Dave, I co-authored three academic journal articles, so I know about the frustration of not being able to see your own work without paying.

Yep, all my best work is behind paywalls, can’t even get to it myself.

Leaving home to research in the library can definitely be a hassle. That’s why I always combine it with other errands, like shopping, or a recreational activity like hiking or swimming.

Actually, I’m also missing an almanac. That sort of frequently updated information is usually easily available online, often on Wikipedia, although there is some controversy about using sites like Wikipedia as definite sources.

I also prefer to learn software from a book, although I have done a bit of training through Lynda.com. (I highly recommend that site.)

When it comes to software, I find it easier to pull out a book. I’ve never understood training by video when it is complex and step-by-step. I like the visual of what the screen looks like, but I need that step-by-step in text form.

It surely has been ages when I sat and looked up matter or researched through book. I guess everything is really available online nowadays, and it does become difficult to leave home, especially if you are a woman managing your home, kids, and freelancing as well 🙂

But yes, sometimes if the work is such that does require the proper journal or academic kind of research etc- it does take me a whole day just organizing things so that I can step out and visit a library 🙂

Thanks for sharing 🙂

Totally agree, John, and if I needed to do academic research I’d head over to my local university and check out the shelves. Of course, it’s nice when the library has up to date software to make your search easier, but there’s also something to be said for walking between the stacks and finding something good you’d never have thought of otherwise. 🙂

Sharon, I definitely did most of my library research when I was in graduate school and when I was a researcher in biochemistry labs. However, it was also necessary when I wrote my hiking guidebooks in the 1990s, and a lot of the reference material I needed for those books is still not available online.

Many academic journals have print and online versions, but the online versions are behind a pay wall. Of course, most of us don’t need those journals, but for those of us who do, an actual library with the printed journals can be a major money saver.