Hello! I’m Barb Scoby from the Cataloging Maintenance Center and the Illinois Heartland Library System Edwardsville hub. I have worked for IHLS for a little over a year, and during this time, many interesting items have come across my desk. From a die-cast model of a car honoring Ronald Reagan to a rubber stamper attached to a block of wood, the items I receive are unique. So, what happens when I encounter an item that is unknown to me or when the details about the item are not immediately apparent? I put on my detective hat and search for clues, of course.

First, I contact the library that sent the item. Unfortunately, most of the mystery items I catalog are donations to the library, and the library staff have very little information to give me.

My next step is to take a picture of the item and do an image search online. This can be helpful in figuring out what an item or its function is, but it doesn’t always help in the discovery of specific information, such as dates and creators.

This is the point where I turn to the wisdom of the crowd. I show friends, family members, co-workers, and some random people pictures of the item and ask if they know anything about it. One of my friends is an artist and also has experience appraising tableware. Her knowledge has been most helpful in my searches.

Thanks to these tools, resources, and techniques, I've cracked the case on many mystery items. Here are a few that I've been able to uncover: