{"id":33576,"date":"2018-05-31T22:12:45","date_gmt":"2018-06-01T02:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=33576"},"modified":"2018-05-31T22:12:45","modified_gmt":"2018-06-01T02:12:45","slug":"review-of-this-is-what-a-librarian-looks-like-by-kyle-cassidy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=33576","title":{"rendered":"Review of This Is What a Librarian Looks Like, by Kyle Cassidy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>This Is What a Librarian Looks Like<\/p>\n

A Celebration of Libraries, Communities, and Access to Information<\/em><\/p>\n

by Kyle Cassidy
\nwith thoughts on libraries from Neil Gaiman, George R. R. Martin, Nancy Pearl, Cory Doctorow, Jude Deveraux, Amy Dickinson, Amanda Palmer, Samira Ahmed, Sara Farizan, Jeff VanderMeer, John Scalzi, and more<\/p>\n

Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2017. 234 pages.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no surprise I love this book. It contains photos of hundreds of librarians, with short quotations from them about their jobs. There are essays about the importance of libraries. Essays by famous writers about their experiences with libraries and other essays featuring notable libraries and the good work they are doing. In short, the subtitle says it well \u2013 this is a celebration of librarians and libraries and the vast depth of resources they bring to their communities.<\/p>\n

I hope that non-librarians will look at this book and gain a new appreciation of all that modern librarians do. I already know all this! In fact, non-librarian friends and family, please read this book as a favor to me. You\u2019ll understand all the better why I am so proud to be a librarian and see librarianship as my calling.<\/p>\n

And yes, I have several friends featured in these pages \u2013 well, they are at least acquaintances and people I have worked with on committees. I\u2019ve spoken and worked with them. Even had lunch with a few at conferences.<\/p>\n

But besides that, this is a beautiful look at the wide variety of missions of librarians and libraries in American communities today.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how the author and photographer starts the book in the Introduction:<\/p>\n

How can I help libraries?<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a question I never really thought about until recently. But now it\u2019s something constantly on my mind, because libraries can use some help, and very often the people in the best position to do so are those of us who haven\u2019t thought about them for a long time.<\/p>\n

If you travel across America talking about libraries, you will meet some people who love them, some who are indifferent, and others who think they are a waste of resources. The functions that libraries serve are bound up with their communities; indeed, the two are symbiotic. The more love you put in, the more you will get out.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And here\u2019s how he finishes the book in the Afterword:<\/p>\n

There\u2019s so much work being done in every community across the country by these people. This isn\u2019t a book about America\u2019s most significant libraries; it\u2019s a book about everyday libraries doing everyday work. They\u2019re just drops of rain in a thunderstorm, but together they work to make the ground fertile.<\/p>\n

Wherever you are in America, there is a librarian fighting to get you something<\/em>, whether it\u2019s a computer, an audio book, a children\u2019s book, a banned book, job skills, a citizenship test, a record deal, a movie to watch, a fishing rod, answers about thirteenth-century clothing, voter registration, local archives, a place to stay warm or cool or dry, a kayak on a breezy summer afternoon, or any of a thousand thousand other things. These librarians are fighting against incredible odds and against powerful forces and against ignorance and arrogance. They don\u2019t even know you, but they\u2019re getting up every morning, relentlessly building a colossus for you to stand on to see farther, reach higher, and achieve more. They\u2019re fighting for your right to access information.<\/p>\n

How can you help libraries?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What are you waiting for? Check this book out from your local library! If you need help finding it, I know someone who’d be glad to help.<\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Nonfiction\/librarian_looks_like.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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