News

Last night was a night of unusually good reference questions, prompted by the news media.


 Loud Background Noise Woman, who usually wants contact info for various organizations and famous people, described a U.S.A. Today article she had read that had included an unfamiliar word she meant to look up. Unfortunately, she lost the paper on which she had copied it down. However, from describing its context I could tell her that the word was "vitriol."


Another patron called asking for more information on a New York Times headline he read--was it true that evidence had come out suggesting that kidney transplants that were not a 'match' were still worthwhile? I looked into it and I think it is a Johns Hopkins study described here, which found that getting a mismatched kidney soon was better for patients in need than waiting a long period in the hopes of getting a matched kidney in the future. I was so excited that he brought the study to my attention that I said so, and we had a short, pleasant little exchange, which ended with me saying, "Thanks for calling, have a good night" and him replying "Hang on to your kidneys!" before he hung up.