2.15.2010

How does "Mad Men" maintain historical accuracy? Librarians, of course.

"No Rest for the Query," a fun story about the remote reference services offered by the New York Public Library.

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.
Some of the questions are beyond the reach of Google, which often generates more results than answers, said Samantha Thompson, who manages ASK NYPL.

"We're there for those times when what you find on the Internet is insufficient," she said.
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