.

Hopewell Branch