Yes, the NYT is a newspaper

I called the university library last week. I'd read something in the New York Times that I wanted to share with a grad student. But I'd read it over the weekend, in my paper version, and I couldn't remember the author. I had a vague idea it was an op-ed piece. And although I am a subscriber and so am eligible for the so-called Times Select service, I've thus far refused to sign up for it because I haven't found a way to anonymize my reading of Time Select pieces (whereas my 13-year-old login for the electronic NYT website isn't associated with my real name). In a flight of paranoia, I've decided I don't want my reading habits tracked to my real name. So, no Times Select for me. But I want to get this piece for Emma. So I call the library to see if we have university access to Times Select. We have access to the Times archive via our library subscriptions, but I'd need to know something like the title or the author to track down the piece. On the other hand, all I know is "it was in Sunday's edition." A difficult search criteria given the way library databases are built.

A young man answers the phone. I explain my problem. He thinks for a moment, then says he doesn't know, but he'll forward me to the microfilm and periodicals person. But first he pauses, to make sure he's transferring me to the right person. "The NYT is a newspaper, right?"