Library Land Revisted

Every now and then someone, perhaps a stranger at a party, upon finding out that I am a librarian tells me how much they dislike libraries.

Why they think they should share this with a library professional I will NEVER know but it happens more than you would think.

Anyway, I always ask why they don;t like libraries and inevitably the response I get is something along the lines of "librarians are mean."

That hurts people. Not all librarians are mean! I am not mean!

I can admit that there are days when I give better service at the Reference desk than others, but I have never been mean.

Librarianship is not the stressless job that many people think it is. Contrary to popular belief I don't just sit around and read all day. I can't think of a single librarian I know who does that.

The following article tells the truth about some of what librarians have to deal with:

http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?emx=x&pid=180836

There is a great deal of frustration in my profession. We a people who want to help and in many cases we can't because politics, budget, staffing issues get in the way.

So for those of you out there who don't like libraries because of those mean librarians you have encountered in the past. Read the article and then maybe give them another chance.