Librarian
Encyclopedia
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science
, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs. Typically, librarians work in a public or college library
, an elementary or secondary school media center, a library within a business or company, or another information-provision agency such as a hospital or law firm. Librarians may be categorized as Public, School, Correctional, Special, Independent or Academic.
Traditionally, librarians have been associated with collections of book
s, as demonstrated by the etymology of the word "librarian" (< Latin liber, 'book'). However, modern librarians deal with information in many formats, including books, magazines, newspapers, audio recordings (both musical and spoken-word), video recordings, maps, manuscript
s, photographs and other graphic material, bibliographic databases, web searching, and digital resources. Librarians often provide other information services, including computer provision and training, coordination of public programs, basic literacy education, assistive equipment for people with disabilities, and help with finding and using community resources.
, King of Assyria, created a library at his palace in Ninevah located in Mesopotamia. Ashurbanipal was the first individual in history to introduce librarianship as a profession. We know of at least one "keeper of the books" who was employed to oversee the thousands of tablets on Sumerian and Babylonian materials, including literary texts, history, omens, astronomical calculations, mathematical tables, grammatical and linguistic tables, and dictionaries, and commercial records and laws. All of these tablets were catalogued and arranged in logical order by subject or type, each having an identification tag.
The Great Library of Alexandria
, created by Ptolemy I after the death of Alexander in 323 BC, was created to house the entirety of Greek literature. It was notable for its famous librarians: Demetrius
, Zenodotus
, Eratosthenes
, Apollonius
, Aristophanes
, Aristarchus
, and Callimachus
. Although librarianship was an accidental aspect of their career, these scholars contributed significantly to the collection and cataloguing of the wide variety of scrolls in the library at Alexandria. Most notably, Callimachus, created what is considered to be the first subject catalogue of the library holdings, called the pinakes
which contained 120 scrolls arranged into ten subject classes. Each class was then subdivided listing authors alphabetically by titles. Throughout the history of librarianship the librarians at Alexandria were considered the "custodians of learning."
Nearing the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman empire, many Roman aristocrats had private libraries in their home. Many of these aristocrats, such as Cicero
, kept his library to himself, only boasting of the enormity of his collection. While others, such as Lucullus
, took on the role of librarian by lending out scrolls in their collection to those who lacked the means to have their own collections. Many Roman emperors included public libraries into their political propaganda to win favour from citizens. While librarians worked in the libraries built by the various emperors, there wasn't a specific office or roll that qualified an individual to be a librarian. For example, Pompeius Macer, the first librarian of Augutus' library, was a praetor
(government official leading the army). A later librarian of the same library was Gaius Julius Hyginus
, a grammarian.
, however, was keeper of books in the earliest library in China, which belonged to the Imperial Zhou dynasty
. Also, evidence of catalogues found in some destroyed ancient libraries illustrates the presence of librarians.
. The role of librarian was often filled by an overseer of the scriptorium
where monks would copy out books cover to cover. Anastasias was a very learned librarian who took on the title of Bibliothecarius, for his translations of the Greek Authors. We also learn about a new method of keeping books that librarians utilised - the lectern-system, which chained books to desks for safety and security. In general during the early middle ages books were arranged according to subjects alphabetically, and were inventoried by a basic check list. Later on, however, a librarian, referred to as a Librarius, began cataloguing by taking inventory and classifying the books.
Beginning in the 14th century, churches were not alone in containing libraries. Universities began to rise during this time and all contained libraries. Many librarians were employed to work in these rising institutions. At the same time princes, nobles and jurists began to establish libraries of their own as status symbols. Charles V
was one of the royals who began his own library, and he kept his collection as a bibliophile, an attribute that is closely connected to librarians of this time.
and Boccaccio. These libraries were sponsored by popes, princes, or dukes who sent agents throughout Western Europe to track down manuscripts from deteriorating monastic libraries. As a result, Renaissance libraries were filled with a wealth of texts. While these libraries were mostly restricted, they were open to the public, and for this reason librarians became a necessity for the planning and organizing of the library in order to meet the public needs
. It was also for this reason that attempts were made to prepare regular inventory of the library, which resulted in the first appearance of the catalogue in 1595.
, Gabriel Naudé
, John Dury
, and Gottfried Leibniz
. With the approach of Bibliotheca Universalis, libraries changed. Libraries from then on would not be as selective in matters of contents of their collection and they would include literature of entertainment as well as academic value. Also during this time libraries became fully open to the public, discarding the popular practice of restricting access to only small circle of readers. The four librarians responsible for establishing the Bibliotheca Universalis are important figures to librarianship. Gabriel Naude
published Avis pour dresser une biliotheque, the first printed monograph on librarianship. In this monograph, Naude advocated collecting all kinds of books, old and new, of famous, not-well known, and heretical authors. He also contributed to the idea of organization and administration of libraries which led to the development of library collections. It was also in part thanks to Naude that some libraries began to lend books outside of the precincts of the library. John Dury
is considered to be the first English library theorist. He wrote two letters to Samuel Hartlib
concerning the duties of a professional librarian, which were published in 1650 as "The Reformed Librarie-Keeper." He held that librarians should not only care for the books, but should also be well educated and accomplished to raise the standards of librarianship. Furthermore, he advocated that librarians deserve a living wage in order to use their energy to perform their duties to the fullest extent. Gottfried Leibniz
upheald that the librarian was the most important factor in the aid of learning. In history, he is credited for including science texts in addition to conventional literature within library collections. Another key figure of this time was Sir Thomas Bodley
who gave up his career as a diplomat and established Oxford's Bodelian library. He is credited for creating the first functional library of modern times. Subsequent librarians following Bodley were called Protobibliothecarius Bodelianus, the Bodelarian Librarian. They would earn 40£ a year.
The 18th century is considered to be an advancement to all cultural developments in library history, and it is at this time that we see the beginning of the functional library. In France, the French Revolution saw the confiscation in 1789 of church libraries and rich noble's private libraries, and their collections became state property. The confiscated stock became part of a new national library - Bibliotheque Nationale. Two famous librarians, Hubert-Pascal Ameilhon
and Joseph Van Praet
, selected and identified over 300,000 books and manuscripts that became the property of the people in the Bibliotheque Nationale. During the French Revolution, librarians were solely responsible for the bibliographic planning of the nation. Out of this came the implementation of the concept of library service - the democratic extension of library services to the general public regardless of wealth or education.
, an instructional publication focusing on the publishing industry, began to devote small sections to librarians. Furthermore, a study entitled "Public Libraries in the United States of America: Their History, Condition, and Management," was created by the U.S. Office of Education for practicing librarians. This study included a manual which included topics in management, administration, history, cataloging, popular reading, and library buildings, created by notable authorities in librarianship.
It was also during the middle of the 19th century when Andrew Carnegie
, a businessman and entrepreneur, funded the construction of nearly 3000 libraries throughout the world. With this substantial increase in libraries, library workers were established as a permanent workforce.
While Carnegie provided the institutions where librarianship as a profession blossomed, it was Melvil Dewey
who was a primary force in establishing the professionalization of librarians and library education in the US. Dewey believed librarians are meant to provide patrons with “better” books to improve people and their way of life. As part of his contributions to librarianship, Dewey, along with Justin Winsor
, founded the creation of the American Library Association
(ALA). Not only did the creation of the ALA provide national visibility and recognition to the field of librarianship, but it substantially increased the professional identity among the library practitioners. Dewey also had a hand in creating the first major professional publication for librarians: The American Library Journal, which was intended to assist librarians in their daily work. Moreover, Dewey had first hand experience in opening the first library school, The School of Library Economy, which opened January 1st 1887. The programs offered by the library school took three months, and students were required to take on an internship which sometimes lasted two years for students to become exposed to and familiar with professional tasks.
The situation in Canada was different at this time. Canada did not have the advancement of library schools that the US did, and in the earlier half of the 19th century, there was no formal training or education for potential librarians. The Toronto Public Library
held competitive examinations for librarian hopefuls. The first exam was held December 15, 1887 and tested candidates on writing, arithmetic, reading, and English Literature. In 1890 they added a restriction to the those writing the exam - candidates were required to be atleast 5'3 inches tall. Although successful candidates were referred to American library schools for training, they also had the option of serving as apprentices and learning on the job.
, Drexel University
, and the Armour Institute. By 1919, there were 15 more programs in the United States. These programs varied by length of program, type of degree or certificate awarded, and requirements for admission. On completion of most programs, students were awarded a Bachelor’s of Library Science. At the time, the Master’s of Library Science was not awarded anywhere but Albany .
