My Faithful Clerk Helen: "Hey, boss, we need to get a new Bible for the library."

Me, Learned Librarian: "Whut? We have the King James version."

FC Helen, dissolving into laughter: "Oh, you are so funnee! I love that sarcasm!"

Me: "No, really, why would we need a new one? Have the gospels changed or something?"

FC Helen: "Ohhhh, I thought you were kidding. Yes, English has moved on since King James."

Me: "OK, I'll get a new one. Hey, what's this Apocrypha stuff?"

Thanks for all your help in setting up my class at 3 Ravens. The people who took the class said they learned a lot. I was surprised because several of them were Laurels and I expected them to know about the things I was presenting.

I am going to present this class again at Aethelmearc Academy, June 20-22, in my home Shire of Coppertree.

The main points of the class:

1) You can get the books you need to do research from your local library, for free.
2) Whether books are at your public library or at an academic or research library, a lot of them are classified by Library of Congress subject headings.
3) When you find the Library of Congress subject heading(s) that describe your subject, you can find the books that you need.
4) The WorldCat (http://www.worldcat.org) is a world-wide online library catalog, containing records of over 45 million books, CDs, DVDs, etc. from libraries worldwide. They are classified by Library of Congress subject headings.
5) You can search the WorldCat and find books you would like to borrow. Your local library will usually be able to get them for you on interlibrary loan (ILL).
6) Another way to find Library of Congress subject headings for topics you'd like to research is to look at the books to which you have access. Many books, especially those printed more recently, have Cataloging-in Publication data on the verso, the reverse side of the title page. This can be CIP data from the Library of Congress (for American books), the British Library, or the Canadian Library. The data will include subject headings. Use them to find more books on your chosen topic!
7) The Library of Congress subject headings are written down in a set of reference books that are owned by many libraries. Ask your librarian to show you how to use the books, and open your life to free and valuable research.

I"m teaching a class at C3R. This is an A&S event, the College of Three Ravens, in Thescorre (Rochester, NY).

The class is about finding information for your SCA research. I'm discussing how you can use your local library since I am a librarian and know something about this stuff.

I don't think I can get an Internet hook-up at the site so if I show online stuff it will have to be screen shots from my laptop shown on a projector. Sort of boring but better than just listening to me blather for an hour.

What do you all think that a SCA researcher would like to know that I could tell them? Especially the people who are new to doing research. I'm all for showing people about Library of Congress subject headings and how to use them to find that perfect book on the WorldCat database that they can get on interlibrary loan, but you probably have some other ideas.

Please let me know your thoughts. The event will be in a week and a half, and I need to get some planning done here.

Thank you!