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As a librarian, I could not resist this! It has quotes from many librarians about the importance of libraries and why they are librarians and I could relate so much to them. It also incorporates short essays on interesting libraries and authors like Neil Gaiman.
I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book!!! I immediately knew that I would eventually check it out from my local public library. Okay where should I start??!! Well, first of all all the photos of the librarians around the country. That made up the whole book long with a small bit of information about what they felt that libraries did or what they did as librarians. It brought me back to the first time I was in a school library and then the first time I was in a public library in my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. It was just so much nostalgia when the librarians talked about kids who found their love and passion for reading in a library. Also, the stereotype of the little old white lady librarian was smashed! There was every color and gender of librarian shown in this book. And there were so many beautiful black and brown faces, it made me so happy and proud.
This book also highlighted that not only are libraries necessary for lending and reading books, most public libraries have so many other programs like story time or hosting a local book club and a refuge for homeless to stay warm and dry. But library funding is the first to be slashed sadly.
These librarians highlighted why we need libraries. Libraries provide access to the internet for people who may not be able to afford it in their homes. That Internet and WiFi access alone helps job seekers, unemployed people do resumes and gives people access to other information not necessarily within the library itself.
To paraphrase Neil Gaiman: "Google can give you lot's of answers, a librarian will give you the correct on"
Shout out to all the Librarians that I know personally and all the librarians at The Cleveland Public Library and the Lakewood Public library..you guys ROCK!!!
This book also highlighted that not only are libraries necessary for lending and reading books, most public libraries have so many other programs like story time or hosting a local book club and a refuge for homeless to stay warm and dry. But library funding is the first to be slashed sadly.
These librarians highlighted why we need libraries. Libraries provide access to the internet for people who may not be able to afford it in their homes. That Internet and WiFi access alone helps job seekers, unemployed people do resumes and gives people access to other information not necessarily within the library itself.
To paraphrase Neil Gaiman: "Google can give you lot's of answers, a librarian will give you the correct on"
Shout out to all the Librarians that I know personally and all the librarians at The Cleveland Public Library and the Lakewood Public library..you guys ROCK!!!
The only reason i didn't give this five stars is because as a Canadian I was disappointed that there was only 2 Canadian librarians out of the 350 (at least that I was able to identify).
I've always had an aversion to self-promotion, personally and professionally (which explains a lot, I know). This book is the opposite of that: cover-to-cover cheerleading for librarianship. While I'm familiar with it all (jaded?), it's still an important message to get out. We get to see and hear from various librarians from across the country, as well as read essays from authors such as Neil Gaiman and Cory Doctorow about how much they value libraries.
This is a nicely put-together book that I would recommend sharing with anyone who questions the relevancy of libraries today. I'm glad so many others are out there fighting the good fight.
This is a nicely put-together book that I would recommend sharing with anyone who questions the relevancy of libraries today. I'm glad so many others are out there fighting the good fight.
I may be incredibly biased in the rating here but that's okay. There's one idea of what a librarian does and what they (usually 'she') looks like and seeing a wide variety of humans pictured along with their thoughts on the profession they love, or profession they're hoping to be in, is worth it alone. The added bonus of different celebrities giving their thoughts is nice but dwindles in comparison to stories of different libraries (from Presidential ones to libraries that lend out dolls) is the meat of it to me. You don't think of a library when you think of these things, perhaps you don't think of the library at all because you don't use it but libraries are vital and happening places that would be sorely missed if they were to vanish one day.
Photos of librarians past, present, and future, paired with their thoughts on what it means to be a librarian.
First thoughts: This was a very inspiring read for the beginning of a new semester of library school! The longer essays by librarians and the people who love librarians (Hello, Neil Gaiman!) were interesting as well.
Recommended for: library lovers, library students, and library skeptics.
Final thoughts: A fun, informative, and timely look at all the ways there are to be a librarian. This would make a great coffee table or lobby book - easy to dip in and out of, with wonderful photo spreads.
First thoughts: This was a very inspiring read for the beginning of a new semester of library school! The longer essays by librarians and the people who love librarians (Hello, Neil Gaiman!) were interesting as well.
Recommended for: library lovers, library students, and library skeptics.
Final thoughts: A fun, informative, and timely look at all the ways there are to be a librarian. This would make a great coffee table or lobby book - easy to dip in and out of, with wonderful photo spreads.
