Hunter College Libraries Blog

The Hunter College Libraries offer virtual reference services, either via chat reference or e-mails reference. Many of the questions that our reference librarians receive are quite straightforward — users need to find out information about locating a particular book or article, or they simply want to inquire about the library’s hours.

Other users have questions or requests which require more in depth expertises in searching & research skills that our reference librarians have to offer, in order to fulfill more complicated information queries . Here are a few examples of these more complex informational queries, (edited to preserve users’ anonymity), and their answers:

Q. Where can I find the Florence Nightingale oath?
A. The Nightingale Pledge can be found at http://www.accd.edu/SAC/NURSING/honors.html. The pledge was first used at Harper Hospital in Detroit in 1893, and is traditionally recited by nursing graduates during honors or pinning ceremonies. It was based on the Hippocratic Oath.

Q. Where can I find data on manufacturing for each borough of New York City?
A. The New York State Department of Labor has this information by county, going back to 1975. For earlier years, check the printed Decennial Census at the New York Public Library.

Q. Where can I find high school graduation rates for disabled students?
A. The National Center for Educational Outcomes, at the University of Minnesota, focuses on educational outcomes for students with disabilities. The National Center for Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education collects all kinds of education data.

Q. In 1952, when The Diary of Anne Frank was first published in the U.S., Meyer Levin reviewed the book for the New York Times. It later turned out that he had acted as agent for the book. How did editors respond to this at the time?
A. There are several books about Meyer Levin, the Diary, and Otto Frank, Anne’s father. Levin also wrote two volumes of memoirs, In Search (1961) and The Obsession (1973). You should also check the New York Times Historical database. Other places to look include MLA International Bibliography and America: History and Life.

Q. How do I find an op-ed piece about Bill Clinton, published during his presidency in USA Today and written by Julianne Malveaux?
A. The Journal Title List on the Hunter Library homepage shows that USA Today is included in the Lexis-Nexis database back to 1989. A search for Malveaux and Clinton produces 25 hits, one of which is “Why Blacks Stand by Clinton,” published on August 23, 1998.

Q. How can I find reviews of the book Amusing Ourselves to Death, by Neil Postman?
A. A search in Academic Search Premier shows 11 book reviews, Book Review Digest lists 28, and Mass Communication Complete has four more.

Q. I was researching my great-grandfather’s charcoal business in Google, and I came across a 1933 article in The Bookman magazine that mentions him. How can I find the complete article?
A. The Bookman for 1933 is not available online, but Hunter, the New York Public Library, and many other libraries have the magazine in print.

To take advantage of these services offered by the Hunter College Libraries, simply click on the Ask a Librarian link, located on the bottom left hand side of the Libraries’ main web page