In recognition of the rise of Library educational programs, ALA created the ALA Committee on Library Training in which members would review the various educational programs. This led to ALA’s “Standards for Library Education,” which established separate standards for the different types of training programs. The neutral approach that ALA took to the Library Schools, however, influenced the schools to band together and create their own organization – The Association of American Library Schools. The Williamson Report, created for the Carnegie Corporation, however, was the most important review of library education programs. In the Williamson report, C. C. Williams criticises the quality of many established programs, and designates a university graduate degree, not a college bachelor’s degree, as the appropriate education for professional librarians. It was thanks to the Williamson report that librarians were required to receive one year of postgraduate education in librarianship. By the 1950s, most library schools in the US awarded a Master’s degree.
It was at this point in history that the notion of library science was established as the study for future librarians. In addition to professional librarians, faculty in Library Science programs included other academics such as sociologists and historians. Because the faculty consisted mostly of scholars, they contributed a considerable amount of research which formed the foundation of the field of library science.
Another notable progression that arose after the “Williamson Report” was the establishment of The Hampton Insistute Library School, the first library school to train African-American librarians in the US. After the establishment of the Hampton Institute Library School, more African-Americans were accepted to library schools, including Edward Christopher Williams
, a graduate of the New York State Library School, who went on to become the director of the library at Howard University in 1916.
With the expanding economy, the baby boom, and the important federal legislation supporting the development of education institutions and their libraries, library schools reached their heyday in the 1950s to 1960s. These factors lead to an increased need for librarians. By the 1970s, there were more than 70 accredited library schools with master’s programs in US and Canada. By 1999, however, there were only 56 ALA-accredited library school programs in the US and Canada. As library schools were never high-profile departments, these closures were a result of universities' efforts to reduce costs during the recessions of the 1980s.
While library schools were established in the US as early as the 19th century, library schools in Canada were not established until the 20th century. The starting push to establish library schools in Canada came from George Locke
, chief librarian of the Toronto Public Library
from 1908-1937. When Locke started his reign as chief librarian at TPL, training for librarians was still limited to on the job training. He believed, however, that librarians should be formally trained in educational programs like those of the US. He favoured librarians that had a formal educational background in librarianship. In 1909, Locke recruited Winnifred Barnstead, a Canadian graduate of a two year training course for librarians at Princeton University
, to head the cataloguing department. Locke also hired Lillian H. Smith, a Canadian graduate from the training school at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, to head the Children's department. With the help of Barnstead and Smith, Locke began his own training program through the Toronto Public Library
.
A contemporary of Locke was Edwin A. Hardy, secretary of the Ontario Library Association
from its inception in 1901 to 1925, then as president from 1925-1926. Hardy was vocal in his opinion of formal educational training for librarians, and desperately desired a library school in Canada for fear of losing Canadian librarians trained in the US to the US. He was active in establishing library institutes, one-day regional workshops, through Ontario departments of Education, the first of which was held in Brantford, Ontario in 1907.
These institutes, however, proved insufficient, and there was a formal request for Departments of Education to begin a summer library school. The first of these summer schools ran in 1911; it was a hybrid program modelled after American schools and normal schools which educated teachers in Ontario. This program ran for four weeks in the summer when libraries were able to spare staff for training and eligible candidates were only those already employed in libraries. In 1919, it was extended to be a 3 month program and became the Ontario Library School.
Library schools in Canada at this time, however, were unique to those in the US because they were under complete control of the Department of Education. For this reason, library schools in Canada fell under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education. While the Department of Education always provided funding for the library school, librarians were not able to push their own ideas or agenda. A course was established in the Ontario College of Education, located on the University of Toronto
campus, to provide an academic and professional compliment to the already established technical training of librarians. Barnstead became the first director, but all financial, hiring, and curriculum matters were made by the Dean of the College of Education and the Minister of Education. Graduates of the program did not receive a degree; they received a librarian's certificate from the Minister of Education and a diploma from the University of Toronto.
It was not until the 1930s that the library school became a separate entity from the Department and Ministry of Education. In 1937, the library school at the University of Toronto received ALA accreditation and Canadian students began to receive a professional degree - The Bachelor of Library Science.
Specific duties vary depending on the size and type of library. Olivia Crosby described librarians as "Information experts in the information age". Most librarians spend their time working in one of the following areas of a library:
). In smaller or specialized libraries, librarians typically perform a wide range of the different duties.
Representative examples of librarian responsibilities:
professionals. In reality, the technical competencies and information-seeking skills needed for the job are becoming increasingly important and are relevant to the contemporary economy, and such positions are thus becoming more prominent.
Basic categories of workplace settings for librarians are routinely classified around the world as: public, academic, school, and special. Some librarians will start and operate their own business. They often call themselves information broker
s, research specialists, knowledge management
, competitive intelligence
or independent information professionals. Below are the basic differences between the types of libraries.
Public library
: These institutions are created through legislation within the jurisdiction they serve. Accordingly, they are given certain benefits, such as taxpayer funding, but must adhere to service standards and meet a wide group of client needs. They are usually overseen by a board of directors or library commission from the community. Mission statements, service and collection policies are the fundamental administrative features of public libraries. Occasionally private lending libraries serve the public in the manner of public libraries. In the United States, public librarians and public libraries are represented by the Public Library Association. Public library staffing is structured in response to community needs. Libraries bridge
traditional divisions between technical and public services positions by adopting new technologies such as mobile library services and reconfigure organizations depending on the local situation.
Academic library
: is a library that is an integral part of a college, university, or other institution of postsecondary education, administered to meet the information and research needs of its students, faculty, and staff. In the United States, the professional association for academic libraries and librarians is the Association of College and Research Libraries
. Depending upon the institution, the library may serve a particular faculty or the entire institution. Many different types, sizes, and collections are found in academic libraries and some academic librarians are specialists in these collections and archives. A university librarian
, or chief librarian, is responsible for the library within the college structure, and may also be called the Dean of Libraries
. Some post-secondary institutions treat librarians as faculty, and they may be called professor or other academic ranks, which may or may not increase their salary and benefits. Some universities make similar demands of academic librarians for research and professional service as are required of faculty. Academic librarians administer various levels of service and privilege to faculty, students, alumni and the public.
School library media center
: Libraries which exclusively serve the needs of a public or private school. The primary purpose is to support the students, teachers, and curriculum of the school or school district. In addition to library administration, certificated teacher-librarians instruct individual students, groups and classes, and faculty in effective research methods, often referred to as information literacy skills. Audio-visual equipment service and/or textbook circulation may also be included in a school librarian's responsibilities. Often, teacher-librarian
s are qualified teachers who take academic courses for school library certification and/or earn a Master's degree in Library Science.
Special library
: News, law, medical, government, nongovernmental organization, prison, corporate, museum or any other type of library owned and operated by an organization are considered as special library. They can be highly specialized, serving a discrete user group with a restricted collection area. In an increasingly global and virtual workplace, many special librarians may not even work in a library at all but instead manage and facilitate the use of electronic collections. Funding for special libraries varies widely. Librarians in some types of special libraries may be required to have additional training, such as a law degree for a librarian in an academic law library
or appropriate subject degrees for subject specialties such as chemistry, engineering, etc. Many belong to the Special Libraries Association
. There are also more specific associations such as the American Association of Law Libraries
, Art Libraries Society of North America
, the Medical Library Association
, or the Visual Resources Association
.
in library and information science
, library science
or information science
(called an MLS, MALIS, MSLS, MIS, MSIS, MS-LIS, MISt, MLIS, or MILS) from an accredited university. These degrees are accredited by the American Library Association
and can have specializations within fields such as archiving
, records management
, information architecture
, public librarianship, medical librarianship, law librarianship, special librarianship, academic librarianship, or school (K-12) librarianship. School librarians often are required to have a teaching credential
; however, for the most part, a library science degree is not required. Many, if not most, academic librarians also have a second, subject-based master's degree . This is especially true of four year colleges.
in library and information studies
or information science
; separate master's degree
s in librarianship, archive management, and records management are also available. In the United Kingdom, these degrees are accredited by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals
and the Society of Archivists
. In Germany and some other countries, the first step for an academic librarian is a PhD
in a subject field, followed by additional training in librarianship.
