What is a Librarian?

To some, this question may have an obvious answer. Most people have an image of what a librarian is already firmly implanted in their heads.

It could be that old woman, her gray hair pulled back into a severe bun. Yes, you can see her. She has horn-rimmed glasses and wears a sweater with a long skirt, under which shuffle two loafer-clad feet. She loathes fun; one bony finger lifted to her lips will "shh!" anyone into submission.

It could be that man in your high school library. He won't let you print anything. Nondescript and boring, he barely talks. If he's there to help, then why are you afraid to ask him? If he hates students, then why is he working at a school?

Maybe it could even be that shy, bookish woman whom every man hopes is secretly dying to dance on a table wearing nothing but a smile. (Just for reference: I did know a belly dancing librarian once; she wore a lot more than a smile).

Most people who imagine these kinds of characters when they hear "librarian" would be shocked to find that librarians and other information professionals come from all backgrounds, all countries, all faiths, all ages, and in all shapes and sizes. In fact, the only things I've found most of the ones I've met to hold in common are warmth, intelligence, and a certain eccentricity that goes along with a love for learning.

In fact, that brings to mind one thing that librarians are: they are people who love to learn, and who love to help others learn. Contrary to popular belief, however, librarians do not know everything. They merely have access to (almost) everything.

During my short time working in various libraries, I have come to view a librarian as a conduit. A librarian does not contain the knowledge of the world (in this day and age, that is becoming increasingly impossible), but rather serves as a key to unlock the gateway to this knowledge, a dam to hold back and manage the information deluge, if you will. And with the amount of information available today, one must have a steady heart, not to mention a strong back to manage it.

A librarian is someone who works hard at tasks that may seem boring to the general populace. While the work can be repetitive, I have never been able to put it on the level of "boring." Librarians get to handle, or at least work around, materials that range in subject from mythology to gun control, from Omega-3 fatty acids to the dynamics of a spinning frisbee and everything in between. It's hard to be bored in a library unless one really tries.

Most of all, a librarian is of necessity a servant. Whether it is to the public, to academia, to a company, a church, a law firm or a hospital, librarians are there to organize someone else's information and then help others find it. Librarians are there to make sure that all information resources one could possibly need are at one's fingertips.

Librarians are a motley crew who don't quite belong anywhere else but a library. They are people of few or many words, male or female, young or old. They are black, white, brown, pinkish, and sometimes green (but we are not sure of this). They are passionate, with souls of ink and fire. Some of them don't wear glasses.

But I do. And I'm not really a librarian yet, but it will happen. Just a few years, and I too will be able to enjoy the title and join the ranks of some of the nicest, funniest, most interesting people I have ever known.

Here's to the journey.