I have to say this again...historical research is not an easy endeavor. Hay naku!
Just this afternoon I met with Dr. Jose to discuss some problems with my data gathering for my 205 paper. One persistent problem I was having is that the online catalog of the main library does not list the annual reports of the united states high commissioners to the president of the united states on the state of the philippine commonwealth, an important document I had to get my hands on. I tried typing variations of the title - even the whole damn thing pero olats pa rin.
Sir Jose told me that the multivolume reports are there in the filipiniana section, just tucked away in an obscure corner. So having received that assurance from a person 'in the know', I marched back to the main lib and requested a staff member to fish out the volume I'm looking for - quietly but firmly insisting na meron po yan dyan, sabi ng Prof namen...(please, para niyo nang awa...)
The student assistant seemed lost and directed me back to the online catalog, then to the printed list of books. Gusto ko nang sabihin na pati card catalog hinalukay ko na pero wala talaga pero mag-iinsist talaga ako na meron diyan...sabi ni Prof Jose nga eh...
Good thing a veteran member of the library staff came to my aid. And so finally, the book I was looking for (1936 report of the US high commissioner) was found but alas, it was already 5 PM (closing time ng filipiniana section) so I just took note of the book's call number for easy reference when I return tomorrow.
Phew! binalhas man ko pangita libro bah...Sir Jose was kind enough to provide some guides as to which libraries or collections I can go to in order to look for sources relevant to my work.
The quest for elusive historical sources shall continue well into the next month, maybe even the semestral break. waaaaaah! I can feel another INC in the making...
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