What Makes a Great Librarian?

Langstraat, Carina

Stephens, M. T., (2016). The heart of librarianship :Attentive, positive, and purposeful change.
       Chicago; 4: ALA Editions, an imprint of the American Library Association

Descriptive Summary:

This book is a collection of articles and insights from Michael Stephens, Associate Professor of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University.  Its title aptly describes the book's content:  what kind of heart is required to be an effective librarian? Among other things, the answers Stephens provides include a heart filled with empathy for not just patrons but other staff members and colleagues.  "For me", writes Stephens, "the heart of librarianship is learning.  It's a cyclical process of support, engagement, and discovery with deep roots in service, access, and freedom to pursue interests of all kinds".

Evaluation:

It’s hard not to let Stephens’s enthusiasm seep into you as your read this book.  He boldly confronts the stodged librarian waiting to retire who is uninterested in change, asking them to get out of the way so work can be done.   He asks new librarians to be risk takers, innovators, and creators.  He challenges one to proceed rather than sitting around and waiting for permission.  He asks for project management, planning skills, and the ability to make decisions when it comes to any new hire.  He wonders why academic papers have to be so boring, encouraging students to put their own personal slant into their work as a means of showing what they learned, understood, and comprehended. He refers over and over again to librarianship being the “ultimate service profession”, asking students why they are going into librarianship. 

If you are in library school and have occasional doubts late a night about why you are doing this, will you ever get a job in this field, and are their aspects to it that are less dry than your least favorite class, then I encourage you to read this book.  You'll walk away energized and simultaneously grounded about the profession you've chosen.