The best-laid plans . . .

Any time you're headed for a faraway repository, a phone call ahead of time is a good idea. Archives are never as well described on their web sites as libraries are. Some places that function as archives are called libraries. And even libraries have taken up the peculiar custom of closing down entirely on random days for "staff training."

But as I learned last week, you can't really call ahead and ask some busy attendant if everything on the long list of books and films you want to see is actually on the shelf, and not in some back room being revamped, repaired, or reboxed. So just be sure you have plenty of different things to do.