LIBRARIAN’S THE Celebrate librarianship and the love of libraries with this T H BOOK QUOTES charming collection of quotes! Tatyana Eckstrand has com- E OF piled nearly two hundred insightful, thought-provoking, and in- L I s piring aphorisms about the library profession. B R Writers from Shakespeare to Ray Bradbury and librarians A R from John Cotton Dana to Nancy Pearl are gathered together I A to sing the praises of librarians’ skills and values and the amazing N institutions they support. Citations are provided to the original ’S B source material, and a handy biographical dictionary provides O O background on individuals who may not be household names. K With its broad selection of sayings that pay honor to their work O and commitment, The Librarian’s Book of Quotes is a perfect gift F Q for information professionals and lovers of libraries. U O T E You may also be interested in S E C K S T R A N D www.alastore.ala.org AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION A 50 East Huron Street Chicago, IL 60611 LA COMPILED BY TATYANA ECKSTRAND 1-866-SHOP ALA (1-866-746-7252) www.alastore.ala.org EECCKKSSTTRRAANNDD CCOOVVEERR PPCC IInnDDeessiiggnn CCSS33..iinndddd 11 55//1155//22000099 11::0077::3322 PPMM The Librarian’s Book Quotes of Compiled by TaTyana eCksTrand AmericAn LiBrAry AssociAtion chicAgo 2009 While extensive effort has gone into ensuring the reliability of information appearing in this book, the publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, on the accuracy or reliability of the information, and does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in this publication. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American national standard for information sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library materials, Ansi Z39.48-1992. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data eckstrand, tatyana. The librarian’s book of quotes / compiled by tatyana eckstrand. p. cm. isBn 978-0-8389-0988-1 (alk. paper) 1. Library science—Quotations, maxims, etc. 2. Librarians—Quotations, maxims, etc. 3. Libraries—Quotations, maxims, etc. i. title. Pn6084.L52e25 2009 020–dc22 009000557 cover illustration ©2007 oldrich Jelen (www.jeleni.net) Book design by Karen sheets de gracia copyright ©2009 by the American Library Association. All rights reserved except those which may be granted by sections 107 and 108 of the copyright revision Act of 1976. isBn-13: 978-0-8389-0988-1 Printed in the United states of America 13 12 11 10 09 5 4 3 2 1 For my mother, the artist, and my father, the philosopher— thank you for nurturing my appreciation for beauty and meaning. Jag älskar dig! Contents introduction vii Quotes 1 Biographical Dictionary 107 sources 117 IntroduCt Ion i coULD tAste the sWeetness oF LiBrAries from day one. Their wealth of interesting and exciting books instantly appealed to my love of learning and exploring new worlds. When i entered the fourth grade, the school librarian asked if i might be interested in serving as a student helper in our elementary school library. Like a kid in a candy store, i eagerly agreed and was soon spending my extra time shelving books, filing checkout cards, and manning the circulation desk. This new role as a steward taking care of this magical place thrilled me to no end. And thus my career as a librarian was born. The fulfilling journey that followed—in my many roles as a student library assistant and professional librarian—not only helped to satisfy my constant intellectual thirst for researching and organizing information, but also showed me what an important function libraries play in the education of society. By providing free access to information for all, libraries help to preserve democratic values, and that realization made me very proud to be a librarian. however, more recently i grew disenchanted with the profession to which i had already given many years of my life. The stress of budget cuts, downsizing, poor salaries, and ever-changing technology forced me to question why i had become a librarian. in hopes of finding comfort as well as an answer to this conundrum, i sought out words of inspiration that might describe libraries and librarians in their true, untarnished light. to my delight, what i found was a treasure trove of quotations and anecdotes that indeed rekindled my love for the profession. This Librarian’s Book of Quotes is a selection of approximately two hundred quotes that for me most celebrate librarianship. As you will soon discover, the voices offering us these gems of wit and wisdom are « vii » viii » introDUction people both famous and not-so-famous, library users and librarians, some contemporary and others long since passed. With sincerity and humor, libraries and librarians are commended from a multitude of perspectives: as champions of democracy, warriors against censorship, preservers of knowledge, navigators of the information landscape, and providers of a welcoming community center and safe haven for the human spirit. may these words help to inspire all of us who have given ourselves to this noble profession. or, if nothing else, at least give us a delicious “taste” of it, as in the words of the librarian and bibliographer r. Lee hadden: “Liberrian: one who picks liberries from wild liberry bushes and makes a liberry pie.” The Librarian’s Book Quotes of