(ALIA). There are three ways in which these requirements can be met: the individual must obtain an ALIA-recognized bachelor degree in library and information studies, complete a first degree in any discipline followed by an ALIA-recognized postgraduate diploma or masters course, or gain an ALIA-recognized library technician qualifications (undertaken at a Technical and Further Education
(TAFE) college/institute followed by an ALIA-recognized bachelor degree in library and information studies. ALIA is responsible for accreditation of library specific qualifications for both librarians and library technicians. Professional Australian teacher-librarians require slightly different qualifications. In addition to having a degree that meets ALIA's accreditation process, teacher librarians must also hold recognized teaching qualifications.
in library and information science. Graduates with PhD
s usually become teaching faculty in schools of library and information science, or sometimes occupy the directorship or deanship of university libraries. Those undertaking research at the doctoral level can pursue a very wide range of interests including information technology, government information policy, social research into information use among particular segments of society, information in organizations and corporate settings, and the history of books and printing
.
It is common in academic and other research libraries to require the librarians to obtain Master's degrees in some academic subject, sometimes but not necessarily related to their professional responsibilities; in major research libraries, some of the librarians will hold Ph. D degrees in subject fields.
Other advanced degrees often taken in conjunction with a degree in librarianship are law
, management
, health administration
or public administration
.
s, and library assistants often have college diplomas but usually do not hold library-related degrees. Occasionally they also hold undergraduate or graduate degrees in other disciplines. These workers, sometimes referred to as para-professionals, perform duties such as database
management, library catalog
ing, ready reference, and serials and monograph processing.
(ALA) and the Special Libraries Association
. YALSA The Young Adult Library Services Association serves Young Adult librarians, and is part of the American Library Association. Many U.S. states have their own library association as well. Librarians may also join such organizations as the Association of College and Research Libraries
and the Public Library Association and the Art Libraries Society. The Canadian Library Association
serves Canada and there are provincial associations as well, such as the Ontario Library Association
. In the United Kingdom, the professional body for Librarians is the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals
(formerly known as the Library Association). The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
(IFLA) represents the interests of libraries and librarians internationally. (See also the List of Library Associations.)
Recent issues of concern for U.S. libraries include implementation of the Patriot Act and the Children's Internet Protection Act
. Many librarians around the world share American librarians' concern over ethical issues surrounding censorship
and privacy
. Some librarians join activist organizations like the UK-based Information for Social Change
and the North American-based Progressive Librarians Guild
. The Progressive Librarians Guild covers the actions of union library workers.
Within the American Library Association (ALA), some also join the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SSRT). SRRT came into being amid the social ferment of the 1960s and is often critical of the American Library Association for not living up to its professed ideals. Another important activist organization is the Social Responsibilities Special Interest Section of the American Association of Law Libraries
(AALL). These activist organizations are viewed as controversial by some librarians, while others view them as a natural extension and outgrowth of their own deeply-held library ethics. Librarians in the United States who as political actors in our times provide examples of a commitment to equality, the right to know or social justice include Peter Chase, George Christian, Janet Nocek, and Barbara Bailey. In the Doe v. Gonzales case, these librarians challenged the constitutionality of the nondisclosure provisions of the National Security Letters issued by the government under the USA Patriot Act in terrorist or other investigations. The four received the Roger Baldwin Medal of Liberty from the American Civil Liberties Union in June 2007.
One of the most significant examples of how technology has changed the role of librarians in the last 50 years has been the move from traditional card catalogs to online public access catalogs (OPAC
s). Librarians had to develop software and the MARC standards
for cataloguing records electronically. They had to purchase and run the computers necessary to use the software. They had to teach the public how to use the new technologies and move to more virtual working environments.
The same could be said of other technology developments, from electronic databases (including the Internet), to logistical functions such as bar codes (or in the near future RFID). Many librarians provide virtual reference services (via web-based chat, instant messaging, text messaging, and e-mail), work in digitizing initiatives for works in the public domain, teach information literacy and technology classes to their users, and work on the development of information architectures for improving access and search functionality. These examples illustrate some of the ways in which librarians are using technology to fulfill and expand upon their historical roles.
Librarians must continually adapt to new formats for information, such as electronic journal
s and e-books, which present both challenges and opportunities in providing access and promoting them to library patrons.
Increasing technological advance has presented the possibility of automating some aspects of traditional libraries. In 2004 a group of researchers in Spain
developed the UJI Online Robot
. This robot is able to navigate the library, look for the specified book, and upon its discovery, carefully take it from the shelf and deliver it to the user. Because of the robot's extremely limited function, its introduction into libraries poses little risk of the employment of librarians, whose duties are not defined by menial tasks such as the retrieval of books.
s of librarians in popular culture are frequently negative: librarians are portrayed as puritanical, punitive, unattractive, and introverted if female, or timid, unattractive, and effeminate if male. The librarian is in charge of a library just as a principal is in charge of a school or a pastor is in charge of a church.
Examples of librarians in popular culture include:
Library and information science
Library and information science is a merging of the two fields library science and information science...
, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs. Typically, librarians work in a public or college library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, an elementary or secondary school media center, a library within a business or company, or another information-provision agency such as a hospital or law firm. Librarians may be categorized as Public, School, Correctional, Special, Independent or Academic.
Traditionally, librarians have been associated with collections of book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s, as demonstrated by the etymology of the word "librarian" (< Latin liber, 'book'). However, modern librarians deal with information in many formats, including books, magazines, newspapers, audio recordings (both musical and spoken-word), video recordings, maps, manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
s, photographs and other graphic material, bibliographic databases, web searching, and digital resources. Librarians often provide other information services, including computer provision and training, coordination of public programs, basic literacy education, assistive equipment for people with disabilities, and help with finding and using community resources.
The Sumerians
The Sumerians were the first to train clerks to keep records of accounts. "Masters of the books" or "Keepers of the Tablets" were scribes or priests who were trained to handle the vast amount and complexity of these records. It is unknown, however, what their specific duties were.The Assyrians and Egyptians
Sometime in the 8th century BC AshurbanipalAshurbanipal
Ashurbanipal |Ashur]] is creator of an heir"; 685 BC – c. 627 BC), also spelled Assurbanipal or Ashshurbanipal, was an Assyrian king, the son of Esarhaddon and the last great king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire...
, King of Assyria, created a library at his palace in Ninevah located in Mesopotamia. Ashurbanipal was the first individual in history to introduce librarianship as a profession. We know of at least one "keeper of the books" who was employed to oversee the thousands of tablets on Sumerian and Babylonian materials, including literary texts, history, omens, astronomical calculations, mathematical tables, grammatical and linguistic tables, and dictionaries, and commercial records and laws. All of these tablets were catalogued and arranged in logical order by subject or type, each having an identification tag.
The Great Library of Alexandria
Library of Alexandria
The Royal Library of Alexandria, or Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was the largest and most significant great library of the ancient world. It flourished under the patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and functioned as a major center of scholarship from its construction in the...
, created by Ptolemy I after the death of Alexander in 323 BC, was created to house the entirety of Greek literature. It was notable for its famous librarians: Demetrius
Demetrius
Demetrius, also spelled as Demetrios, Dimitrios, Demitri, and Dimitri , is a male given name.Demetrius and its variations may refer to the following:...
, Zenodotus
Zenodotus
Zenodotus was a Greek grammarian, literary critic, and Homeric scholar. A native of Ephesus and a pupil of Philitas of Cos, he was the first librarian of the Library of Alexandria...
, Eratosthenes
Eratosthenes
Eratosthenes of Cyrene was a Greek mathematician, poet, athlete, geographer, astronomer, and music theorist.He was the first person to use the word "geography" and invented the discipline of geography as we understand it...
, Apollonius
Apollonius of Rhodes
Apollonius Rhodius, also known as Apollonius of Rhodes , early 3rd century BCE – after 246 BCE, was a poet, and a librarian at the Library of Alexandria...
, Aristophanes
Aristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
, Aristarchus
Aristarchus
-People:* Aristarchus of Samos , Greek astronomer and mathematician* Aristarchus of Samothrace , Greek grammarian* Aristarchus of Tegea , Greek writer* Aristarchus of Thessalonica , Eastern saint...
, and Callimachus
Callimachus
Callimachus was a native of the Greek colony of Cyrene, Libya. He was a noted poet, critic and scholar at the Library of Alexandria and enjoyed the patronage of the Egyptian–Greek Pharaohs Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Ptolemy III Euergetes...
. Although librarianship was an accidental aspect of their career, these scholars contributed significantly to the collection and cataloguing of the wide variety of scrolls in the library at Alexandria. Most notably, Callimachus, created what is considered to be the first subject catalogue of the library holdings, called the pinakes
Pinakes
Pinax may refer to:*Pinax, a votive tablet that served as a votive object deposited in a sanctuary or burial chamber*Pinakes, a 3rd-century-BCE work by Callimachus, the first library catalog system*Pinax...
which contained 120 scrolls arranged into ten subject classes. Each class was then subdivided listing authors alphabetically by titles. Throughout the history of librarianship the librarians at Alexandria were considered the "custodians of learning."
