[Publib] Re: Best Reference Question Ever

[Paul-Andre Bempechat]

Ms. Dooley's contribution to this thread reminded me (pianist and historian) of
a reception after a concert where I'd performed piano trios: an overly
enthusiastic middle-aged lady (bewigged) remarked: "My goo'ness, you are just
SO clever, young man: you can accompany two people at the same time!"

How did I answer?  "You know, I never thought of it that way..."

Quoting ldooley1 at cox.net:

> I have a couple of favorites that have come in through the years.
>
> During my first month working the Reference Desk in a Public Library after
> receiving my MLS, a gentleman called asking if we had a list of upcoming book
> burnings in the area as he had a number of books at home that he felt that no
> one should read and he wanted to add them to the fire.  I explained that
> libraries do not approve of book burning and so people generally did not
> inform us before holding them.
>
> A few years later, at a different library, another gentleman called asking
> for the correct spelling of "succame"-- after thinking about it for a moment,
> I asked if he meant the past tense of succumb, which he did.  I told him the
> word he wanted was succumbed and spelled if for him, but he continued to
> insist that succame was also correct and he would find the spelling
> elsewhere.
>
> Leila Dooley
> Carlsbad (CA) City Library
>
>
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"The only guide to a man is his conscience.  The only shield to  his memory is
the rectitude and sincerity of his actions.  It is very imprudent to walk
through life without this shield, because we are so often marked by the failure
of our hopes, but with this shield, however the fates may play, we march
always in the ranks of honour."

- Sir Winston Churchill