Welcome!

This blog post originally appeared 10/2/2007.

Welcome to the Mississippi Library Commission Reference blog! Reference staff will be posting information on the services we provide, exciting new reference sources, and nuggets of reference knowledge that we glean from our patrons.

MLC is a state agency that has recently opened to the public. While we've always answered reference questions from whoever has asked -- state employees, public libraries, individuals in Mississippi, and patrons from out of state and out of country -- now individuals can visit our beautiful new facility here in Jackson at 3881 Eastwood Drive and get their own MLC library card, providing they are 17+ and are in good standing with any public library in the state. If you have a question, you can email us at mlcref@mlc.lib.ms.us or call our Information Desk at 601.432.4492 or 1-877-KWIK-REF.

Speaking of reference nuggets, did you know that cheese was once used as a deadly weapon? According to Fast Answers to Common Questions, "[d]uring a mid-19th century naval battle between Brazil and Uruguay, hard balls of stale Dutch cheese were used by the latter in lieu of cannonballs, which were in short supply during the conflict. Reportedly, two Brazilian sailors were struck and killed by the cheese."

These are the kinds of tidbits that we come across every day in the reference department. If you have a question, email us and we'll get right back to you!

(Fischer, Carolyn A., ed. Fast Answers to Common Questions. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2000. p. 89.)