The Romans
Nearing the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman empire, many Roman aristocrats had private libraries in their home. Many of these aristocrats, such as Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
, kept his library to himself, only boasting of the enormity of his collection. While others, such as Lucullus
Lucullus
Lucius Licinius Lucullus , was an optimate politician of the late Roman Republic, closely connected with Sulla Felix...
, took on the role of librarian by lending out scrolls in their collection to those who lacked the means to have their own collections. Many Roman emperors included public libraries into their political propaganda to win favour from citizens. While librarians worked in the libraries built by the various emperors, there wasn't a specific office or roll that qualified an individual to be a librarian. For example, Pompeius Macer, the first librarian of Augutus' library, was a praetor
Praetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
(government official leading the army). A later librarian of the same library was Gaius Julius Hyginus
Gaius Julius Hyginus
Gaius Julius Hyginus was a Latin author, a pupil of the famous Cornelius Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was by Augustus elected superintendent of the Palatine library according to Suetonius' De Grammaticis, 20...
, a grammarian.
Ancient China
Although Ancient China is credited for discovering paper and utilising movable word type made of clay to evolve a writing style, very little is known about their libraries and librarianship. Philosopher LaoziLaozi
Laozi was a mystic philosopher of ancient China, best known as the author of the Tao Te Ching . His association with the Tao Te Ching has led him to be traditionally considered the founder of Taoism...
, however, was keeper of books in the earliest library in China, which belonged to the Imperial Zhou dynasty
Zhou Dynasty
The Zhou Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty. Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history, the actual political and military control of China by the Ji family lasted only until 771 BC, a period known as...
. Also, evidence of catalogues found in some destroyed ancient libraries illustrates the presence of librarians.
Middle Ages
Christian Monasteries in Europe are credited for keeping libraries as an institution alive after the fall of the Roman empire. During this time we see the first physical book, the parchment codexCodex
A codex is a book in the format used for modern books, with multiple quires or gatherings typically bound together and given a cover.Developed by the Romans from wooden writing tablets, its gradual replacement...
. The role of librarian was often filled by an overseer of the scriptorium
Scriptorium
Scriptorium, literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the copying of manuscripts by monastic scribes...
where monks would copy out books cover to cover. Anastasias was a very learned librarian who took on the title of Bibliothecarius, for his translations of the Greek Authors. We also learn about a new method of keeping books that librarians utilised - the lectern-system, which chained books to desks for safety and security. In general during the early middle ages books were arranged according to subjects alphabetically, and were inventoried by a basic check list. Later on, however, a librarian, referred to as a Librarius, began cataloguing by taking inventory and classifying the books.
Beginning in the 14th century, churches were not alone in containing libraries. Universities began to rise during this time and all contained libraries. Many librarians were employed to work in these rising institutions. At the same time princes, nobles and jurists began to establish libraries of their own as status symbols. Charles V
Charles V
Charles V may refer to:* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , also Charles I of Spain* Charles V of Naples , better known as Charles II of Spain* Charles V of France , called the Wise...
was one of the royals who began his own library, and he kept his collection as a bibliophile, an attribute that is closely connected to librarians of this time.
Renaissance
The Renaissance is considered to be a time of aristocratic enthusiasm and during this time great private libraries were developed in Europe by leading figures such as PetrarchPetrarch
Francesco Petrarca , known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar, poet and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch is often called the "Father of Humanism"...
and Boccaccio. These libraries were sponsored by popes, princes, or dukes who sent agents throughout Western Europe to track down manuscripts from deteriorating monastic libraries. As a result, Renaissance libraries were filled with a wealth of texts. While these libraries were mostly restricted, they were open to the public, and for this reason librarians became a necessity for the planning and organizing of the library in order to meet the public needs
. It was also for this reason that attempts were made to prepare regular inventory of the library, which resulted in the first appearance of the catalogue in 1595.
17th century
During the 17th century in France the idea of Bibliotheca Universalis came about from well established academics and librarians - Conrad GessnerConrad Gessner
Conrad Gessner was a Swiss naturalist and bibliographer. His five-volume Historiae animalium is considered the beginning of modern zoology, and the flowering plant genus Gesneria is named after him...
, Gabriel Naudé
Gabriel Naudé
Gabriel Naudé was a French librarian and scholar. He was a prolific writer who produced works on many subjects including politics, religion, history and the supernatural. An influential work on library science was the 1627 book Advice on Establishing a Library...
, John Dury
John Dury
John Dury was a Scottish Calvinist minister and a significant intellectual of the English Civil War period. He made efforts to re-unite the Calvinist and Lutheran wings of Protestantism, hoping to succeed when he moved to Kassel in 1661, but he did not accomplish this...
, and Gottfried Leibniz
Gottfried Leibniz
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German philosopher and mathematician. He wrote in different languages, primarily in Latin , French and German ....
. With the approach of Bibliotheca Universalis, libraries changed. Libraries from then on would not be as selective in matters of contents of their collection and they would include literature of entertainment as well as academic value. Also during this time libraries became fully open to the public, discarding the popular practice of restricting access to only small circle of readers. The four librarians responsible for establishing the Bibliotheca Universalis are important figures to librarianship. Gabriel Naude
Gabriel Naudé
Gabriel Naudé was a French librarian and scholar. He was a prolific writer who produced works on many subjects including politics, religion, history and the supernatural. An influential work on library science was the 1627 book Advice on Establishing a Library...
published Avis pour dresser une biliotheque, the first printed monograph on librarianship. In this monograph, Naude advocated collecting all kinds of books, old and new, of famous, not-well known, and heretical authors. He also contributed to the idea of organization and administration of libraries which led to the development of library collections. It was also in part thanks to Naude that some libraries began to lend books outside of the precincts of the library. John Dury
John Dury
John Dury was a Scottish Calvinist minister and a significant intellectual of the English Civil War period. He made efforts to re-unite the Calvinist and Lutheran wings of Protestantism, hoping to succeed when he moved to Kassel in 1661, but he did not accomplish this...
is considered to be the first English library theorist. He wrote two letters to Samuel Hartlib
Samuel Hartlib
Samuel Hartlib was a German-British polymath. An active promoter and expert writer in many fields, he was interested in science, medicine, agriculture, politics, and education. He settled in England, where he married and died...
concerning the duties of a professional librarian, which were published in 1650 as "The Reformed Librarie-Keeper." He held that librarians should not only care for the books, but should also be well educated and accomplished to raise the standards of librarianship. Furthermore, he advocated that librarians deserve a living wage in order to use their energy to perform their duties to the fullest extent. Gottfried Leibniz
Gottfried Leibniz
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German philosopher and mathematician. He wrote in different languages, primarily in Latin , French and German ....
upheald that the librarian was the most important factor in the aid of learning. In history, he is credited for including science texts in addition to conventional literature within library collections. Another key figure of this time was Sir Thomas Bodley
Thomas Bodley
Sir Thomas Bodley was an English diplomat and scholar, founder of the Bodleian Library, Oxford.-Biography:...
who gave up his career as a diplomat and established Oxford's Bodelian library. He is credited for creating the first functional library of modern times. Subsequent librarians following Bodley were called Protobibliothecarius Bodelianus, the Bodelarian Librarian. They would earn 40£ a year.
18th century - France
The 18th century is considered to be an advancement to all cultural developments in library history, and it is at this time that we see the beginning of the functional library. In France, the French Revolution saw the confiscation in 1789 of church libraries and rich noble's private libraries, and their collections became state property. The confiscated stock became part of a new national library - Bibliotheque Nationale. Two famous librarians, Hubert-Pascal Ameilhon
Hubert-Pascal Ameilhon
Hubert-Pascal Ameilhon was a French historian and librarian.He first worked at the Bibliothèque historique de la ville de Paris, the city of Paris historical library...
and Joseph Van Praet
Joseph Van Praet
Joseph Basile Bernard Van Praet was a Flanders-born librarian and scholar active in France.-Bibliothèque nationale:...
, selected and identified over 300,000 books and manuscripts that became the property of the people in the Bibliotheque Nationale. During the French Revolution, librarians were solely responsible for the bibliographic planning of the nation. Out of this came the implementation of the concept of library service - the democratic extension of library services to the general public regardless of wealth or education.
