A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users.
Three- or four-year degree; in some countries a post-graduate diploma or master's degree is required, while specialist librarians may need a relevant subject degree (e.g. JD, MBA).
The role of the librarian has changed much over time, with the past century in particular bringing many new media and technologies into play. From the earliest libraries in the ancient world to the modern information hub, there have been keepers and disseminators of the information held in data stores. Roles and responsibilities vary widely depending on the type of library, the specialty of the librarian, and the functions needed to maintain collections and make them available to its users.
The Sumerians were the first to train clerks to keep records of accounts.[1]"Masters of the books" or "keepers of the tablets" were scribes or priests who were trained to handle the vast amount and complexity of these records. The extent of their specific duties is unknown.[2]
Sometime in the 8th century BC, Ashurbanipal, King of Assyria, created a library at his palace in Nineveh in Mesopotamia. Ashurbanipal was the first individual in history to introduce librarianship as a profession.[3] We know of at least one "keeper of the books" who was employed to oversee the thousands of tablets on Sumerian and Babylonian materials, including literary texts; history; omens; astronomical calculations; mathematical tables; grammatical and linguistic tables; dictionaries; and commercial records and laws.[4][5] All of these tablets were cataloged and arranged in logical order by subject or type, each having an identification tag.[3]
Researching topics of interest for their constituencies.
Referring patrons to other and government offices.
community organizations
Suggesting appropriate books ("readers' advisory") for children of different reading levels and recommending for recreational reading.
novels
Reviewing books and journal databases
Working with other education organisations to establish continual, lifelong learning and further education initiatives
Facilitating and promoting reading clubs.
Developing programs for library users of all ages and backgrounds.
Managing access to electronic information resources.
Assessing library services and collections in order to best meet library users' needs.
Building and maintaining collections to respond to changing community needs or demands
Creating
pathfinders
Writing grants to gain funding for expanded program or collections
Digitizing collections for online access
Publishing articles in library science journals
A librarian pushes a book cart at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on December 3, 2002
Answering incoming reference questions via telephone, postal mail, email, fax, and chat
Delivering arts and cultural activities to local communities
Initiating and establishing creative digital activities to introduce children to coding, engineering and website building
Marking promotion and advocacy of library services
Assisting job seekers and local businesses
Making and enforcing computer appointments on the public access Internet computers.
[54]
Development in information technology
There are a number of contributing factors to the librarians’ roles changing. [58][59]
The Scholar as Librarian as Collector." R.W. Chambers Memorial Lecture at University College, London. 17 no 3 (Autumn 1968): 279–284.
The Book Collector
Mukherjee, Ajit Kumar (1966). Librarianship, Its Philosophy and History. Asia Publishing House. 574730175.
OCLC
Nappo, Christian A. Pioneers in Librarianship : Sixty Notable Leaders Who Shaped the Field. 2022. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Rubin, Richard (2010). Foundations of Library and Information Science. American Library Association. 978-1-55570-690-6.
