Take a photo of a barcode or cover
This was a fun visually-aided piece that both depicted various types of libraries across mostly the U.S., and had digestible sections talking about the histories of specific libraries. It had accounts from outside-the-box librarians who saw a need and filled it in a way that would seem unorthodox as to common expectations of libraries. It also featured many writers and their stories about how libraries shaped/inspired them to further cement the impact of libraries on communities and individuals.
"Librarians are warrior princes and princesses wielding book love like swords! We are vigilant, curious, intelligent, and kind. Libraries are the banners that we carry proudly into the fray! Forward, ever forward!" - Susan K. McClelland
This is a really beautiful tribute to libraries and librarians everywhere. Yes, it's a bit repetitive at times but that's because the message is an important one.
Libraries can be many things to many people: a research space, study area, refuge, etc. It is free education or simply a way to discover new places. This book does a great job at demonstrating that as well as showcasing both the similarities and diversity of libraries everywhere.
This is a really beautiful tribute to libraries and librarians everywhere. Yes, it's a bit repetitive at times but that's because the message is an important one.
Libraries can be many things to many people: a research space, study area, refuge, etc. It is free education or simply a way to discover new places. This book does a great job at demonstrating that as well as showcasing both the similarities and diversity of libraries everywhere.
After reading this book, it made me wish I had trained to be a librarian. I've always loved libraries for, well, the books. But This is What a Librarian looks like made me realise that for many communities, a library is so much more than just about borrowing books. It is a lifeline: "programs for children and teens, after school programmes, computer classes, programmes to support small businesses and job seekers, visits from day care, community and senior centers, community meetings...English as a Second Language programmes" to name a few.
This is What a Librarian Looks Like features librarians from all across America - from public libraries at the town, city and state levels, high school libraries, university libraries, research libraries, libraries in correctional facilities and hospitals - speaking about their role. It also features essays written by guest authors such as Neil Gaiman (his essay was one of my favourites), Cory Doctorow, Amanda Palmer speaking about the importance of the library in their lives, and essays on different libraries and the different roles they play in their respective communities (the LA Central Library, the Lewis and Clark Bookmobile in Montana; the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library in Northampton Massachusetts, the Tablet Room at UPenn and the Greybull Public Library in Wyoming, to name a few).
It amazed me how broadly librarians interpreted their mandate to support the public's access to knowledge, their mission to build communities. They described libraries as "community centers, schools, health clinics, post officers, movie theatres, job placement centers", "safe place(s) for the maligned members of our community", catalysts for democracy, "places of community". Librarians saw themselves as "search ninjas", "sense-makers of complicated information environments", "connectors" of people and ideas, of past, present and future, "guide(s) to what's possible", "social worker, educator, storyteller, advocate and activist". I was amazed by some of the programmes librarians initiated and fought for: Nick Higgins at the Brooklyn Public Library created a programme in 2010 called Daddy and Me, which involved incarcerated parents at Rikers Island reading to their children and delivering a DVD to their child, to help connect kids with their parents; library director Mary Anne Antonellis of the M.N. Spear Memorial Library in Shutesbury, Massachusetts got a bunch of kayaks to loan out by the old town beach so that people could explore the lake without having to own a boat or transport one to the lake; Briony Zlomke Beckstrom is a youth services librarian at the Franklin Public Library in Franklin, Wisconsin in Milwaukee who started an American Girl Doll lending program so that little girls in the community could get a chance to play with the dolls even if they couldn't afford one of their own; Bretagne Byrd drives a 32 foot Freightliner which serves as a mobile library for communities in rural Montana.
Along the way, you also learn interesting nuggets like how librarians are increasingly automating the process of deciding which books in their collection to cull, using software like "Decision Centre to isolate recommendations for weeding, shelving allocation, floating collections, etc", and the tensions between archival and circulating collections.
A lovely, lovely read.
