Marilyn Johnson immersed herself in the world of librarianship for several years, at least, doing research for this book. Part of her purpose here is to illustrate how important librarians are to our society today; it's one profession, for example, that is not driven by a profit motive in its...
Read more...
Marilyn Johnson immersed herself in the world of librarianship for several years, at least, doing research for this book. Part of her purpose here is to illustrate how important librarians are to our society today; it's one profession, for example, that is not driven by a profit motive in its efforts to reach people.
This book is extremely well written; I felt like I was reading a novel rather than non-fiction in the way I was caught up in the stories. The chapters can stand alone, so if there is one aspect of her research that is not particularly interesting to you, you can skip it (though I didn't think I was interested in Second Life but found that to be one of the best chapters in the book). I think my only disappointment might be that she did not write about K-12 School Librarianship, which is an area I hope to enter (I am currently in a library science program).
As a fan of the sport of boxing, I was pleasantly surprised to find a section on boxing historian Hank Kaplan, who, thanks to the initiative of a Brooklyn librarian, donated his entire collection of boxing memorabilia to a New York City archive; the collection was assessed at $2.6 million if I recall correctly.
If you have ever been interested in the profession of librarianship, or are interested in the ways technology is shaping our future, or are just a fan of good writing, I would read this book. Just don't forget to return it on time if you are checking it out from a library:)
Finding libraries that hold this item...