19th century - US and Canada
The 19th century marked the time when librarianship as a profession began to rise. Male librarians, called “Bookmen,” were found in sophisticated academic institutions around the middle of the 19th century. Similarly to the librarians of Alexandria, they were scholars, not custodians of the library institution in which they worked. During this time there was no training, formal or otherwise, for librarians except trial and error methods of learning; they were self-taught or learned from the example of other librarians. It was not uncommon practice, however, for experienced librarians to recruit individuals and train them under close observation. In 1872, Publishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
, an instructional publication focusing on the publishing industry, began to devote small sections to librarians. Furthermore, a study entitled "Public Libraries in the United States of America: Their History, Condition, and Management," was created by the U.S. Office of Education for practicing librarians. This study included a manual which included topics in management, administration, history, cataloging, popular reading, and library buildings, created by notable authorities in librarianship.
It was also during the middle of the 19th century when Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
, a businessman and entrepreneur, funded the construction of nearly 3000 libraries throughout the world. With this substantial increase in libraries, library workers were established as a permanent workforce.
While Carnegie provided the institutions where librarianship as a profession blossomed, it was Melvil Dewey
Melvil Dewey
Melville Louis Kossuth Dewey was an American librarian and educator, inventor of the Dewey Decimal system of library classification, and a founder of the Lake Placid Club....
who was a primary force in establishing the professionalization of librarians and library education in the US. Dewey believed librarians are meant to provide patrons with “better” books to improve people and their way of life. As part of his contributions to librarianship, Dewey, along with Justin Winsor
Justin Winsor
Justin Winsor was a prominent American writer, librarian, and historian.-Background and education:Winsor was born in Boston, Massachusetts, son of Nathaniel Winsor III and Ann Thomas Howland Winsor...
, founded the creation of the American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
(ALA). Not only did the creation of the ALA provide national visibility and recognition to the field of librarianship, but it substantially increased the professional identity among the library practitioners. Dewey also had a hand in creating the first major professional publication for librarians: The American Library Journal, which was intended to assist librarians in their daily work. Moreover, Dewey had first hand experience in opening the first library school, The School of Library Economy, which opened January 1st 1887. The programs offered by the library school took three months, and students were required to take on an internship which sometimes lasted two years for students to become exposed to and familiar with professional tasks.
The situation in Canada was different at this time. Canada did not have the advancement of library schools that the US did, and in the earlier half of the 19th century, there was no formal training or education for potential librarians. The Toronto Public Library
Toronto Public Library
Toronto Public Library is a public library system based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest public library system in Canada and in 2008, had averaged a higher...
held competitive examinations for librarian hopefuls. The first exam was held December 15, 1887 and tested candidates on writing, arithmetic, reading, and English Literature. In 1890 they added a restriction to the those writing the exam - candidates were required to be atleast 5'3 inches tall. Although successful candidates were referred to American library schools for training, they also had the option of serving as apprentices and learning on the job.
20th century - US and Canada
After the introduction of Dewey’s library school, an additional four library schools were opened by 1900. These schools were: Albany, Pratt InstitutePratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
, Drexel University
Drexel University
Drexel University is a private research university with the main campus located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist. Drexel offers 70 full-time undergraduate programs and accelerated degrees...
, and the Armour Institute. By 1919, there were 15 more programs in the United States. These programs varied by length of program, type of degree or certificate awarded, and requirements for admission. On completion of most programs, students were awarded a Bachelor’s of Library Science. At the time, the Master’s of Library Science was not awarded anywhere but Albany .
In recognition of the rise of Library educational programs, ALA created the ALA Committee on Library Training in which members would review the various educational programs. This led to ALA’s “Standards for Library Education,” which established separate standards for the different types of training programs. The neutral approach that ALA took to the Library Schools, however, influenced the schools to band together and create their own organization – The Association of American Library Schools. The Williamson Report, created for the Carnegie Corporation, however, was the most important review of library education programs. In the Williamson report, C. C. Williams criticises the quality of many established programs, and designates a university graduate degree, not a college bachelor’s degree, as the appropriate education for professional librarians. It was thanks to the Williamson report that librarians were required to receive one year of postgraduate education in librarianship. By the 1950s, most library schools in the US awarded a Master’s degree.
It was at this point in history that the notion of library science was established as the study for future librarians. In addition to professional librarians, faculty in Library Science programs included other academics such as sociologists and historians. Because the faculty consisted mostly of scholars, they contributed a considerable amount of research which formed the foundation of the field of library science.
Another notable progression that arose after the “Williamson Report” was the establishment of The Hampton Insistute Library School, the first library school to train African-American librarians in the US. After the establishment of the Hampton Institute Library School, more African-Americans were accepted to library schools, including Edward Christopher Williams
Edward Christopher Williams
Edward Christopher Williams was the first African-American professional librarian in the United States of America. His sudden death in 1929 ended his career the year he was expected to receive the first Ph.D. in librarianship. Williams was born on February 11, 1871, in Cleveland, Ohio, to an...
, a graduate of the New York State Library School, who went on to become the director of the library at Howard University in 1916.
With the expanding economy, the baby boom, and the important federal legislation supporting the development of education institutions and their libraries, library schools reached their heyday in the 1950s to 1960s. These factors lead to an increased need for librarians. By the 1970s, there were more than 70 accredited library schools with master’s programs in US and Canada. By 1999, however, there were only 56 ALA-accredited library school programs in the US and Canada. As library schools were never high-profile departments, these closures were a result of universities' efforts to reduce costs during the recessions of the 1980s.
While library schools were established in the US as early as the 19th century, library schools in Canada were not established until the 20th century. The starting push to establish library schools in Canada came from George Locke
George Locke
George Herbert Locke was a Canadian librarian. He was chief librarian of the Toronto Public Library from 1908 until his death, a time of great expansion in that library system. He was the first Canadian to be president of the American Library Association. The George H...
, chief librarian of the Toronto Public Library
Toronto Public Library
Toronto Public Library is a public library system based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest public library system in Canada and in 2008, had averaged a higher...
from 1908-1937. When Locke started his reign as chief librarian at TPL, training for librarians was still limited to on the job training. He believed, however, that librarians should be formally trained in educational programs like those of the US. He favoured librarians that had a formal educational background in librarianship. In 1909, Locke recruited Winnifred Barnstead, a Canadian graduate of a two year training course for librarians at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, to head the cataloguing department. Locke also hired Lillian H. Smith, a Canadian graduate from the training school at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, to head the Children's department. With the help of Barnstead and Smith, Locke began his own training program through the Toronto Public Library
Toronto Public Library
Toronto Public Library is a public library system based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest public library system in Canada and in 2008, had averaged a higher...
.
A contemporary of Locke was Edwin A. Hardy, secretary of the Ontario Library Association
Ontario Library Association
Ontario Library Association , established in 1900, is the oldest continually operating library association in Canada. With 5,190 members as of January 1, 2007, OLA is the largest library association in Canada....
from its inception in 1901 to 1925, then as president from 1925-1926. Hardy was vocal in his opinion of formal educational training for librarians, and desperately desired a library school in Canada for fear of losing Canadian librarians trained in the US to the US. He was active in establishing library institutes, one-day regional workshops, through Ontario departments of Education, the first of which was held in Brantford, Ontario in 1907.
These institutes, however, proved insufficient, and there was a formal request for Departments of Education to begin a summer library school. The first of these summer schools ran in 1911; it was a hybrid program modelled after American schools and normal schools which educated teachers in Ontario. This program ran for four weeks in the summer when libraries were able to spare staff for training and eligible candidates were only those already employed in libraries. In 1919, it was extended to be a 3 month program and became the Ontario Library School.
Library schools in Canada at this time, however, were unique to those in the US because they were under complete control of the Department of Education. For this reason, library schools in Canada fell under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education. While the Department of Education always provided funding for the library school, librarians were not able to push their own ideas or agenda. A course was established in the Ontario College of Education, located on the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
campus, to provide an academic and professional compliment to the already established technical training of librarians. Barnstead became the first director, but all financial, hiring, and curriculum matters were made by the Dean of the College of Education and the Minister of Education. Graduates of the program did not receive a degree; they received a librarian's certificate from the Minister of Education and a diploma from the University of Toronto.
It was not until the 1930s that the library school became a separate entity from the Department and Ministry of Education. In 1937, the library school at the University of Toronto received ALA accreditation and Canadian students began to receive a professional degree - The Bachelor of Library Science.
