There’s been a lot of buzz the past week about a new book that was just published. Marilyn Johnson’s book, This Book is Overdue: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All, has been getting a lot of press (and that’s a good thing for all of us). In the book, Johnson argues that librarians remain essential, even in the Google age (especially in the Google age?), but also remain underappreciated.
That’s not news for many of us, I’m sure, but her book abounds with examples of how librarians are helpful, hip, and breaking new ground every day in how they serve their communities. A recent Salon.com article cites that Johnson:
“… delights in refuting our assumptions about librarians, while making a rock-solid case for their indispensability at a time when library systems are losing an average of 50 librarians per year. Who else is going to help us formulate the questions Google doesn’t understand, or show non-English speakers how to apply for jobs online, or sympathize with your need to research the ancient origins of cockfighting? Librarians, Johnson argues, are one of our most underappreciated natural resources.”
Johnson was interviewed for the radio show On the Media, which was released on February 19th. You can listen to the full interview below (6m:09s):
There have also been excellent stories and interviews via the NJ Star-Ledger and Library Journal (which has video clips!).
Marilyn Johnson has her own website at http://marilynjohnson.net, and the book has its own site: http://www.thisbookisoverdue.com/. You may also find the book at your local library via WorldCat.
Those of us in libraries know that librarians are amazing; hopefully this book will help get the word out to the rest of the world.