Sharing Library Careers

Sharing Library Careers

Most librarians have worked or volunteered in a library as a student or loved libraries and reading as children. Here are some books to help introduce library careers to the younger set.

Easy picture books

Appelt, Kathi, and Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer. Down Cut Skin Creek;
The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky. New York: Harper Collins, 2001.

Dedicated librarians delivered books on pack horses in 1929 in rural Kentucky.
Bauld, Jane Scoggins. We Need Librarians. Minnetonka, MN: Capstone, 2000.

            This book describes librarians and illustrates what they do in school libraries.

Demarest, Chris L. Clemens’ Kingdom. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1983.

A stone lion, bored with sitting outside the public library day after day, ventures inside to see if it is worth guarding.

Kimmel, Eric. I Took My Frog to the Library. New York: Penguin, 1992.

Bridgett takes her animals to the library. The librarian welcomes them all, but suggests that Bridgett leave her animals (including her elephant) at home.

Klein, Adria F. Max Va a la Biblioteca. Minneapolis: Picture Window, 2006.

Max, who loves to read, discovers all the services available to him during a visit to the library. (in Spanish)

Lewis, J. Patrick. Please Bury Me in the Library. Harcourt, 2005.

This beautiful poetry book will inspire children to read and grow in libraries, "necessary gardens."
McQuinn, Anna and Rosalind Beardshaw. Lola at the Library. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 2006.

Every Tuesday Lola and her mother visit their local library to return and check out books, attend storytime, and share a special treat.

Meister, Carl. Tiny Goes To The Library. New York: Viking, 2000.

Tiny and his best friend go everywhere together. They go to the lake. They play in the park. Oh, no! What will they do when they go to the library? No dogs inside!

Mora, Pat. Tomás and the Library Lady. New York: Random, 1997.

Based on the life of the late Tomás Rivera, chancellor of the University of California at Riverside from 1979 until his death in 1984.

Morris, Carla. The Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians. Atlanta: Peachtree, 2007.

Melvin discovers that the public library is the place where he can find just about anything--including three librarians who help in his quest for knowledge.

Reese, Bob. Library Bear. Provo, UT: ARO, 1995.

The Library Bear shows where you can find information on all sorts of topics.
Ready, Dee. Community Helpers Librarians. Mankato, MN, Capstone Press, 1998.

The book explains the tools, schooling, and work of librarians.

Thaler, Mike. The Librarian from the Black Lagoon. New York: Scholastic, 1997.

The Librarian is imagined as someone who runs children through the laminator if they don't behave in the library, but she is really a wonderful person who loves children.

Winter, Jeanette. The Librarian of Basra; A True Story from Iraq. New York:

Harcourt, 2005.

Alia Muhammad Baker is the librarian in Basra, Iraq. When the war came, Alia feared for the library and the 30,000 books there. This true story reminds us all how the love of literature and the respect for knowledge know no boundaries.

Reader

Best, Cari. Red Light Green Light, Mama and Me. New York: Orchard, 1995.

After taking the train downtown, Lizzie spends the day at the public library, helping her mother who is a children’s librarian.
Bonsell, Crosby Newell. Tell Me Some More. New York: Harper & Row, 1961.
Andrew tells Tim that he knows a place where you could hold a camel in your hand, pat a lion on the nose, and pick up a river. But even when Tim promised to believe, Andrew thought he had better take him there and let him see for himself.

Brillhart, Julie. Story Hour-Starring Megan! Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman, 1992.
When Megan’s mother, the librarian, cannot read to the children at a story hour, beginning reader Megan takes over the job.

Brown, Marc. D.W.’s Library Card. New York: Little, Brown, 2001.

After finally getting her first library card, Arthur’s little sister, D.W., tries to check out her favorite book with humorous results.

Kottke, Jan. A Day with a Librarian. Canada, United States: Rosen Book Works, Inc., 2000.

Explains in simple terms some of the duties of a librarian.

Lakin, Patricia. Clarence the Copy Cat. New York: Random, 2002.