Positions and duties
Specific duties vary depending on the size and type of library. Olivia Crosby described librarians as "Information experts in the information age". Most librarians spend their time working in one of the following areas of a library:
- Public service librarians work with the public, frequently at the reference deskLibrary reference deskThe reference desk or information desk of a library is a public service counter where professional librarians provide library users with direction to library materials, advice on library collections and services, and expertise on multiple kinds of information from multiple sources.- Explanation...
of lending libraries. Some specialize in serving adults or children. Children's librarians provide appropriate material for children at all age levels, include pre-readers, conduct specialized programs and work with the children (and often their parents) to help foster interest and competence in the young reader. (In larger libraries, some specialize in teen services, periodicalsMagazineMagazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
, or other special collections.) - Reference or research librarians help people doing research to find the information they need, through a structured conversation called a reference interviewReference interviewA reference interview is a conversation between a librarian and a library user, usually at a reference desk, in which the librarian responds to the user's initial explanation of his or her information need by first attempting to clarify that need and then by directing the user to appropriate...
. The help may take the form of research on a specific question, providing direction on the use of databases and other electronic information resources; obtaining specialized materials from other sources; or providing access to and care of delicate or expensive materials. These services are sometimes provided by other library staff that have been given a certain amount of special training; some have criticized this trend. - Technical service librarians work "behind the scenes" ordering library materials and database subscriptions, computers and other equipment, and supervise the catalogingLibrary catalogA library catalog is a register of all bibliographic items found in a library or group of libraries, such as a network of libraries at several locations...
and physical processing of new materials. - Collections development librarians monitor the selection of books and electronic resources. Large libraries often use approval plans, which involve the librarian for a specific subject creating a profile that allows publishers to send relevant books to the library without any additional vettingVettingVetting is a process of examination and evaluation, generally referring to performing a background check on someone before offering him or her employment, conferring an award, etc...
. Librarians can then see those books when they arrive and decide if they will become part of the collection or not. All collections librarians also have a certain amount of funding to allow them to purchase books and materials that don't arrive via approval. - ArchivistArchivistAn archivist is a professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to information determined to have long-term value. The information maintained by an archivist can be any form of media...
s can be specialized librarians who deal with archival materials, such as manuscripts, documents and records, though this varies from country to country, and there are other routes to the archival profession. - Systems Librarians develop, troubleshoot and maintain library systems, including the library catalog and related systems.
- Electronic Resources Librarians manage the databases that libraries license from third-party vendors.
- School Librarians work in school libraries and perform duties as teachers, information technology specialists, and advocates for literacy.
- A Young Adult or YA librarian serves patrons who are between 12 and 18 years old. Young adults are those patrons that look to library services to give them direction and guidance toward recreation, education, and emancipation. A young adult librarian could work in several different institutions; one might be a school library/media teacher, a member of a public library team, or a librarian in a penal institution. Licensing for library/media teacher includes a Bachelor or Master of Arts in Teaching and additional higher-level course work in library science. YA librarians who work in public libraries usually have a Master's degree in Library and/or Information Science (MLIS), relevant work experience, or a related credential.
- "Media Specialists" teach students to find and analyze information, purchase books and other resources for the school library, supervise library assistants, and are responsible for all aspects of running the library/media center. Both LMTs Library Media Teachers and YA public librarians order books and other materials that will interest their young adult patrons. They also must help YAs find relevant and authoritative Internet resources. Helping this age group to become life-long learners and readers is a main objective of professionals in this library specialty.
- Outreach Librarians are charged with providing library and information services for underrepresented groups, such as people with disabilities, low income neighborhoods, home bound adults and seniors, incarcerated and ex-offenders, and homeless and rural communities. In academic libraries, outreach librarians might focus on high school students, transfer students, first-generation college students, and minorities.
- Instruction Librarians teach information literacy skills in face-to-face classes and/or through the creation of online learning objects. They instruct library users on how to find, evaluate and use information effectively. They are most common in academic libraries.
Additional responsibilities
Experienced librarians may take administrative positions such as library or information center director. Similar to the management of any other organization, they are concerned with the long-term planning of the library, and its relationship with its parent organization (the city or county for a public library, the college/university for an academic library, or the organization served by a special librarySpecial library
A special library is a term for a library that is neither an academic, school, public or national library. Special libraries include law libraries, news libraries, corporate libraries, museum libraries, and medical libraries and are not usually open to the public for use...
). In smaller or specialized libraries, librarians typically perform a wide range of the different duties.
- Researching topics of interest for their constituencies.
- Referring patrons to other community organizationCommunity organizationCommunity organizations are civil society non-profits that operate within a single local community. They are essentially a subset of the wider group of nonprofits. Like other nonprofits they are often run on a voluntary basis and are self funded...
s and governmentGovernmentGovernment refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
offices. - Suggesting appropriate books ("readers' advisory") for children of different reading levels, and recommending novelNovelA novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s for recreational reading. - Facilitating and promoting reading clubs.
- Developing programs for library users of all ages and backgrounds.
- Managing access to electronic information resources.
- Building collections to respond to changing community needs or demands
- Creating pathfindersPathfinder (Library Science)A pathfinder is a bibliography created to help research a particular topic or subject area....
- Writing grants to gain funding for expanded program or collections
- Digitizing collections for online access
- Answering incoming reference questions via telephone, postal mail, email, fax, and chat
- Making and enforcing computer appointments on the public access Internet computers.
Employment prospects
Salaries and benefits have improved somewhat in recent years, even in an era of budget tightening and reductions in operating expenses at many libraries. They can vary considerably depending upon the geographic region, the level of funding and support (it is usually better in major academic libraries and government facilities than it is in inner-city school or public libraries), the type of library (a small public or school library versus a large government or academic library), and the position (a beginning librarian versus a department head). Starting salaries at small public libraries can range from $20,000-$25,000; high profile positions like director or department head can approach or exceed $100,000 at major academic and large government libraries and some public libraries. Librarians who are paid faculty salaries at a major university (especially if they have a second academic degree), who have an education degree at a school library, who are in administration at a library, or who are in a government library post tend to have higher incomes, especially with experience and better language and technical skills. Despite this, librarians are still wrongly perceived as low-level pink collarPink Collar
Pink Collar is an ABC sitcom which just only pilot episode aired. It stars Alicia Silverstone, Charlotte Ross, Matt Malloy, and Ryan Michelle Bathe. TV-Pilot set in an accident insurance agency, Pink Collar talking about the lives of four woman as they juggle their ambitions, friendships, and...
professionals. In reality, the technical competencies and information-seeking skills needed for the job are becoming increasingly important and are relevant to the contemporary economy, and such positions are thus becoming more prominent.
Workplaces
Information broker
An information broker, also known as an independent information professional or information consultant, is a person or business that researches information for clients...
s, research specialists, knowledge management
Knowledge management
Knowledge management comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption of insights and experiences...
, competitive intelligence
Competitive intelligence
A broad definition of competitive intelligence is the action of defining, gathering, analyzing, and distributing intelligence about products, customers, competitors and any aspect of the environment needed to support executives and managers in making strategic decisions for an organization.Key...
or independent information professionals. Below are the basic differences between the types of libraries.
Public library
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
: These institutions are created through legislation within the jurisdiction they serve. Accordingly, they are given certain benefits, such as taxpayer funding, but must adhere to service standards and meet a wide group of client needs. They are usually overseen by a board of directors or library commission from the community. Mission statements, service and collection policies are the fundamental administrative features of public libraries. Occasionally private lending libraries serve the public in the manner of public libraries. In the United States, public librarians and public libraries are represented by the Public Library Association. Public library staffing is structured in response to community needs. Libraries bridge
traditional divisions between technical and public services positions by adopting new technologies such as mobile library services and reconfigure organizations depending on the local situation.
Academic library
Academic library
An academic library is a library that is attached to academic institutions above the secondary level, serving the teaching and research needs of students and staff...
: is a library that is an integral part of a college, university, or other institution of postsecondary education, administered to meet the information and research needs of its students, faculty, and staff. In the United States, the professional association for academic libraries and librarians is the Association of College and Research Libraries
Association of College and Research Libraries
The Association of College and Research Libraries , a division of the American Library Association , is a professional association of academic librarians and other interested individuals...
. Depending upon the institution, the library may serve a particular faculty or the entire institution. Many different types, sizes, and collections are found in academic libraries and some academic librarians are specialists in these collections and archives. A university librarian
Academic library
An academic library is a library that is attached to academic institutions above the secondary level, serving the teaching and research needs of students and staff...
, or chief librarian, is responsible for the library within the college structure, and may also be called the Dean of Libraries
Academic administration
An academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities...
