Feb 28, 2011

A Search for Nightingale

How we went about locating the collection list:

We started our search with the Lilly Library website. From the website there are a number of ways to locate the information on Elizabeth Tuttle's manuscript collection that we were looking for. For example an alphabetical search, topics search (Medicine & Science), or simply, a search bar. Each of there search options led us to the information page that presented us the Lilly Library's offerings: a folio collection of 119 items. Because this collection is available in physical form, we would have needed to fill out a pink slip available at the information desk in the reading room with the collection name (Tuttle MMS) on it. Since this is a small collection, we would be able to gain access to the whole collection at once. However, for larger collections, specific boxes may be requested one at a time. If we had not been looking for a specific collection, the topics search in Medicine & Science would have been, and will be, very helpful for discovering and locating related materials.

Next we were able to search IUCat for additional resources. Here, title, author, and keyword search boxes may prove helpful. This is particularly beneficial because all IUCat resources are available online, at any time. However, there are numerous in-house procedures for locating materials at the Lilly Library. These include searching the shelf list and card catalogue, by request, with the help of a Lilly Library reading room staff member. The card catalogs are very helpful locating books within a certain subject. Searching for resources by subject allows you to look for every book that could benefit your research. The shelf lists are also helpful in identifying books categorized around the same region as the book you were looking for. These sources could end up being just as helpful as the book you were originally looking for.

by: Meaghan Ternik, Hannah May, and Deirdre Hutchinson

5 comments:

Belle Kim said...

I think you guys did a great job explaining in detail how to find resources relating to your research. It would have been nice if I could have seen some examples of what you found and how it related to the topic you were researching, however. What did you find after going through this process that you didn't find for Phase 1?

Deirdre said...

We learned that the Lilly Library does not contain a vast amount of sources authored by Nightingale, but this search process brought up some articles where Nightingale is mentioned and referenced. This will prove very helpful down the road if we need more sources.
We were also able to look through the book "Notable Medical Books" and on page 215, they offered some notes about Nightingale. Even though it is only one page, it is still significant that she made it into a predominantly male collection. Maybe something we shall have to research further!

Hannah May said...

We also found Elizabeth Tuttle's Certificate of Honorable Discharge when looking her up in the Lilly's search.
There was also the link to “ Tuttle MSS” where it had a short description of her life and some facts and then told us that the collection of her letters was in a folio folder in the Lilly Library. Wondering what a folio folder was, we asked at the desk and learned that it was just the way collections were organized and kept together. To be able to get the collection (you can only check one of them out at a time) you can request it at the desk.

To find Florence Nightingale, we did a broader search on IUCAT, which searches the whole database that IU has for its books. This includes the Lilly Library. All that came up was “RAWSON MSS” under which she was mentioned.
We then did a more specific search using IUCAT to use the Lilly Library as a keyword. When nothing more specific about her books came up, we then used the card catalog to find them. If it’s not in IUCAT, then it’s in the card catalog.

The card catalog is organized by subject, author, or title and the draws to the card catalog can be found in the Reading Room.
If you know the call number for the book you have, you can search for other books nearby by asking for the shelf listing around it.

Britt said...

I think that you all did a great job of explaining how to find resources at the library. I did not use the card catalog so it was nice to have that process explained. Although there were not a lot of resources on Nightingale it seems like you were able to find a few things.

Maybe for more research you could try to find books or manuscripts of other people doing similar work as Nightingale or even background information of the time in which she was writing. There are many different resources that can be found that can be lens for the main Nightingale papers. Good luck with phase three.

Emily Taylor said...

I appreciate that you pointed out the acailiabilty of resources through IU CAT; I actually did not think to look there when we where all at the Lilly together, and I feel like that might have been a huge resource I neglected to use!

Also, I think you bring up a very good point, that you CAN ask someone in the Lilly for help, because I know I thought the process was a little confusing at first. The idea of looking for resources located around the original items was looking for was a great suggestion to; it probably will be helpful in at least giving greater context to what I am reading!

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