I’ve spent some time collecting journal articles relevant to my interests; mostly online, but about 10% of them I’ve had to pull out of the university library (the actual physical building! in this day and age!). And as shocking to me as it is, I have only recently considered all the time people must have put into these articles. How many hours go into the research for just one article? Extrapolating that to one binding with dozens of articles, then the entire shelf you are standing next to, then the entire floor, and entire library, completely blows my mind. I wonder how many collective research hours/years are in a university library?

I guess actually starting my own project and realizing how much time it is taking me, combined with the forays into the library that end with me lugging an awkward 30 pounds of bound journals (for only 6 actual articles, damn giant bindings!) down to the copy room has precipitated these thoughts. I am disappointed that I’ve never though a second about it before. As an undergrad, all those rows were just an impedance to the specific thing I was looking for.