This is What a Librarian Looks Like features librarians from all across America - from public libraries at the town, city and state levels, high school libraries, university libraries, research libraries, libraries in correctional facilities and hospitals - speaking about their role. It also features essays written by guest authors such as Neil Gaiman (his essay was one of my favourites), Cory Doctorow, Amanda Palmer speaking about the importance of the library in their lives, and essays on different libraries and the different roles they play in their respective communities (the LA Central Library, the Lewis and Clark Bookmobile in Montana; the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library in Northampton Massachusetts, the Tablet Room at UPenn and the Greybull Public Library in Wyoming, to name a few).
It amazed me how broadly librarians interpreted their mandate to support the public's access to knowledge, their mission to build communities. They described libraries as "community centers, schools, health clinics, post officers, movie theatres, job placement centers", "safe place(s) for the maligned members of our community", catalysts for democracy, "places of community". Librarians saw themselves as "search ninjas", "sense-makers of complicated information environments", "connectors" of people and ideas, of past, present and future, "guide(s) to what's possible", "social worker, educator, storyteller, advocate and activist". I was amazed by some of the programmes librarians initiated and fought for: Nick Higgins at the Brooklyn Public Library created a programme in 2010 called Daddy and Me, which involved incarcerated parents at Rikers Island reading to their children and delivering a DVD to their child, to help connect kids with their parents; library director Mary Anne Antonellis of the M.N. Spear Memorial Library in Shutesbury, Massachusetts got a bunch of kayaks to loan out by the old town beach so that people could explore the lake without having to own a boat or transport one to the lake; Briony Zlomke Beckstrom is a youth services librarian at the Franklin Public Library in Franklin, Wisconsin in Milwaukee who started an American Girl Doll lending program so that little girls in the community could get a chance to play with the dolls even if they couldn't afford one of their own; Bretagne Byrd drives a 32 foot Freightliner which serves as a mobile library for communities in rural Montana.
Along the way, you also learn interesting nuggets like how librarians are increasingly automating the process of deciding which books in their collection to cull, using software like "Decision Centre to isolate recommendations for weeding, shelving allocation, floating collections, etc", and the tensions between archival and circulating collections.
A lovely, lovely read.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Library are a valuable resource for our community, that can be underutilized. I enjoyed the discussion about how libraries help our communities in various ways. Libraries can be literally lifesaving for some.
It mentions that it's based on a slide show and doesn't go much deeper than that.
A book about libraries! Librarians and libraries and all of the various ways that they enrich our lives besides just books. The author went to the annual American Librarians' conference and photographed a bunch of librarians and got them to give a blurb about the best part of being a librarian or challenges faced by librarians and the myriad offerings of libraries around the country, from dolls to food to presidential memorabilia. Interspersed between the photographs of librarians are essays from famous librarians like Nancy Pearl or essays from authors like Neil Gaiman or George R.R. Martin. Honestly this book makes me wish that I had gone to school to become a librarian after all.
Would like one that focuses on world librarians and not just American
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
If you think libraries are just for books, you need to read this now! Libraries are so much more then just a house for books. Each library full fills the communities needs and as we now, each community is different from the next. That is why they are so important!
I think this book is great for the general public, anyone who has a very specific idea of what a library is and needs their perspective broadened. However, it's not so good for a reader like me who already works in a library, someone who's already aware of the broad range of options for a librarian's career focus. This is shelved in the library science section and it's a thick book, which made me think it would go in depth as to different librarians' jobs. For example, a section on academic librarians versus public service librarians versus technical services librarians versus special collections librarians, archivists, etc. This book clearly had the opportunity to do that with the range of librarians quoted inside, but it failed to take that opportunity. It gave this massive list of librarians one paragraph each and what all did they say? Pretty much the same thing...Libraries are important. At that point, it's more a photography book and should be shelved in the photography section, rather than the library science section. But, as others have said, some of the photography isn't quality. And sadly, I even found a typo early on. I'm giving this two stars instead of one mainly because another reader may enjoy it...and also the Cory Doctorow essay made it worth it. The rest of the author essays all repeated the same, overstated message--Libraries matter, and here are my memories of libraries and books from my childhood, etc. So much of this book is sweet in small doses (a coffee table read, for sure), but it missed a huge opportunity to be so much more and is lacking a certain quality to even be the best at what it tried to be.