Research is important to what we do as individuals who strive to recreate the items and processes of the past. The foundation of our research is our resources. Often we start small, with a few websites (often built by other members of the SCA), maybe a few museum links, and eventually we end up building whole libraries (often of rare books and articles) in our chose area of interest.
My recommendation is to start organizing it, and keeping track of it, now. Manage your bibliography in a manner that not only allows you to know what sources you already have, but in a way that allows you to readily search it for quick details that might let you know that a book in your possession already has some of the information you need for a new project. Make notes about each item that can assist with this.
There are amazing reference managers out there that are free, such as Mendeley, which I personally love. ( awanderingelf.weebly.com/blog-my-journey/mendeley-for-the-sca-researcher ) But even a spreadsheet would serve the purpose here.
It is much, much easier to start early, than to start 10 years into it (which is where I am at, and trust me, it is a painful place to be). I am working on a bibliography (with a focus on Norse textiles and costume) now, that I will eventually share publicly, but I am only 200 items into it and have many, many more to go.
So yes, it is in your own best interest to start early!
(As I work on this eternal-seeming project, I might be posting some book reviews here, so keep an eye out for those as well!)
My recommendation is to start organizing it, and keeping track of it, now. Manage your bibliography in a manner that not only allows you to know what sources you already have, but in a way that allows you to readily search it for quick details that might let you know that a book in your possession already has some of the information you need for a new project. Make notes about each item that can assist with this.
There are amazing reference managers out there that are free, such as Mendeley, which I personally love. ( awanderingelf.weebly.com/blog-my-journey/mendeley-for-the-sca-researcher ) But even a spreadsheet would serve the purpose here.
It is much, much easier to start early, than to start 10 years into it (which is where I am at, and trust me, it is a painful place to be). I am working on a bibliography (with a focus on Norse textiles and costume) now, that I will eventually share publicly, but I am only 200 items into it and have many, many more to go.
So yes, it is in your own best interest to start early!
(As I work on this eternal-seeming project, I might be posting some book reviews here, so keep an eye out for those as well!)
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