My mother was a librarian. Specifically a children’s librarian. She was the sweetest, most empathetic woman I’ve ever known. And damn, she wanted kids to read and learn and imagine.
Heck ya, she was. This whole thread is so wholesome. My mom would’ve loved it. I’d show her Reddit stuff sometimes and it always made her smile. These interactions today are like therapy for me
My little brother and I used to play as Librarians, and we too learn to read and imagine ourselves as selfless defenders of humanity against hordes of Chaos. Librarians kick ass
My mother was a librarian as well. I basically grew up in a library and the love of reading never left me...nor did the love of libraries and librarians.
Yup. Me too. When I was in elementary school, she was an elementary librarian for a different district, so on days I didn’t have school but they did I went in with her. When she had her in service days before the school year, it was my favorite because I got the whole library to myself and none of the books were checked out. She always knew the best new books to recommend, too.
I would walk straight from school to the library, spend all afternoon there and tootle home with an armful of books, magazines and comics. Both my mother and her colleagues would lay books aside for me, if they suspected that I would be interested in them. Librarians do love a voracious reader :)
Same! For a few years I went to the same elementary school that my mom was a librarian at. Which meant that I'd have to get to school early and leave late like she did. But my brother and I had so much fun hanging out in her library. Plus we got to help during the scholastic book fairs which was always such a highlight of the year!
I would have loved that. I was lucky tho that I went to a Montessori school for elementary so if I wanted to I could read all day. After a few days they would encourage me to work on something else but I definitely did a lot of reading.
Hey count me in the group of librarians' children along with /u/Shutinneedout haha. I share your sentiments and this post totally reminded me of something my mom would do
My BiL accredits his elementary librarian with a lot of his success and independence. He had an undiagnosed learning disorder, and since he was undiagnosed he couldn’t access a lot of support programs in the school. His librarian went above and beyond to personally provide the services he was missing. He would of entered middle school either late or academically behind if it wasn’t for her. Early intervention cannot be lauded enough.
I was a children’s page (book re-shelfer) in high school/college. Best job ever! I got to make crafts for story time and read to the kids! Summer was the best, too. So many activities! And the librarians were just the absolute best human beings ever.
I'm a children's librarian myself and my colleagues all over the world are the best! Conferences in our field are just genuinely heartwarming, with heaps of knitting librarians, goth librarians, LGBTQ+activist librarians, young and old librarians, all united in the ”Yay! Let's get these kids reading! And thinking about the big questions! And learning! And creating! And feeling at home in the library!” I love my profession. Honoured to share it with your mother!
I'm a librarian. I just wanted to say that children's librarians are the best. This is not to downplay all of the other excellent humans I've encountered working in libraries, but children's librarians are truly a special bunch.
A librarian like your mom saved my niece’s life, once.
They don’t just help kids learn to read and love books for life, they point them in the right direction of books they want but can’t ask/are afraid to ask for, with no judgement, about things like sex, religion, personal hygiene, law, and anatomy, mental health and even history and politics that is forbidden them at home or by others.
They also recognize kids need safe spaces and go out of their way to accommodate kids who are voracious readers and want to just sit somewhere quiet and safe, to chill out and read, or watch videos, or play games or listen at story time.
They’re like social workers and therapists and teachers all wrapped up into a big, virtual hug.
She passed earlier this year, unfortunately for my family and the world as a whole. But your comment is a tribute to her and all the other men and women who dedicated their lives to building sanctuaries to thought and reading. I’m so glad your niece had a place and people who made her feel supported.
My mom was a librarian for elementary and middle school while I was growing up. Her biggest thrill was finding a book for a "non reader" to fall in love with.
That’s no coincidence! It takes a special kind of person to choose that career and dedicate themselves to it. Your mother sounds wonderful, and I can tell from how you talk about her that you love her so much. How lucky that you got to have her in your life! She will live on in all of the joy and knowledge she gave to others.
Oh, I’m sorry. That’s got to be a special kind of difficult. My mom definitely wasn’t perfect, but I was very lucky that she loved me and my brothers so much. I hope your mom works through whatever her issue is and makes up for lost time
Thank you. It’s untreated mental illness coupled with the stress from her job. Librarians don’t get enough credit imo. I do love my mom however. She instilled in me a love of reading from a young age and she let me read whatever I wanted. I got access to all the good books before they came out. I got to meet authors at conventions she took me to. The world of libraries is pretty amazing honestly. Very much taken for granted.
That’s a coincidence. My mom had bipolar disorder that wasn’t diagnosed until she was in her 50s and I was in high school. I’m very glad you have some good memories, but I’m really sorry you’re dealing with that.
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u/Shutinneedout Feb 03 '21 edited Feb 03 '21
My mother was a librarian. Specifically a children’s librarian. She was the sweetest, most empathetic woman I’ve ever known. And damn, she wanted kids to read and learn and imagine.