By Margaux D.
This is my story, what a great journey it has been!
I am a total geek and am so proud of it! Growing up I spent every free moment of my weekends and summers at the library. In college I used to cut the classes that I did not enjoy to hole up in the library and read for hours on end. The library has always been a comforting place for me and continues to welcome and nurture me like the supportive arms of a best friend.
By Marie P. During high school and college, I was fortunate to work in the Children’s Department of my local library. As an Economics major, I was going to Wall Street after college and going to make “real money”. That never happened because I became a US Navy wife and my career became whatever job … Read more
By Jennifer M.
Growing up in a small town in La. in the late’60’s-early ’70’s, I spent a lot of time in our local library. It was air-conditioned in that brutal heat, and I could stay as long as I wanted, reading. The librarian, Mrs. Reynolds, was awesome! She would let me “help” her shelve books and straighten magazines, or clean shelves. She would hold the newest Nancy Drew or Donna Parker books for me. When I grew out of those, she guided me to more mature reading like Victoria Holt and Mary Stewart. Her recommendations were always right on the mark!
By Kelly B. Recently, a fun answer came from a freshman during our Library Orientation survey. The question was “Are there any books that you think our library needs to have?” Most students answered with a simple yes or no or gave their favorite title. One student wrote a very thoughtful response to the question. … Read more
By Lynette M.
All during my life, I was destined to be a librarian. I grew up in a tumultuous home. My parents were divorced and while I lived with my alcoholic mother most of the time, I was often in foster homes while she was trying to “dry out”.
I found that no matter which school I was in, what neighborhood I lived in or which family I lived with, I could visit the library and they were all the same. Different walls, different people maybe but the library itself was my friend. I could read a book and be lost in the movie that plays in my head with each book I read. It was escapism at its finest.
By Kathy S.
Having a love for reading my whole life, and two years experience as an elementary school language arts teacher, I was excited to return to my Alma mater as the new K-12 librarian. My first year, there, I was assigned a junior as a student aide.
She was a quiet, well-mannered young lady who was a conscientious worker and a great typist. We were still typing cards for the catalog by hand back then, so I showed her how to type the cards and assigned her to accession the new library books. She did such a good job, that the following summer, I paid her out of my own pocket to help me get the library ready for the fall.
By Martha V. I started working part-time in a very small (one-person) public library when my children were small. I hadn’t finished an even two-year college degree but the library didn’t require a degree. I loved working in the library, teaching people of all ages about the library and learning something new every day myself. … Read more
Gale is continually updating and adding new content to our In Context products, ensuring that they offer timely, authoritative, useful information. The items below were added or updated during the week of September 29, 2014.
Read moreProduct Updates: New In Context content for 09/29/14
By Mark H.
I grew up in a library, literally. Not long after I was born, my mother got her degree in library sciences along with a teaching credential for elementary school. From as early as I can remember, I was at my mom’s side as she filed the card catalog, re-shelved books, and managed the rudimentary computer lab in the library of the elementary school I attended. When my class visited the school library regularly throughout the week, I called the librarian “Mrs. Martin” instead of “mom” so that the other students wouldn’t find out about our relation. This was partly to deter favoritism, but it helped me feel like less of a square by all my classmates knowing my mom was our librarian.
By Frank Menchaca
Libraries, it seems, are under attack everywhere. Schools are eliminating librarians. College libraries receive less than three cents of every dollar spent on higher education. Marketing guru Seth Godin— and a chorus of others—has questioned the relevance of libraries in particularly stinging terms.
But there’s good news too. Ninety-five percent of Americans believe that public libraries play an important role in helping people live more successful lives. Students who visit their college libraries even once a semester are much more likely to return to school the following semester than those who do not. According to the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, “the vast majority of readers aged 16-29 have read a print book in the last year.” And 60 percent of Americans under the age of 30 have used a library within the last 12 months.
The message is clear. Libraries—whether academic, municipal, or special purpose—are essential to the health, wealth, and education of the communities they serve. There’s no doubt libraries are challenged by funding cuts and bad press or that they need to beef up their marketing efforts, but the rumors of their death have been greatly exaggerated.