Sonderquotes

Library as Support Group

There is a belief that once you begin to open books, you will become a better person.  It is Pandora’s box, but in a good way.  You are inching toward the promised land, page by page.  And it doesn’t matter if you subscribe to this theory or not.  The subscription has already been bought and paid for.

We are all misfits, poseurs, and clowns.  We are heartbroken and lonely, failures in life, criminals and frauds.  Most of our successes are pleasant illusions.  Through the books on the shelves, the library becomes a support group and lets us know that we are not alone.  Once we realize we are not alone, we can relax, set our burdens down, and move on.

– Don Borchert, Free for All, p. xiv-xv

The True Glory of the Library

Sometimes a library use is simple.  You want something, go to the library to get it, and leave satisfied.  Sometimes it can be more than that.  You look at a website on a library computer and that reminds you of a book of which you have not thought for years or takes you to an article by someone completely unknown to you that, in turn, takes you to a DVD of a half-forgotten movie.  Once you have had that experience, you understand the true glory of the library — that complex and never-ending series of connections to the entire human record.

– Michael Gorman, Our Own Selves:  More Meditations for Librarians, p. 204

Serving Through Libraries

One of the great intangible benefits of library work is the sense of self-worth that comes when we realize that, no matter how humdrum the day or week, we are playing a part in bringing the good things of life to everyone and improving our communities, one life at a time.  A library serving a community of any kind (a village, school, city, college or university, corporation, government) enriches that community, which would be impoverished and weakened if that library did not exist.

– Michael Gorman, Our Own Selves:  More Meditations for Librarians, p. 191

The Librarianship of Love

A committed librarian is a person who loves humanity and seeks to help individuals and society; a person who loves learning and the achievements of humankind; and, above all, a person who loves truth.

– Michael Gorman, Our Singular Strengths:  Meditations for Librarians, p. 190

Life-Changing Places

In every library there is a sense of possibility, a potential for wonder.  For all our orderliness and organization, for all the stillness and quiet, just below the surface there is the anarchic impulse that keeps us believing that at any moment our lives may be changed.

– Michael Gorman, Our Singular Strengths:  Meditations for Librarians, p. 181

A Library

A library is like an island in the middle of a vast sea of ignorance, particularly if the library is very tall and the surrounding area has been flooded.

– Lemony Snicket, Horseradish, p. 76

Realistic Books

Neither my mother nor my dog dies in this book.  I’m rather tired of those types of stories.  In my opinion, such fantastical, unrealistic books — books in which boys live on mountains, families work on farms, or anyone has anything to do with the Great Depression — have a tendency to rot the brain.  To combat such silliness, I’ve written the volume you now hold — a solid, true account.  Hopefully, it will help anchor you in reality.

So, when people try to give you some book with a shiny round award on the cover, be kind and gracious, but tell them that you don’t read “fantasy,” because you prefer stories that are real.  Then come back here and continue your research on the cult of evil Librarians who secretly rule the world.

– Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, by Brandon Sanderson, p. 50

Those Dangerous Libraries

“What you haven’t realized before is that all libraries are far more dangerous than you’ve always assumed.”

– Grandpa Smedry in Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, by Brandon Sanderson, p. 43

Reference Librarians

“I’ve been a reference librarian for thirty-three years.  I know more than I say about nearly everything.”

Mrs. Sobell in The Magic and the Healing, by Nick O’Donohoe, p. 116

A Noble Profession

With the firestorm and controversy out of which The Higher Power of Lucky emerged unscathed, I am more than ever confirmed in my belief that librarianship is a noble profession, essential to free speech and free access for children.  It is crucial to children’s ability to make sense of this fragile, battered world — the world we’re handing over to them.  I’m grateful to have spent thirty-five years promoting children’s books.  It’s work you can look back on and know you made a difference in people’s lives, and as cliched as that sounds, I believe it profoundly.

– Susan Patron, Newbery Medal Acceptance Speech, June 24, 2007.