Today, we will take a tour in the UCSB Davidson Library with a research librarian to learn how best to find information there. Contrary to some opinion, libraries and books are anything but obsolete—they continue to provide a central locus for research and information. They are citadels of ideas.
One of the staunchest and most articulate defenders of libraries was science-fiction writer, Ray Bradbury. In a June 2009 interview with the New York Times, he ascribed the bulk of his education to libraries:
"Libraries raised me. I don't believe in colleges and universities. I believe in libraries because most students don't have any money. When I graduated from high school, it was during the Depression and we had no money. I couldn't go to college, so I went to the library three days a week for 10 years," he said. "I read everything in the library. I read everything. I took out 10 books a week so I had a couple of hundred books a year I read, on literature, poetry, plays, and I read all the great short stories, hundreds of them. I graduated from the library when I was 28 years old. That library educated me, not the college."
The UCSB Davidson Library provides an outstanding listing of subject and course guides to help you. These can help you locate specialized materials to assist you with your research. Your last, best resources are the reference and research librarians themselves. They are intimately familiar with the nooks and crannies of the library and can easily save you many hours of needless confusion.