Clarence, a cat who does not want to hurt mice or any other creatures, does not feel welcome anywhere until he discovers the Barnstable Library.

Mayr, Diane. Littlebat’s Halloween Story. Morton Grove, IL: Whitman, 2001.

Littlebat loves to listen to the stories being told below the attic where he sleeps, but he has to wait until just the right time to get close enough to see the pictures.

Mills, Heather. Librarian. (This Is What I Want to Be Series). Chicago: Heinemann, 2003.

Brief information on being a librarian for the new reader.
Monroe, Judy. A Day in the Life of a Librarian. Mankato, MN, Capstone Press, 2005.
How do librarians start their days? Who helps librarians? Why do people use the library? What skills do librarians need? How do librarians find everything? Where do library books come from? How do librarians help the community? How do librarians end their days?

Stadler, Alexander. Beverly Billingsly Borrows a Book. San Diego: Harcourt, 2002.

Beverly is thrilled to finally check out a book with her own library card, but when she accidentally keeps the book too long she worries that she’ll have to pay a huge fine or go to jail.

Stewart, Sarah. The Library. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1995.

This book is dedicated to the memory of the real librarian who inspired it. The story follows Elizabeth Brown, who prefers reading books to playing with dolls or skates and follows the book lover through to adulthood.

Williams, Suzanne. Library Lil. New York: Dial, 1997.

A formidable librarian makes readers not only out of the once resistant residents of her small town, but out of a tough-talking, television-watching motorcycle gang as well.

Woodruff, Elvira. Can You Guess Where We’re Going? New York: Holiday House, 1998.

As his grandfather gives him hints about all the exciting things they will see, Jack tries to guess where they are going.

Tween books

Landon, Lucinda. Meg Mackintosh and the Mystery in the Locked Library.
            Boston: Little, Brown, 1993.

Meg investigates the theft of a rare book from a locked library. The reader is challenged to solve the mystery before Meg, using clues in both text and illustrations.

About Libraries

DeGezelle, Terri. Manners at the Library. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press, 2005.

A trip to the library and learning library etiquette.

Knowlton, Jack. Books and Libraries. U.S.A.: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991.

A history of books and libraries from their beginnings in Babylon, Egypt, and China, through the Greeks and the Middle Ages, to the present day.

Raatma, Lucia. Libraries, A True Book. Canada, United States, Children's Press, 1998.

This provides a brief look at the history of libraries, some different types of libraries, and the services they provide.

Ruurs, Margriet. My Librarian Is a Camel; How Books
Are Brought to Children Around the World. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills, 2005.
The book describes unusual mobile libraries found around the world.

        Shea, Kitty. Out and About at the Public Library. Minneapolis, Minnesota, Picture Window Books, 2006.
         A field trip to the library is shown, then how to make your own library project page is included.

    Career materials

         Eberts, Marjorie and Margaret Gisler. Careers For Bookworms & Other Literary Types. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003.

Turn your passion for pages into a career. Discover how bookworms: run book publishing companies, write and research for magazines, research critical information for government think tanks, pass along the love of reading to the next generation…and more.

Kane, Laura. Straight from the Stacks; A First Hand Guide to Careers in Library and Information Science. Chicago:
American Library Association, 2003.

"This guide endeavors to educate readers about employment opportunities in library and information science and to familiarize current librarians with other career choices in their profession. This goal is achieved through firsthand accounts from more than 30 librarians working in disparate areas." from Booklist, March 1, 2004.

McCook, Kathleen de La Pena & Margaret Myers. Opportunities in Library and Information Science Careers. New
York: McGraw-Hill, 2002.

Find insights on how new technologies will affect the way professionals in this field store, organize, and disseminate information. This book also includes descriptions of diverse organizations that employ library and information specialists and an essential list of library and information professional organizations.

The bibliography was developed by Library Student Assistant
Jenan El-Bakoush (April, 2003) and Library Intern Karen Strange (April, 2008).

Thanks to School Library Media Specialist Susan Wright for updates.