Cool. I love Mad Men

NY Public Library's researchers field calls & texts 24/7
By Jeremy Olshan, New York Post

They have an answer for (almost) everything. Whether it's the writers of "Mad Men" calling to ensure the hit show's portrayal of the city in 1963 is accurate, or a fourth-grader stumped on her science project, the research librarians at the New York Public Library are the question authorities.

Created in the 1960s as the telephone reference desk, the team of six senior librarians in the catalogue area of the stunning Rose Reading Room now take hundreds of questions each day by phone, e-mail, online chat -- and, as of a few weeks ago -- by text message.

Most of the requests relate to mundane matters such as obtaining a library card, but each day there are several dozen juicy "cherry questions," senior librarian Bernard van Maarseveen told The Post.

"These are our bread-and-butter questions -- the ones that keep us coming in each day and keep us from calling out sick," he said. "These could take days or weeks."

The writers of "Mad Men," for instance, call frequently while working on the show. For example:

"Right now on taxi cabs you have lights that say 'off duty,' and they wanted to know if those lights were on in 1963," said Maarseveen, whose desk is piled with books filled with such Big Apple arcana.

"They also wanted to know what was scheduled to be on TV the day of the Kennedy assassination," he said... (full article)