Doing Library Research

Anyone can find research in the library. But "doing library research" means to create something new, something no one has yet written about. It may be a small research paper for a class, or a large book for professional reasons, but it is all library research.

Several disciplines depend a great deal on library research. These include history, literary studies, musicology, sociology, political science, and anthropology. As a researcher you find primary documents, read and browse through other people's research, and put it all together in a unique way. Libraries pull together a lot of material and help you locate it, but the researcher does the work.

Points to remember: faster isn't better; take time to browse and make mental connections; reinterpret what you read; the more you know, the more you can develop by what you read. Look for patterns to create a conversation. Efficiency is not a virtue.