KNOW-IT-ALLS: REFERENCE LIBRARIANS FIND ANSWERS TO LIFE'S MOST PRESSING QUESTIONS

Reference librarians don't know all the answers, but they know most of them.

The three reference librarians at the Cape Girardeau Public Library often are accused of being know-it-alls.

Reference librarian Betty Martin said they don't know everything. They have to look for it.

"We know how to find it," said Martin, who is adult services coordinator for the library.

She and fellow reference librarians Candy Heise and Renauta Gateley spend their days answering a wide range of questions.

"We are information providers," said Martin.

Heise enjoys ferreting out answers. "That is what I love about this job," she said. "You learn something new everyday."

They are as tenacious as detectives in unearthing facts. They rely on a wealth of resource materials from books to magazines to the Internet.

The Internet is a resource of last resort for the librarians. Martin said they generally can find information faster in books.

That is because the computer network isn't edited the way books are, she said.

One of the main reference books at the library is the Old Farmer's Almanac. Martin said it is probably the oldest reference book in the nation. The first issue of the Almanac was printed in 1792.

Some people make their inquiries in person. Others call on the phone.

Martin said they get calls from people sitting around in bars and at home who have made bets. In many cases, it is a sports question, such as a baseball player's batting average.

People call for answers to radio show trivia questions. When McDonald's ran its Disney trivia contest, people regularly called up the library for the answers.

People often seek out information from the reference desk about diseases. Many of them come to the library directly from their doctors' offices after being diagnosed with a particular disease.

They want to know more about it, Martin said.

Martin and her co-workers also get a lot of questions about hobbies.

People in the job market often seek information from the librarians about particular businesses.

Other customers want to know how to contact their congressmen.

Reference librarians must be skilled at finding out just what the customer really wants. Often the customer will ask a vague question.

The customer, for example, might ask about books on animals when what he or she really wants is information about dog training, Martin said.

Many customers visit the reference department for birth and death information.

"We do help people with genealogy," Martin said.

People call the library on spelling questions.

There are seasonal questions too. At Christmas time, people call wanting to know the names of Santa's reindeer, Gateley said.

In case you are wondering, the reindeer are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen.

Both college and high schools students come to the librarians for information.

"It is definitely busier during the school year," Martin said.

Some high school students come to the library with little more in mind than that they have to do a research project. "I haven't decided what to do. Can you help me?" a student will ask.

The librarians do their best to help, but they make the students do the work.

The reference librarians encourage customers to do their own research, whether on computer or by looking through printed resource materials.

They teach willing customers how to use the Internet. The reference department also offers formal training sessions on how to use the Internet. The half-hour sessions are offered Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

The librarians have compiled a list of "fugitive facts," answers to some of the most-often-asked questions.

There is no shortage of questions.

In most cases, they find the answer. But sometimes they are stumped.

A man recently inquired about the current market value of ambergris, the vomit from a sperm whale that is used in perfume.

The man said about 40 pounds of ambergris, wrapped in cheesecloth, had been in his family for years. A relative wanted to get rid of it.

The librarians found an ambergris web site on the Internet. But it didn't list a market value for the material, Heise said.

They put the question out on an Internet site in hopes that another librarian might have the answer.

But so far no answer has surfaced.

Heise said no question is insignificant to the librarians. They all are worth answering.

"There are no stupid questions," she said.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FROM THE REFERENCE DESK OF THE CAPE GIRARDEAU PUBLIC LIBRARY

Answer: Typically there are 360, but sometimes as many as 492.

How can I get a star named after me?

Answer: You can call International Star Registry of Ingleside, Ill., at 1-800-282-3333. The cost is $45. To date, more than 500,000 people have had stars named after them.

What book was written without the letter E?

Answer: "Gadsby" by Ernest Vincent Wright. Published in 1939, it has 267 pages and about 50,000 words, none with the letter E.

What is the name of Mr. Magoo's nearsighted dog?

Answer: McBaker.

What is the latitude and longitude of Cape Girardeau?

Answer: 37 degrees, 19 minutes north latitude; 89 degrees, 32 minutes west longitude.

How high is the KFVS tower?

Answer: 1,595 feet. With the antenna, 1,677 feet. The tower is 2,480 feet above sea level.

What colors make up a rainbow?

Answer: Red, orange, yellow, green, indigo and violet.

How large is the moon?

Its diameter is 2,160 miles.

When was Rush Limbaugh born?

Answer: Jan. 12, 1951.

What was George Washington's favorite flavor of ice cream?

Answer: vanilla