Librarian

From open-encyclopedia.com - the free encyclopedia.

A librarian is a professional who works in a library. Although librarians are traditionally associated with collections of books, they are experts in the organization and retrieval of information in any format.

Examples:

Gramophone records and compact discs
Photographs and videotapes
Newspapers, magazines and scientific journals
Computer databases
Online resources
Referrals to other community organizations and government offices.
Suggesting appropriate books for children of different reading levels, and recommending novels for recreational reading.

Librarians can be found in many areas. Public libraries, public schools, and university libraries are the most common employers. Librarians can also be found in businesses, government departments, hospitals, law firms, museums, and other large organizations where academic research is performed or where large quantities of information are stored.

In the United States and Canada it is usual for a librarian to have a one- or two-year master's degree in library science or information science (called an MSLS, MLS, MIS, MLIS or MILS) from an accredited university. These degrees are accredited by the American Library Association.

Elsewhere, such as the United Kingdom, it is more common for a librarian to have a three- or four-year bachelor's degree in librarianship and information studies or information science; however, master's degrees are also available. In the United Kingdom, these degrees are accredited by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals.

Librarians may also specialise their studies and qualifications within fields such as archiving and records management.

Library technicians (also called assistant librarians, library assistants, or library paraprofessionals) lack the Master's degree, but may perform duties such as searching for items in the library catalog or basic cataloging.

The specific duties vary depending on the size and type of library and number of employees, but most librarians spend most of their time working in one of the following areas of a library:

Public service librarians work with the public, frequently at the reference desk. Some specialize in serving adults or children. (In larger libraries they may specialize in teen services, the periodicals or another special collection.)
Technical service librarians work "behind the scenes" ordering library materials and database subscriptions, computers and other equipment, and supervise the cataloguing and physical processing of new books.
Experienced librarians may be promoted to administrative positions such as the library director, or the director of a group of libraries. Similar to the president of any other business, they are concerned with the long-term planning of the library as a business, and its relationship with its parent organization (the city or county for a public library, or the college for an academic library).

The two largest library associations in the United States are the American Library Association and the Special Libraries Association. Many states have their own library association, as well. Librarians may also join one organizations like the Association of College & Research Libraries and the Public Library Association.

In the United Kingdom, the professional body for Librarians is the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (formally known as the Library Association).

In 2004 a group of researchers in University of Castello, Spain developed UJI Online Robot, a robotic librarian. Currently it is only capable of navigating the library, looking for the needed book and carefully taking it from the shelf; no reference functions are implemented. Similar projects are being implemented in the USA and Japan.

In the US, Saint Jerome is most often considered the patron saint of librarians and translators.

In Western Europe, Saint Lawrence is most often considered the patron saint of librarians.

Among some Orthodox Christians, Saint Catherine of Alexandria is most often considered the saint (patroness) of librarians.

Librarians in fiction

In the Discworld book series by Terry Pratchett there is a librarian who has been magically turned into an orangutan. In these stories, librarians frequently have supernatural powers related to books and library work, including access to a form of hyperspace known as L-Space.
In the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Anthony Stewart Head plays the role of school librarian Rupert Giles, Buffy's watcher.
In the comic book series Batman, Barbara Gordon (aka Oracle) is a computer-savvy librarian who has been confined to a wheelchair.
In the comic book series The Sandman, Lucien is the keeper of the Library of The Dreaming.