What’s that dark shadow creeping in the corner?!? Yes, it’s your term paper, lurking and looming as the witching hour of the semester draws near. Each day you procrastinate your research, it’s shade deepens and grows more terrifying. EEK! Like the sinister words of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven,” the specter speaks only in omens, driving you from your dorm in desperation.
If only there was someone who could help you get started, who could help you find the sources you need, who could help you figure out what your professor means by “scholarly.” Then you could defeat that demon research project that hovers so hauntingly. Alas, there is! Delivering both tricks—for defeating the research demons—and treats—of the candy kind, are your friendly research librarians.
On Halloween, stop by the Research Consultation Office for Tricks and Treats between 10:00 am and 8:00 pm. In addition to a cauldron of candy, you’ll find tricks for getting started on your research, finding the best books and articles, and citing your sources. You can also learn tricks for finding spooky sources to suit your own Halloween habits, like horror and film noir features in our DVD collection, or frightful fiction (now that you’ve got that research paper in the bag).
FUN TRICK! To whet your appetite, here’s a fun trick. You can use the library database American Community Survey to find facts related to Halloween, like the tidbit that the U.S. imports $12.4 million in pumpkins!