In Praise of Bibliographies

Whenever I’ve taught research methods to middle school and high school students, I’ve often claimed a magic resource exists for the object of their research. Sometimes, just sometimes, a scholar, author, or historian is so fluent in their topic that they clearly credit numerous others in a single text. And that book is magic in its ability to point to ideas, connections, subtopics, and other books and journals. I attempt to inspire my students to read bibliographies and endnotes with that in mind, to think of it like an investigation. Some do find a magic resource, but only a few experience the thrill of the hunt and the sigh of relief that help has been found.

Sometimes you find that magic book in a bibliography; sometimes it’s hiding in an old-school footnote, “See Charles Augustus Milverton for further thoughts on acquiring the personal correspondence of others (Blackmailing for Everyone, 1880).” I look it up, and there it is. Milverton has already done a chunk of research and written on the very thing I need! I order the book immediately. If only it were always this easy.
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I found this to be true years ago in my own research stacks when I was reading lots of Willa Cather’s short and long fiction. The fiction I could find easily, but I also had to know what other scholars had already said. I wouldn’t want my research interest (or thesis!) to duplicate another’s. In my early Cather research, I was borrowing books from within the local library system and through interlibrary loans. Some books were helpful. Many were not. It’s the age-old riddle of research work, much like perusing a flea market looking for a valuable antique. I had to determine what was valuable to me. That Cather culling helped me know what to invest in and literally purchase for my own library. . .

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