Staff Picks: This Is What a Librarian Looks Like

There’s a wonderful new book in the library’s collection called This Is What a Librarian Looks Like, which includes thoughts from writers such as Neil Gaiman, Jude Deveraux, and Nancy Pearl and more than 200 photographs of librarians across the globe with their thoughts about what it means to be a librarian and why libraries are essential to our communities and culture.

 Here are just a few of the many quotes I liked:

“Libraries encourage creativity and innovation and provide opportunities for lifelong learning. Librarians are the ultimate search ninjas.”

“Libraries are the people’s university. As the cost of a formal education rises and the options for learning in non-traditional formats increase, libraries will be the great equalizer, allowing everyone to grow and embrace their passions.”

“Libraries are part of the essential services in every community. First responders save lives. Librarians make lives.”

“There is no time in which I would rather be a librarian than today…unless it is tomorrow. We have never lived in a time where the data, information, resources, and tools exist to meet people’s needs and in which our abilities to navigate them are more vital.”

“When I was growing up I always saw the library as a refuge, a launch pad, and an oasis. I want to make sure others have the same opportunity to experience the magic of the library.”

“In the morning, I’m a rock star to a room full of preschoolers; midday, I’m a social worker, assisting a recently unemployed patron in finding resources; in the afternoon, I’m an educator leading kids through an after-school science workshop. Librarians serve so many purposes and wear so many hats, but all of them change lives.”

“Why libraries? Innovation, creativity, inspiration, diversity, community.”

I hope that browsing through this book brings you as much joy and inspiration as it brought me.

Stephen Kight
Assistant Director for Public Services