Librarians: The Famous & Infamous

THE ROLE OF LIBRARIANS, FROM THE OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK
Librarians and library media specialists help people find information and conduct research for personal and professional use. Their job duties may change based on the type of setting they work in, such as public, school, or medical libraries. They typically:
Create and use databases of library materials
Organize library materials so they are easy to find
Help library patrons to conduct research to evaluate search results and reference materials
Research new books and materials by reading book reviews, publishers' announcements, and catalogs
Maintain existing collections and choose new books, videos, and other materials for purchase
Plan programs for different audiences, such as storytimes for children
Teach classes about information resources
Research computers and other equipment for purchase, as needed
Train and supervisor library technicians, assistants, and other support staff, and volunteers
A LOOK AT LIBRARIANS IN HISTORY
ERATOSTENES
Eratostenes was a librarian that worked in the Library at Alexandria, Egypt. He was from Cyrene, which is located in what is now modern Libya. During his life he wrote nine works on different topics on mathematics, philosophy, chronology, literary criticism, grammar, poetry, including comedies. He is best known for measuring the Earth's circumference, as the Father of Modern Geography, for the concept of prime numbers, and calculating the 365 day year, including the concept of leap year. He died in 194 BCE at the age of 82.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
Benjamin Franklin met Giacomo Casanova during his time in France as an American diplomat. The two apparently had several things in common. However, he was also known to have founded the Library Company of Philadelphia in 1731 which was the predecessor to the concept of free public lending libraries. He actually served as the librarian of the Company for three months.

He was instrumental in creating the Library of the Pennsylvania Hospital, Pennsylvania State Library, Library of the American Philosophical Society, University of Pennsylvania Library, and owned an extensive personal library. He was also a prolific author of many styles ow writing, both intellectual, and common.
MAO ZEDONG
You will wonder where the concept of demure librarians with a bun originated when you think of Mao. Mao Zedong was also known as Chairman Mao, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party from 1949-1976. After his University days, one of his first jobs out was that of assistant to the Librarian of Peking University. He worked there for two years and learned about the Communist Party, becoming quite radical. He eventually wrote 10 books on political strategy and philosophy as well as some poetry. Under his regime, millions died.
GIACOMO CASANOVA
Giacomo Casanova was born in Venice. In his early 20's, he saved the life of a prominent man who gifted him with money in gratitude which changed his existence. Tradition knows him only as a playboy, but reality would also include that he was quite brilliant and new other intellectuals of his time like Voltaire, Catherine the Great, Benjamin Franklin, and probably Mozart.

He wrote pamphlets, mathematical treaties, a science fiction novel, and translated the Iliad into the Venetian dialect as well as traveled widely over Europe according to Tony Perrottet of the Smithsonian magazine. Near the end of his life, when his sexual prowess waned, he was taken in by the Waldstein family at Castle Dux in Czechoslovakia. He acted as their librarian. While there, he wrote his memoirs, which illuminated the world to his escapades.

RECOMMENDED READING MATERIALS @ YOUR LIBRARY
BIBLIOBURRO: A TRUE STORY FROM COLOMBIA by: Jeanette Winter Call Number: E WINTER Luis loves to read, but soon his house in Colombia is so full of books there's barely room for the family. What to do? Then he comes up with the perfect solution - a traveling library! He buys two donkeys and travels throughout the land, bringing books and reading to the children.
LET'S MEET A LIBRARIAN by: Gina Bellisario Call Number: J 020.2 BEL Series: Cloverleaf Books, Community Helpers Mr. Field is a librarian. He knows how to find information about all kinds of things. He shows the students in Mrs. Rios's class how to use the library. So many people help out in our communities! In these books, young students talk with different community helpers to find out what they do, what skills and training they need, and how their work benefits people in the community.
MISS MOORE THOUGHT OTHERWISE: HOW ANNE CARROLL MOORE CREATED LIBRARIES FOR CHILDREN by: Jan Pinborough Call Number: J 92 MOORE Once upon a time, American children couldn't borrow library books. Reading wasn't all that important for children, many thought. Luckily Miss Anne Carroll Moore thought otherwise! This is the true story of how Miss Moore created the first children's room at the New York Public Library, a bright, warm room filled with artwork, window seats, and most important of all, borrowing privileges to the world's best children's books in many different languages.
MISS DOROTHY AND HER BOOKMOBILE by: Gloria Houston Call Number: E HOUSTON Dorothy's dearest wish is to be a librarian, but her new home in North Carolina has valleys and streams but no libraries, so Miss Dorothy and her neighbors decide to start a bookmobile. Instead of people coming to a fine brick library, Miss Dorothy can now bring the books to them - at school, on the farm, even once in the middle of a river!
PLANTING STORIES: THE LIFE OF LIBRARIAN AND STORYTELLER PURA BELPRE by: Anika Aldamuy Denise Call Number: J 92 BELPRE When she came to America in 1921, Pura Belpre carried the cuentos folkloricos of her Puerto Rican homeland. Finding a new home at the New York Public Library as a bilingual assistant, she turned her popular retellings into libros and spread story seeds across the land. Today, these seeds have grown into a lush landscape as generations of children and storytellers continue to share her tales and celebrate Pura's legacy.

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Librarians: The Famous & Infamous

THE ROLE OF LIBRARIANS, FROM THE OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK

A LOOK AT LIBRARIANS IN HISTORY

RECOMMENDED READING MATERIALS @ YOUR LIBRARY

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

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A LOOK AT LIBRARIANS IN HISTORY
	ERATOSTENES Eratostenes was a librarian that worked in the Library at Alexandria, Egypt. He was from Cyrene, which is located in what is now modern Libya. During his life he wrote nine works on different topics on mathematics, philosophy, chronology, literary criticism, grammar, poetry, including comedies. He is best known for measuring the Earth's circumference, as the Father of Modern Geography, for the concept of prime numbers, and calculating the 365 day year, including the concept of leap year. He died in 194 BCE at the age of 82.
	BENJAMIN FRANKLIN Benjamin Franklin met Giacomo Casanova during his time in France as an American diplomat. The two apparently had several things in common. However, he was also known to have founded the Library Company of Philadelphia in 1731 which was the predecessor to the concept of free public lending libraries. He actually served as the librarian of the Company for three months. He was instrumental in creating the Library of the Pennsylvania Hospital, Pennsylvania State Library, Library of the American Philosophical Society, University of Pennsylvania Library, and owned an extensive personal library. He was also a prolific author of many styles ow writing, both intellectual, and common.
	MAO ZEDONG You will wonder where the concept of demure librarians with a bun originated when you think of Mao. Mao Zedong was also known as Chairman Mao, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party from 1949-1976. After his University days, one of his first jobs out was that of assistant to the Librarian of Peking University. He worked there for two years and learned about the Communist Party, becoming quite radical. He eventually wrote 10 books on political strategy and philosophy as well as some poetry. Under his regime, millions died.
	GIACOMO CASANOVA Giacomo Casanova was born in Venice. In his early 20's, he saved the life of a prominent man who gifted him with money in gratitude which changed his existence. Tradition knows him only as a playboy, but reality would also include that he was quite brilliant and new other intellectuals of his time like Voltaire, Catherine the Great, Benjamin Franklin, and probably Mozart. He wrote pamphlets, mathematical treaties, a science fiction novel, and translated the Iliad into the Venetian dialect as well as traveled widely over Europe according to Tony Perrottet of the Smithsonian magazine. Near the end of his life, when his sexual prowess waned, he was taken in by the Waldstein family at Castle Dux in Czechoslovakia. He acted as their librarian. While there, he wrote his memoirs, which illuminated the world to his escapades.