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[amyamy]

Is it generally considered pretentious for a writer/ student to footnote hu's gratitude, say, to the staff of a specialist library, in a research seminar paper? I know it is perfectly acceptable, even expected, to put such a footnote in a journal paper. What about a research paper waiting to be graded by the professor?

I am not sure if I should put such a footnote in one of my papers (which I do wish to get published in the near future) I do feel grateful to the library staff, but to be honest I also want my professor to realize how much effort I've put in (not many of my peers would bother to go to other research libraries, given that most research articles are available online anyway)

[pink_]

I never did this for a seminar paper, though it is, as you note, customary to do so in publications.

[verysneaky]

I think this is a case where a) your presumably extensive bibliography and b) your unusually high-quality research will speak for themselves. Trust the time you put in: assuming you spent that time well, it will be apparent from the quality of the work itself.

[larryc]

If you want to thank a librarian (or anyone) so that it really counts, send a short email to their boss. "Dear Dean of the Libraries: I just want to tell you how helpful your reference librarian, Suzy Stacks, has been this semester. Her knowledge of the library's resources really helped me, blah blah blah. Signed, Amyamy."

BCC the librarian in question.