In the essay “The Varieties of Travel Experience,” the author reflects on their experience working in a Telephone Reference Division in the 1980s. They describe the diverse range of callers and the high-stress environment of the job, highlighting the psychological games played by callers and the pressure to provide accurate information. The author discusses the advantages of analog ways of gathering information and laments the loss of scholarly resources like encyclopedias in favor of sources like Wikipedia. Despite the challenges, the author fondly recalls the ingenuity and teamwork of their colleagues in finding information for callers.
https://hedgehogreview.com/issues/the-varieties-of-travel-experience/articles/the-department-of-everything