So meteor man is an Istari. If he's Gandalf they are taking the easy way out , and as I mentioned before creates a huge plothole in LOTR (and arguably The Hobbit). Gandalf being around for the forging of the rings means he will appreciate what it is almost immediately when Frodo if not Bilbo acquires there would be no need to do research in the library of Minas Tirinth.
Unless he is Radagast I guess. But then I'm assuming that Gandalf could have simply asked him rather than dig through the library.