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What does a librarian do? |
You’ve probably been in at least one library in your life--maybe more. Schools, small towns and big cities, even offices, hospitals, and museums all have libraries. Most libraries have books, of course, but they also can contain magazines, newspapers, even DVDs. Some libraries may be just for kids--while others may just have law books!
You’ve also no doubt seen people working in the library---checking out your books for you, putting books back on their selves, maybe looking up information on a computer. These are the librarians, and they’re the ones who take care of all those books.
Today, a librarian’s job has many different parts. Librarians need to love books, but more and more, they also need to know how to use technology.
A big part of their job is to help connect people to all the information in the library. That means showing people how to use all the different resources in a library, from computers to card catalogs to websites.
Librarians choose the books for the library, so they may manage a budget, decide which books to buy, order them, and then take care of the books. They need to know the right way to put them on the shelves, or catalogue them. Special systems are used to keep track of all the books, and librarians have to know the different systems and where to find the books so that people can find the books when they want to!
Depending on the kind of library a librarian works in, the job may change. In a college library, for instance, a librarian may spend a lot of time helping students to do research. In a children’s library, the librarian may plan programs for pre-teens or highlight different types of books for kids each month.
In a big library, jobs maybe more specialized. Some librarians may focus on research; others may work with the public to get people to use libraries more. Still others might work out front at the reference or check-out desk. In a smaller library, one librarian may take on one or more of these tasks.
