If you have ever asked this question or wondered how librarians spend their time, you're not alone. It's clear that the daily tasks of librarianship are a mystery to many. A lot of people think librarians just read all day, check out books, only taking time to go and shush patrons who are too noisy.
While shelving books and reading all day sounds like a luxury to many librarians, the truth is librarians have a wide variety of tasks that all focus on organizing, retrieving, sharing, and maintaining information and information systems. Information, use and creation, in all its shapes and forms, is what we love.
Librarians are required to have a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree. This degree teaches us how to:
Here at Loras, the academic faculty librarians do many things. Helping to support faculty, staff, and students, however, is the underlying aim to all that they do. What exactly does that look like? Well, when working with students it means that academic librarians help students to...
I have loved to read since I was a little girl especially historical fiction. After going to college for a history degree, I found I wanted to combine my love of history and reading. I also love working with people as a social butterfly and extrovert but did not want to a teacher or professor. My job as librarian helped me combine all my loves into one great job.
Helping students find research for their papers. I love seeing the lightbulb go on when a student stumbles on great information or source. I also enjoy helping students realize they can write this paper and will do a great job.
Don’t be scared to ask for help. It’s what we are here for. We love finding information in very obscure places.
The Beast’s Garden- Kate Forsyth
Beatriz Williams
I loved doing research in college, so the idea germinated and started growing as I progressed through my college years. Also, the profession embodies some of the values I hold dear, such as advocating for access to information, and the joys of life-long learning.
Connecting the library user (student, staff, faculty or anyone else) with the perfect book/article/fact/argument/idea to accomplish the task they’re working on.
We’re here to help! Don’t hesitate to ask.
This is a moving target, to some extent. I read a lot in the mystery genre, but I think my favorite book is still Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry (4th Floor 813.54 M229).
During High School I worked at my local public library to pay for my horse habit, but eventually I realized I was more passionate about organizing information and helping people find what they needed to answer their questions.
There are many things I love about being a Librarian, I get to work surrounded by books and creating the perfect dewey number, are prime examples, but my very favorite thing is introducing students to the amazing books we have in Special Collections and helping them experience history through physical objects.
We are here to help! We love answering questions and helping people find exactly what they need.
I mostly read science fiction and fantasy and right now I'm reading and enjoying N. K. Jemisin and Naomi Novik, but my go-to when I'm stressed is Tamora Pierce or Mercedes Lackey's Last Herald-Mage trilogy.