Lauren Farrell

Common Hour: Be Curious Library Assignment

When I first searched the library’s database, I didn’t really know what I was looking for. I

simply selected the first book on Frank Lloyd Wright that showed up. After typing my cell phone

number in, the call number for the book was sent to me via text message. Not wanting to be seen

as a novice freshman, I started wandering upstairs in search of the call number without asking for

help. After about fifteen minutes of searching, I caved and asked for direction at the Research

Desk. The woman working there was very friendly and told me exactly where I could find the

book, and told me to come back if I had trouble finding it. In hindsight, it would have been much

easier to ask in the first place and it wasn’t embarrassing at all.

Upon locating the book hiding in the back corner of the fourth floor, I soon realized that

it was not going to be useful for my research paper. Although it was very detailed with lots of

relevant illustrations, the book focused more on Frank Lloyd Wright’s theory of residential

architecture in general, rather than specific discussion of individual houses. Much to my luck

however, the surrounding books where about Frank Lloyd Wright as well. I leafed through about

ten books before deciding. Apprentice to Genius by Edgar Tafel and Hometown Architect by

Patrick Cannon were the two books I selected. Apprentice to Genius caught my eye, not only

because it offered another perspective into the world of Wright, but because it focused on some

of Wright’s later works and organized each building by chapter for easy reference. Hometown

Architect interested me because of it’s layout. The table of contents is a numbered map

corresponding to over 30 Frank Lloyd Wright structures. The book is very detailed with big color

pictures, which will definitely help in getting a feel of the houses that we weren’t able to visit in
person. Overall, I think Apprentice to Genius will be more helpful for my final paper than

Hometown Architect, because it discusses more of the structures listed in the suggested paper

topics and seems to be a more in depth discussion rather than a mere summary. Even though I

ended up walking out of the library with two entirely different books than what I originally

searched for, I feel confident that they will be helpful in helping me complete my research paper.

Although I am not a stranger to looking for books in the library, I found it more difficult

than expected to find what I was looking for. It would have been much easier had I asked for

help in the first place, because they gave me a very helpful handout of Quick Facts about the

library that helped orient me to the space. In high school, I spent time in specific sections of the

library, such as fiction or non-fiction, and mostly depended on online databases to collect

research materials. Now with an extended range of resources here at DePaul, it would be silly not

to take advantage of them. This assignment also helped me discover the many other services the

library offers, such as reserving study rooms, the ability to get books from other libraries in

Illinois, and research help.