When non-library people ask what my job is like, I jokingly tell them it’s combination detective, teacher, social worker, and bartender. I love all four aspects.

A woman asked for a book on the history of the seismograph. Specifically, she needed information on the one invented by Zhang Heng, a Chinese Scientist from the Han Dynasty who lived from 78-139 AD. A check of the WLS catalog revealed that Bronxville did not have a whole book on Zhang Heng or the history of the seismograph; nor did any WLS library. Our books on inventions contained pages on the seismograph, but one of a completely different design. Our biographical dictionaries, both scientific and general, made no mention of Zhang Heng. Same for the general encyclopedias and the Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. Through a Google search, I verified that such a person did exist and offered to print what I’d found. Her professor required a citation from an actual book, she said. I suggested that she go up to the children’s room to look through their invention books, though I wasn’t optimistic.

I always feel unsettled when I can’t satisfy a request, and after she left, I re-visited the WLS catalog. This time, I eliminated “seismograph” from my keywords and opted for the more general “China, science, history.” A book came up called The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery and Invention. Bronxville was one of the libraries that owned it. I checked the index, saw Zhang Heng, then raced up to the children’s room hoping the woman was still there. She was.

The scavenger hunt is always fun, but the most rewarding part of my job is seeing the happy look on a patron’s face. This woman was glowing.