All freelance writers have to research information for magazine and newspaper articles, or for writing projects they’re doing for business clients. True, freelance writers can do research the Internet, but sometimes important information just isn’t there and — gasp! — you’ll need to find information in actual print.
But before you head out the door…
Create Your Freelance Writer Home Reference Library
Build your own collection of reference books so you can do some or all of your research at home. If you specialize in a specific field, get books you’ll need to consult frequently.
In addition, you’ll need the following:
- Thesaurus
- Dictionary
- Almanac
- Books on how to write well
- Style guides for writing
- How-to books for software you use frequently
- Any other books you’ll view often
Don’t have what you need at home? Head out the door and…
Make the Most of Libraries for Freelance Writing Research
If you’re like most people, you live in or near a sizable town or city, so you have multiple libraries ready to serve you.Â
Local Libraries
Just about every town with a gas station has a local library. Cities typically have many branches. Depending on what you need, you may be fine at a local branch. However, the main branch is always the largest and provides the widest variety of information sources.
College and University Libraries
I love higher education libraries. The best of them host vast collections of books and periodicals, so if what you need is in print, you’ll likely find it at one of the top educational institutions.
Size definitely matters: typically, the larger the school in terms of number of students, the more info you’ll find. There’s also a correlation between the academic focus and the library offerings. I did my undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of California at Davis, which has excellent library sources.
Here’s a typical hierarchy ranking institutions from most resources to least:
- Universities offering undergraduate degrees, master’s degrees, and doctorates (UC Davis, for example)
- Universities offering primarily undergraduate degrees, with some master’s degrees
- Colleges offering primarily undergraduate degrees
- Community colleges offering two-year degrees
Many college and university libraries will let non-students check out materials as long as they pay an annual or semester fee. I’ve done this before and was very glad I did.
Specialized Libraries
Many large cities have libraries that focus on specific subjects — law, for example. These libraries can be quite useful if you need to do in-depth research on those subjects.
Learn How to Search for Information
Each library is a bit different, but there’s typically an electronic database that contains much or all of the contents of the library. Figure out how the search system works at the specific library you’re using.
You need to be clear on what you want. If it’s a few basic facts, an encyclopedia or maybe a single book from the reference section will do. If you need a lot of information, or you’re still formulating what to include in your piece, you’ll need more material, perhaps several books and periodicals.
There are 2 main ways American libraries categorize books. The Dewey Decimal Classification, with numbers from 000 to the 900s, is common in local libraries. The Library of Congress Classification uses the letters A-Z.
Here’s a useful tip for finding a bunch of books on the same subject. Do a database search and find one book that’s definitely what you want. Locate it on the shelves and you should also see many other books on the same subject to the left and right of it.
Reference Librarians
These folks know how to find just about anything, so you definitely want to make use of their skills. Do it intelligently, though, by being very clear about exactly what you’re looking for, and also by locating it yourself if you can easily do so.
Finding Information in a Book
Let’s say you’ve located a book that you think has important information. Here are 6 tips to get that information as quickly as possible:
- Focus only on the information you really need. Ask yourself what you want to find in the book. Tell your mind to filter out only the important info.
- Use the table of contents to get an overview of the book and to determine which chapters and subsections are relevant.
- Use the index to search specifically for what you want.
- When reading, scan quickly for key words and phrases rather than plodding through entire chapters.
- Use speed-reading techniques. Speed reading greatly increases how rapidly you get research done.
- Remember the 80-20 Rule — the Pareto Principle: 80% of your useful information will come from 20% of your sources, so locate those best sources quickly and make the most use of them.
Your Take
How often do you do research in actual print sources? Which ones are most useful to you? Where do you find them? And do you like being in libraries?
To be honest, I haven’t gone to do research in an actual library in a looong while. The internet has made me lazy, any topic you want to search about can be found online. There are lots of online dictionaries, thesauri, and then there’s wikipedia. Perhaps, if I need to do research on a topic that will be hard to find online like the local history of our town I may have to go to the library. But I would definitely go to a library if I am doing an article that needs extensive research and/or if I need to shed some new light to a topic.
Thanks for chiming in Reese. I agree that a lot of research can be done online, and many writers won’t have to leave their home office to get all their research done.
However, there will still be some article assignments or book research that has to be done the old-fashioned way, especially if it requires quality sources that are older, or referencing academic journals.
Like Reese, I rarely use the library for research these days… can’t remember the last time. I have called the reference librarian at my local library and asked for info – I’m always surprised how often they find it and give it to me… I’d be tempted to tell me to come to the library and look.
However, I’m at the library often checking out both fiction and non-fiction books. Reading so informs my writing!
I also volunteer at my local library and am most surprised to find myself known as the “craft lady.” It’s great to help the kids for an hour a week.
I love libraries.
Anne, I also spend a lot of time in local libraries, primarily in Mount Shasta, California and Ashland, Oregon. I look at new books, read new issues of magazines, and occasionally check out an interesting nonfiction book or novel.
And good for you for volunteering. I know our local libraries rely heavily on volunteers.
Since I left academia, I don’t do much library research either, John, but I’ve got pretty much all of those home research resources (minus the almanac) at my fingertips plus a bunch of other academic books from when I taught journalism. They come in handy sometimes. Nice guide – and I agree with your library ranking.
Sharon, I definitely did most of my library research when I was in graduate school and when I was a researcher in biochemistry labs. However, it was also necessary when I wrote my hiking guidebooks in the 1990s, and a lot of the reference material I needed for those books is still not available online.
Many academic journals have print and online versions, but the online versions are behind a pay wall. Of course, most of us don’t need those journals, but for those of us who do, an actual library with the printed journals can be a major money saver.
Totally agree, John, and if I needed to do academic research I’d head over to my local university and check out the shelves. Of course, it’s nice when the library has up to date software to make your search easier, but there’s also something to be said for walking between the stacks and finding something good you’d never have thought of otherwise. 🙂
Yep, all my best work is behind paywalls, can’t even get to it myself.
Dave, I co-authored three academic journal articles, so I know about the frustration of not being able to see your own work without paying.
I ditto everyone else above John!
It surely has been ages when I sat and looked up matter or researched through book. I guess everything is really available online nowadays, and it does become difficult to leave home, especially if you are a woman managing your home, kids, and freelancing as well 🙂
But yes, sometimes if the work is such that does require the proper journal or academic kind of research etc- it does take me a whole day just organizing things so that I can step out and visit a library 🙂
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Leaving home to research in the library can definitely be a hassle. That’s why I always combine it with other errands, like shopping, or a recreational activity like hiking or swimming.
I guess it’s unanimous. 🙂 It’s been quite a while since I visited a library, but I have built up my own library of books that I use. Of your list, I am only missing the almanac, John.
When it comes to software, I find it easier to pull out a book. I’ve never understood training by video when it is complex and step-by-step. I like the visual of what the screen looks like, but I need that step-by-step in text form.
Actually, I’m also missing an almanac. That sort of frequently updated information is usually easily available online, often on Wikipedia, although there is some controversy about using sites like Wikipedia as definite sources.
I also prefer to learn software from a book, although I have done a bit of training through Lynda.com. (I highly recommend that site.)