. Some post-secondary institutions treat librarians as faculty, and they may be called professor or other academic ranks, which may or may not increase their salary and benefits. Some universities make similar demands of academic librarians for research and professional service as are required of faculty. Academic librarians administer various levels of service and privilege to faculty, students, alumni and the public.
School library media center
School library
A school library is a library within a school where students, staff, and often, parents of a public or private school have access to a variety of resources...
: Libraries which exclusively serve the needs of a public or private school. The primary purpose is to support the students, teachers, and curriculum of the school or school district. In addition to library administration, certificated teacher-librarians instruct individual students, groups and classes, and faculty in effective research methods, often referred to as information literacy skills. Audio-visual equipment service and/or textbook circulation may also be included in a school librarian's responsibilities. Often, teacher-librarian
Teacher-librarian
A teacher-librarian , school librarian, or school library media specialist , is a certified teacher who also has training in librarianship...
s are qualified teachers who take academic courses for school library certification and/or earn a Master's degree in Library Science.
Special library
Special library
A special library is a term for a library that is neither an academic, school, public or national library. Special libraries include law libraries, news libraries, corporate libraries, museum libraries, and medical libraries and are not usually open to the public for use...
: News, law, medical, government, nongovernmental organization, prison, corporate, museum or any other type of library owned and operated by an organization are considered as special library. They can be highly specialized, serving a discrete user group with a restricted collection area. In an increasingly global and virtual workplace, many special librarians may not even work in a library at all but instead manage and facilitate the use of electronic collections. Funding for special libraries varies widely. Librarians in some types of special libraries may be required to have additional training, such as a law degree for a librarian in an academic law library
Law library
A law library is a library designed to assist law students, attorneys, judges, and their law clerks and anyone else who finds it necessary to correctly determine the state of the law....
or appropriate subject degrees for subject specialties such as chemistry, engineering, etc. Many belong to the Special Libraries Association
Special Libraries Association
Special Libraries Association is an international professional association for library and information professionals working in business, government, law, finance, non-profit, and academic organizations and institutions....
. There are also more specific associations such as the American Association of Law Libraries
American Association of Law Libraries
The American Association of Law Libraries "is a nonprofit educational organization with over 5,000 members nationwide. AALL's mission is to promote and enhance the value of law libraries to the legal and public communities, to foster the profession of law librarianship, and to provide leadership in...
, Art Libraries Society of North America
Art Libraries Society of North America
The was founded in 1972. It is an organization made up of approximately 1,000 art librarians, library students and visual resource professionals.-Mission:...
, the Medical Library Association
Medical Library Association
The Medical Library Association is a nonprofit, educational organization with more than 4,000 health sciences information professional members and partners worldwide.- History :...
, or the Visual Resources Association
Visual Resources Association
The Visual Resources Association is an international organization for image media professionals,VRA was founded in 1982 by slide librarians who were members of the College Art Association , the South Eastern Art Conference , the Art Libraries Society of North America , and the Mid-America College...
.
Education
The US and Canada
In the United States and Canada, a librarian might have a one or two-year (more common) master's degreeMaster's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in library and information science
Library and information science
Library and information science is a merging of the two fields library science and information science...
, library science
Library science
Library science is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and other areas to libraries; the collection, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information resources; and the...
or information science
Information science
-Introduction:Information science is an interdisciplinary science primarily concerned with the analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information...
(called an MLS, MALIS, MSLS, MIS, MSIS, MS-LIS, MISt, MLIS, or MILS) from an accredited university. These degrees are accredited by the American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
and can have specializations within fields such as archiving
Archive
An archive is a collection of historical records, or the physical place they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of an organization...
, records management
Records management
Records management, or RM, is the practice of maintaining the records of an organization from the time they are created up to their eventual disposal...
, information architecture
Information Architecture
Information architecture is the art of expressing a model or concept of information used in activities that require explicit details of complex systems. Among these activities are library systems, Content Management Systems, web development, user interactions, database development, programming,...
, public librarianship, medical librarianship, law librarianship, special librarianship, academic librarianship, or school (K-12) librarianship. School librarians often are required to have a teaching credential
Teaching credential
A United States teaching credential is a basic multiple or single subject credential obtained upon completion of a bachelor's degree and prescribed professional education requirements. Teaching credentials are required in the United States in order to qualify to teach public school, as well as many...
; however, for the most part, a library science degree is not required. Many, if not most, academic librarians also have a second, subject-based master's degree . This is especially true of four year colleges.
Europe
In the UK and some other countries, a librarian can have a three- or four-year bachelor's degreeBachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in library and information studies
Library and information science
Library and information science is a merging of the two fields library science and information science...
or information science
Information science
-Introduction:Information science is an interdisciplinary science primarily concerned with the analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information...
; separate master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
s in librarianship, archive management, and records management are also available. In the United Kingdom, these degrees are accredited by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals
Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals
The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals is a professional body representing librarians and other information professionals in the United Kingdom.-History:...
and the Society of Archivists
Society of Archivists
The Society of Archivists was the principal professional body for archivists, archive conservators and records managers in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
. In Germany and some other countries, the first step for an academic librarian is a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in a subject field, followed by additional training in librarianship.
Australia
In Australia, a professional librarian must meet the requirements set out by the Australian Library and Information AssociationAustralian Library and Information Association
The Australian Library and Information Association is the peak professional organisation for the Australian library and information services sector....
(ALIA). There are three ways in which these requirements can be met: the individual must obtain an ALIA-recognized bachelor degree in library and information studies, complete a first degree in any discipline followed by an ALIA-recognized postgraduate diploma or masters course, or gain an ALIA-recognized library technician qualifications (undertaken at a Technical and Further Education
Technical and Further Education
In Australia, training and further education or TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational tertiary education courses, mostly qualifying courses under the National Training System/Australian Qualifications Framework/Australian Quality Training Framework...
(TAFE) college/institute followed by an ALIA-recognized bachelor degree in library and information studies. ALIA is responsible for accreditation of library specific qualifications for both librarians and library technicians. Professional Australian teacher-librarians require slightly different qualifications. In addition to having a degree that meets ALIA's accreditation process, teacher librarians must also hold recognized teaching qualifications.
Advanced degrees
It is also possible to earn a doctorateDoctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in library and information science. Graduates with PhD
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
s usually become teaching faculty in schools of library and information science, or sometimes occupy the directorship or deanship of university libraries. Those undertaking research at the doctoral level can pursue a very wide range of interests including information technology, government information policy, social research into information use among particular segments of society, information in organizations and corporate settings, and the history of books and printing
History of the book
The history of books follows a suite of technological innovations for books. These improved the quality of text conservation, the access to information, portability, and the cost of production...
.
It is common in academic and other research libraries to require the librarians to obtain Master's degrees in some academic subject, sometimes but not necessarily related to their professional responsibilities; in major research libraries, some of the librarians will hold Ph. D degrees in subject fields.
Other advanced degrees often taken in conjunction with a degree in librarianship are law
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
, management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
, health administration
Health administration
Health administration or healthcare administration is the field relating to leadership, management, and administration of hospitals, hospital networks, health care systems, and public health systems...
or public administration
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
.
Library-related positions
Library associates, library technicianLibrary technician
A library technician or library assistant is a skilled paraprofessional trained to perform the day-to-day functions of a library, and assists librarians in the acquisition, preparation and organization of information. They also assist library patrons in finding information...
s, and library assistants often have college diplomas but usually do not hold library-related degrees. Occasionally they also hold undergraduate or graduate degrees in other disciplines. These workers, sometimes referred to as para-professionals, perform duties such as database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
management, library catalog
Library catalog
A library catalog is a register of all bibliographic items found in a library or group of libraries, such as a network of libraries at several locations...
ing, ready reference, and serials and monograph processing.
Professional organizations and activities
The two largest library associations in the United States are the American Library AssociationAmerican Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
(ALA) and the Special Libraries Association
Special Libraries Association
Special Libraries Association is an international professional association for library and information professionals working in business, government, law, finance, non-profit, and academic organizations and institutions....
. YALSA The Young Adult Library Services Association serves Young Adult librarians, and is part of the American Library Association. Many U.S. states have their own library association as well. Librarians may also join such organizations as the Association of College and Research Libraries
Association of College and Research Libraries
The Association of College and Research Libraries , a division of the American Library Association , is a professional association of academic librarians and other interested individuals...
and the Public Library Association and the Art Libraries Society. The Canadian Library Association
Canadian Library Association
The Canadian Library Association is a national, predominantly English-language association which represents 57,000 library workers across the country. It also speaks for the interests of the 21 million Canadians who are members of libraries...
serves Canada and there are provincial associations as well, such as the Ontario Library Association
Ontario Library Association
Ontario Library Association , established in 1900, is the oldest continually operating library association in Canada. With 5,190 members as of January 1, 2007, OLA is the largest library association in Canada....
