There is a fantastic article in the 12/31 New York Times entitled The Library's Helpful Sage of the Stacks, about David Smith, a reference librarian at the New York Public Library who has helped many authors out with knotty research questions and who is in turn venerated and respected by them. This is a great lesson on how to pimp your library using the skills that you already possess, coupled with a willingness to walk up to people and say "how can I help you today?" We can't all be David Smith, Librarian to the Stars, but we can certainly reach out and offer our skills more to the people in the communities we serve, instead of waiting for them to approach us (which they may never do).

 

Want to read the article? Here it is: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/31/arts/31rese.html?ex=1356757200&en=8f2e05066105390d&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink