Aleisha is NOT a Librarian, or the one fault with the book "The Reading List"

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams


I am about half way through this and am absolutely loving everything about it EXCEPT ONE BIG THING. Aleisha is NOT A LIBRARIAN!!!!! She is someone who works in a Library. A Librarian has to have a Masters Degree in Library and Information Science. A Librarian is a Professional who has studied about information in all of its forms, how to evaluate it for accuracy, and how to find it, how to converse with patrons so that they can help them articulate what they really want/need and to help them discover new books, and information both fiction and non-fiction. A Librarian is trained in library computer systems, data retrieval, metadata creation, etc... They take courses in library management and budgeting. And so on.
Calling Aleisha a LIBRARIAN is like going into your Doctors office and calling the front desk receptionist a DOCTOR. Or going into a Law Firm and calling the receptionist or legal secretary a LAWYER.
None of what I am writing is meant to disparage the hard and vital work that receptionists, secretaries and library para-professionals like Aleisha do. It is simply meant to distinguish between these very different functions and to acknowledge the years of training and study it takes to become a LIBRARIAN, a Library PROFESSIONAL. Sorry for the all caps "shouting" but this happens all the time and is very irritating. I have been a Librarian for almost 3 years in academic libraries and have an undergraduate degree in history, a masters in history and a masters in library science.

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