"Librarians are warrior princes and princesses wielding book love like swords." Susan K. McClelland from Oak Park Public Library
"I was always a library kid. What drew me to my calling was the realization that stories can be consumed and created in many ways, and that technology is a powerful tool to do that." Gretchen Caserotti from Meridian Public Library
“Impassioned librarians are a force to be reckoned with. We have the curiosity of a scientist, the work ethic of a teacher, the creativity of an artist, and the ferocity of a prize fighter. We are so much more than Google." Alea Perez, from Westmont Public Library
I vaguely remember when Cassidy started this project. I saw something in the library news about the first pictures that he took. Then, to be honest, I forgot all about it. I was retiring from the profession and I was sure Cassidy was not coming to take my picture. I am old and look a bit too much like the stereotypical librarian.
I am glad that my local library bought this and I hope that many people will at least look at it. Here are almost 220 women and men that are still librarians and are doing their best to show people that libraries are still important. I salute and thank them. Being a librarian was always a calling for me and I am so happy to see that is true for many of these librarians. Maybe someone will see this and realize that she is also called to this fun, wonderful career.
"I was always a library kid. What drew me to my calling was the realization that stories can be consumed and created in many ways, and that technology is a powerful tool to do that." Gretchen Caserotti from Meridian Public Library
“Impassioned librarians are a force to be reckoned with. We have the curiosity of a scientist, the work ethic of a teacher, the creativity of an artist, and the ferocity of a prize fighter. We are so much more than Google." Alea Perez, from Westmont Public Library
I vaguely remember when Cassidy started this project. I saw something in the library news about the first pictures that he took. Then, to be honest, I forgot all about it. I was retiring from the profession and I was sure Cassidy was not coming to take my picture. I am old and look a bit too much like the stereotypical librarian.
I am glad that my local library bought this and I hope that many people will at least look at it. Here are almost 220 women and men that are still librarians and are doing their best to show people that libraries are still important. I salute and thank them. Being a librarian was always a calling for me and I am so happy to see that is true for many of these librarians. Maybe someone will see this and realize that she is also called to this fun, wonderful career.
I work as a librarian. I would not say, however, that this book was written _for_ librarians and certainly this book was not created by a librarian, but by a photographer.
The title, "This is what a librarian looks like," is meant (I think) somewhat ironically, since the answer is given with hundreds of examples. In other words, there is no one answer to the question - there is considerable variety in who librarians serve and how they present themselves (which is what they are doing with these photographs).
Most of the book is filled with photographs and names, titles, and short statements from hundreds of different librarians across the United States. I don't think the representation is entirely proportional to the number of librarians doing different kinds of library work; there is an over-representation I think of public service type librarians, but that seems OK. The librarians seem to be from many different parts of the country. Those included seem to skew young, but are they younger than the average for the profession? Not sure. Perhaps that is to speak to the energy anticipated (or hoped for) for the profession moving forward.
There are a few essays - none of these are terribly long. Paging through and reading the entire book takes less than an hour. It isn't a book one necessarily has to read front to back, but it is easy enough to do that way.
The book took a while to bring together, it seems. The photographs were done at an American Library Association meeting in early 2014. Examples are available in this Slate article. This explains some of the lack of proportionality to the profession as a whole since some types of librarians are not as likely to attend ALA meetings.
Presumably the perhaps disproportionate number of librarians with purple hair or otherwise making some statement with their appearance in the photographs is a result of the self-selecting aspect of how this was produced - and on balance, there are plenty of ordinary looking librarians included too. And they all share having produced genuine expressions of pleasure at being photographed and included in this project.
Fun. Worth a look. Librarians have a role in society. Thankfully.
The title, "This is what a librarian looks like," is meant (I think) somewhat ironically, since the answer is given with hundreds of examples. In other words, there is no one answer to the question - there is considerable variety in who librarians serve and how they present themselves (which is what they are doing with these photographs).
Most of the book is filled with photographs and names, titles, and short statements from hundreds of different librarians across the United States. I don't think the representation is entirely proportional to the number of librarians doing different kinds of library work; there is an over-representation I think of public service type librarians, but that seems OK. The librarians seem to be from many different parts of the country. Those included seem to skew young, but are they younger than the average for the profession? Not sure. Perhaps that is to speak to the energy anticipated (or hoped for) for the profession moving forward.
There are a few essays - none of these are terribly long. Paging through and reading the entire book takes less than an hour. It isn't a book one necessarily has to read front to back, but it is easy enough to do that way.
The book took a while to bring together, it seems. The photographs were done at an American Library Association meeting in early 2014. Examples are available in this Slate article. This explains some of the lack of proportionality to the profession as a whole since some types of librarians are not as likely to attend ALA meetings.
Presumably the perhaps disproportionate number of librarians with purple hair or otherwise making some statement with their appearance in the photographs is a result of the self-selecting aspect of how this was produced - and on balance, there are plenty of ordinary looking librarians included too. And they all share having produced genuine expressions of pleasure at being photographed and included in this project.
Fun. Worth a look. Librarians have a role in society. Thankfully.