Finding Your Sources...
Now that you have your list of sources, how do you find the sources
themselves? This is a problem for any research regardless of the sources he
or she is trying to use. While we have provided you with a list of source
references, unfortunately we cannot provide the sources themselves. TBI
contains many cataloged materials that are not easily obtained and the
researcher may have difficulty locating them.
The logical first place to go is one's local libraries; the larger, the
better. Academic libraries, particularly those at large universities, often
house excellent collections of books and periodicals. State historical
societies are also fine sources for baseball publications. But even if you
live far from large population centers, there is still the option of
InterLibrary Loan Services through your local library system. This can be a
time-consuming process taking weeks to fill your request, but many sources
can be obtained in this fashion and at low cost.
Another option may be to hire a research/document delivery service, such
as Rational Pastimes (www.rationalpastimes.com) to retrieve your sources.
Finally, there is traveling to the source itself. You may be able to locate
a library or archive in another city that has your source, but may be unable
to borrow it. In such events, there may be nothing for it but to travel to
that city to view the source.
Thank you for using the Baseball Index Data Service. Good luck with your
research and please remember us for your next baseball research project!
Ted Hathaway & Andy McCue
Project Directors
The Baseball Index
