5 Things You Didn’t Know About Librarians

Lisa Taylor

 

If you think that librarians are the people who go “Shhh,” and nothing more, think again! We are actually a pretty awesome bunch of people. Here are five things you didn’t know (but should) about librarians.

We’re the ultimate search engine.

We listen. You can search the Internet for the name of the book you think you remember — The Seduction of Hollywood, but you won’t find the biography of Warren Beatty that you want. We’ll find it because we listen to more than what you say. We’re trained to listen to what you want. By the way, it’s Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America.

When Google doesn’t realize that you wrote “Tennessee,” but meant “Texas,” we’ll find the town you’re seeking because…

We’re sneaky.

We help you in ways that you don’t even realize. We’re attentive to the needs of the community. Is your child having fun at story time? We’re singing, reading books, and playing games, but we’re actually teaching you and your child the fundamentals of early literacy — the building blocks your child needs to become a skilled reader later in life. Print motivation, phonetic awareness, phonological awareness, letter knowledge, narrative skills – yup – we’re sneaking it all in there so your child starts Kindergarten on the right foot because…

We’re of the “teach a man to fish” mindset.

In a hurry? Sure, we’ll find the phone number of your mother’s pharmacy, tell you how to get to the wedding reception, or insert that pesky graph into your PowerPoint – but if you’ve got the time, we’ll teach you how to do it yourself. Heck, we’ll even show you how to download a driving directions app to your smartphone. Just ask (We listen, remember?). If you have trouble learning new things — no worries – because…

We’re homework helpers.

Whether you’re a returning college student searching peer-reviewed journals, a seventh grader needing help with ratios, or a parent trying to find images for a first-grader’s poster project (you can admit it — we’ve seen you), we can help because…

We love a challenge.

We don’t have that Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science for nothing! If we don’t know it, we know where to find it. All you have to do is ask.

And if you ask, you may also find out our little secret:

We’re geeky (Shhhh… don’t tell.)

Here are few questions that we don’t even have to look up at my library:

“Where are the Misty Isles?”

“Who were the last three people to play Dr. Who on TV?”

“Which Star Wars® character has the best job?”

Answers: in the fictional world of Prince Valiant; David Tenant, Matt Smith, and Peter Capaldi; Yaddle – she’s a librarian!


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5 things you should know about librarians, but didn't


 This post was written by Lisa Taylor exclusively for BonBon Break Media, LLC.

Lisa Taylor is a public librarian with a Master’s degree from Texas Woman’s University. She is a freelance book reviewer and a member of the American Library Association, the New Jersey School Boards Association, and the NJ Library Association. She can be found blogging at Shelf-employed, or at the ALSC Blog. She is also a wife, mother, and Phillies fan - not necessarily in that order - especially during baseball season.