On Monday morning, I felt a new bounce in my step as I made my way across my backyard toward my car. Some of my enthusiasm derived from noticing that nearly all the winter’s snow has melted. Daytime temperatures are now in the 40s, and, within a few weeks, I expect crocuses, tulips, and daffodils to start poking through my garden. But I am entering a new and refreshing phase of my research, as well.  

I have been on sabbatical since November, and for the first 4 months, I focused on gathering secondary literature—prior studies, government reports, legislation, and other background information that help place local cases and archival resources into context. I didn’t receive any research funding, and I don’t have an assistant, so I’ve been doing a lot of the legwork on my own. It’s been a slog because no libraries within 50 miles of me seem to subscribe to Library Literature & Information Science Retrospective or another LIS database that reaches further back than the 1980s. On top of that, many of the items I need from the 1950s-1980s are too recent to be in the public domain but are too early to be born-digital—meaning they can’t be accessed online. So, I have been employing the same research techniques that I learned many moons ago as an undergraduate. For weeks on end, I utilized old print editions of Library Literature and hand-searched bound volumes of regional and governmental titles that LL doesn’t cover. Added to the cold and darkness of winter, the intellectual spadework was challenging my spirits.  

While those efforts are ongoing, March is providing me with something new to look forward to. Besides generating a bibliography of secondary sources, another important goal of my project is to learn how trends in federal and state funding, interlibrary cooperation, information technology, and increased attention toward underserved populations played out in different Pennsylvania communities. The second half of my sabbatical is largely focused on site visits to county libraries and district library centers that were significantly impacted by the 1961 Library Code and subsequent events. So, this Monday, I made my first “road trip”—to the Cumberland County Library System’s (CCLS) headquarters in Mechanicsburg. In two weeks, I will be heading to the Montgomery County-Norristown Library as well. I’m eager about both sites, because neither have been part of my previous projects.  

Cumberland County
Library System's "Archive"

Although Cumberland County is just on the other side of the Susquehanna River—an easy drive from my home near Harrisburg—I belted and hummed buoyantly with songs on my car radio. When I arrived at CCLS Headquarters, all the staff who were on-site greeted me warmly and my heart swelled. I know that places like this are where I do my best work, and that this “best work” makes me happiest. For the next couple of weeks, I am faced with binders full of meeting minutes, strategic plans, and newsclippings that might not look interesting to most people. But I know there are great stories in there, I can’t wait to find them.