. In the United Kingdom, the professional body for Librarians is the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals
Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals
The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals is a professional body representing librarians and other information professionals in the United Kingdom.-History:...
(formerly known as the Library Association). The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions is the leading international association of library organisations. It is the global voice of the library and information profession, and its annual conference provides a venue for librarians to learn from one another...
(IFLA) represents the interests of libraries and librarians internationally. (See also the List of Library Associations.)
Recent issues of concern for U.S. libraries include implementation of the Patriot Act and the Children's Internet Protection Act
Children's Internet Protection Act
The Children's Internet Protection Act requires that K-12 schools and libraries in the United States use Internet filters and implement other measures to protect children from harmful online content as a condition for the receipt of certain federal funding...
. Many librarians around the world share American librarians' concern over ethical issues surrounding censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
and privacy
Privacy
Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively...
. Some librarians join activist organizations like the UK-based Information for Social Change
Information for Social Change
Information for Social Change is an international, volunteer-based association, whose primary mission is to debate and comment on issues of social justice, censorship, freedom and ethics in the library and information context...
and the North American-based Progressive Librarians Guild
Progressive Librarians Guild
The Progressive Librarians Guild was founded in New York City in January 1990 by librarians concerned with library profession's rapid drift into dubious alliances with business and the information industry, and into complacent acceptance of service to an unquestioned political, economic and...
. The Progressive Librarians Guild covers the actions of union library workers.
Within the American Library Association (ALA), some also join the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SSRT). SRRT came into being amid the social ferment of the 1960s and is often critical of the American Library Association for not living up to its professed ideals. Another important activist organization is the Social Responsibilities Special Interest Section of the American Association of Law Libraries
American Association of Law Libraries
The American Association of Law Libraries "is a nonprofit educational organization with over 5,000 members nationwide. AALL's mission is to promote and enhance the value of law libraries to the legal and public communities, to foster the profession of law librarianship, and to provide leadership in...
(AALL). These activist organizations are viewed as controversial by some librarians, while others view them as a natural extension and outgrowth of their own deeply-held library ethics. Librarians in the United States who as political actors in our times provide examples of a commitment to equality, the right to know or social justice include Peter Chase, George Christian, Janet Nocek, and Barbara Bailey. In the Doe v. Gonzales case, these librarians challenged the constitutionality of the nondisclosure provisions of the National Security Letters issued by the government under the USA Patriot Act in terrorist or other investigations. The four received the Roger Baldwin Medal of Liberty from the American Civil Liberties Union in June 2007.
Technology and librarians
The increasing role of technology in libraries has a significant impact on the changing roles of librarians. New technologies are dramatically increasing the accessibility of information, and librarians are adapting to the evolving needs of users that emerge from the adoption of these new technologies.One of the most significant examples of how technology has changed the role of librarians in the last 50 years has been the move from traditional card catalogs to online public access catalogs (OPAC
OPAC
An Online Public Access Catalog is an online database of materials held by a library or group of libraries...
s). Librarians had to develop software and the MARC standards
MARC standards
MARC, MAchine-Readable Cataloging, is a data format and set of related standards used by libraries to encode and share information about books and other material they collect...
for cataloguing records electronically. They had to purchase and run the computers necessary to use the software. They had to teach the public how to use the new technologies and move to more virtual working environments.
The same could be said of other technology developments, from electronic databases (including the Internet), to logistical functions such as bar codes (or in the near future RFID). Many librarians provide virtual reference services (via web-based chat, instant messaging, text messaging, and e-mail), work in digitizing initiatives for works in the public domain, teach information literacy and technology classes to their users, and work on the development of information architectures for improving access and search functionality. These examples illustrate some of the ways in which librarians are using technology to fulfill and expand upon their historical roles.
Librarians must continually adapt to new formats for information, such as electronic journal
Electronic journal
Electronic journals, also known as ejournals, e-journals, and electronic serials, are scholarly journals or intellectual magazines that can be accessed via electronic transmission. In practice, this means that they are usually published on the Web...
s and e-books, which present both challenges and opportunities in providing access and promoting them to library patrons.
Increasing technological advance has presented the possibility of automating some aspects of traditional libraries. In 2004 a group of researchers in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
developed the UJI Online Robot
UJI Online Robot
The UJI Online Robot is a robot library tool that was created at University Jaume I, Spain in 2004. It consistsof a robot with three cameras that enable a user to remotely control pickup and placement operations of objects located on a board...
. This robot is able to navigate the library, look for the specified book, and upon its discovery, carefully take it from the shelf and deliver it to the user. Because of the robot's extremely limited function, its introduction into libraries poses little risk of the employment of librarians, whose duties are not defined by menial tasks such as the retrieval of books.
Librarians in popular culture
StereotypeStereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
s of librarians in popular culture are frequently negative: librarians are portrayed as puritanical, punitive, unattractive, and introverted if female, or timid, unattractive, and effeminate if male. The librarian is in charge of a library just as a principal is in charge of a school or a pastor is in charge of a church.
Examples of librarians in popular culture include:
- In the DiscworldDiscworldDiscworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R....
book series by Terry PratchettTerry PratchettSir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
there is a librarian who has been magicMagic (paranormal)Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
ally turned into an orangutanOrangutanOrangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...
. In these stories, librarians frequently have supernatural powers related to books and library work, including access to a form of hyperspaceHyperspace (science fiction)Hyperspace is a plot device sometimes used in science fiction. It is typically described as an alternative region of space co-existing with our own universe which may be entered using an energy field or other device...
known as L-Space. - "Weird Al" Yankovic"Weird Al" YankovicAlfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
plays Conan the LibrarianConan the LibrarianConan the Librarian is a perennial parody of R. E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian that has appeared in film, television, comics, and fan fiction.-You Can't Do That on Television:...
, in a brief segment of the 1989 film UHFUHF (film)UHF is a 1989 American comedy film starring "Weird Al" Yankovic, David Bowe, Fran Drescher, Victoria Jackson, Kevin McCarthy, Michael Richards, Gedde Watanabe, Billy Barty, Anthony Geary, Emo Philips and Trinidad Silva, in whose memory the film is dedicated.The title refers to Ultra High Frequency...
. - On the May 24, 2007 episode of the Colbert Report, Colbert interviewed WikipediaWikipediaWikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
co-founder Jimmy WalesJimmy WalesJimmy Donal "Jimbo" Wales is an American Internet entrepreneur best known as a co-founder and promoter of the online non-profit encyclopedia Wikipedia and the Wikia company....
. During the interview, he showed on the screen the statement "Librarians are hiding something" and asked Wales how he would stop or prevent vandalism to Wikipedia based on that statement. - Space Marine Librarians are characters from the collectible miniatures gameCollectible miniatures gameCollectible miniatures games or CMGs are a form of miniature wargaming that is also similar to collectible card games — the primary difference being that while CCGs are card-based games, CMGs feature miniature figures....
Warhammer 40,000Warhammer 40,000Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, set in a dystopian science fantasy universe. Warhammer 40,000 was created by Rick Priestley in 1987 as the futuristic companion to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, sharing many game mechanics...
; these superhuman fighters come equipped with potent psychic powers, rather than just being deskbound intellects. Wielding force staffs and psychic abilities, they are found on the battlefield battling alongside their non-psychic battle brothers delivering justice to the Emperor's enemies, while at the same time advising the Space Marine Commander.
See also
- ArchivistArchivistAn archivist is a professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to information determined to have long-term value. The information maintained by an archivist can be any form of media...
- Bookstore
- CuratorCuratorA curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
- History of Public Library AdvocacyHistory of Public Library AdvocacyPublic libraries in the American Colonies can be traced back to 1656, when a Boston merchant named Captain Robert Keayne willed his collection of books to the town. Many of the early colonists had brought books with them from England....
- Library school
- List of librarians
- Periodicals librarianPeriodicals librarianA periodicals or serials librarian is a librarian who works in the specialized area of serials librarianship. A periodicals librarian can have a variety of duties, but generally work specifically with the acquisition, collection development, organization, preservation, and sometimes cataloging of...
- Public Library AdvocacyPublic Library AdvocacyPublic library advocacy is support given to a public library for its financial and philosophical goals or needs. Most often this takes the form of monetary or material donations or campaigning to the institutions which oversee the library...