My 5 Favorite Things About Librarians // #NationalLibraryWeek 2022

Since it’s National Library Week this year (April 3-9), it’s time to celebrate our librarians, and how important they are to the world.

I wrote a post last year about my favorite childhood library books, and I wanted to continue the tradition supporting libraries.

Krysta from Pages Unbound wrote a post about how to support your local librarians, and she inspired me to write my own post about it.

As someone who has worked in and used their local library, I’ve seen how hard librarians and library workers work to utilize resources, information, programs and events to encourage their communities. Sure, there are times where the outcome doesn’t support the work, but the work is still needed. Here are my five favorite things about librarians.

Librarians are very resourceful and reliable.

I’ve must have spoken and still keep in contact with a dozen librarians over the past 2 years of my librarian journey, and most of them have given me a lot of resources and information. About the library industry, about their individual experiences, how they’re doing ingeneral, what programs they are up to, and so much more. They are much more than people who read. While a lot of them love books and reading, the field itself revolves a lot around information science, technology services, and public service. So many librarians have to carry many hats to keep up with the data they need to service their communities. I find that very admirable.

Librarians are creative.

You know that storytime that your child, or friend’s child, or game night that your teenager liked? It was probably made by a librarian or library worker! Many advanced librarians who specialize in youth or teen services create programs and events centered around their interests. Most involve digital stuff like what’s trending on Tik Tok, Youtube, Instagram, but there are others who have spent countless effort in making Makerspaces for people who need them the most. Between writing workshops, children’s storytimes, Twitch game nights, graphic novel readalongs and more, librarians are some of the most creative beings on the planet!

Librarians have a lot of empathy.

In order to work with the public, there has to be some form of empathy and compassion. Some patrons show up to their libraries in need of a place to charge their phones. Some use the computer because theirs at home isn’t working. Most young patrons need a peaceful space to do their homework for an hour, because they have no privacy at home. With libraries, you never know where people are coming form, and that’s why librarians and workers wear their hearts on their sleeve. They are some of the kindest people on earth.

Librarians are teachers too.

A lot of school librarians (what they call a media specialist), academic librarians, business and law librarians, perform seminars and special events. Where teachers have their classes come in to the library to learn how to use certain computer skills, like how to use citations, and how to research using EBSCOHost. There are also teacher-librarians, who apply both skills of a librarian and a teacher. Or an associate professor who specializes in working with colleges and universities. There’s a lot that can go into how much knowledge a librarian can have.

Librarians are human.

I think people tend to forget that librarians are humans, too. With all they’ve experienced and seen working in libraries, some people treat them as less then, like most service workers are. It’s so sad to hear how some librarians get yelled at, looked down on, treated like crap, sometimes dealing with unruly children/teens in their library. At the end of the day, they’re doing people a favor providing most services for free! All patrons need is a library card. And yet, some patrons have the nerve to treat their library workers like they don’t matter. It’s one of the most frustrating part of this field, but I know it comes with the territory. Just be kind.

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