Towards a Personal Philosophy of Librarianship
Truth, Service, Compassion and
Humility
A while ago, our Library
Director asked the librarians on staff to write down their personal philosophy
of librarianship. This is what I submitted.
With the deepest apologies to my
Muse....
It is said that
“Duty commands but Honour obeys”. If this is so, then what does
Honour demand of us as a profession and as
individuals?
As Librarians,
our first duty is to the Truth.
As a
profession we are called to bear witness to the Truth of information. If
information is that which defines and enhances reality, then by providing our
patrons access to information, we allow them to take control of their reality ,
their lives and their destinies. It empowers them and redeems them by preventing
them from becoming victims in an imposed and alien reality. We do this because
as Librarians, we believe that Tomorrow cannot be held hostage and ransomed off
to the highest bidder, for it is the inheritance of All.
Our second duty is to
Serve.
We serve. We do not judge.
We serve ALL because we believe that they are
worthy of our service. The measure of our professionalism and commitment is how
we serve the so-called “least“ of us, whether they are the young or
old, homeless, handicapped, the mentally ill or challenged. It is not for us to
judge or dictate how our patrons choose to seek the perfection of their
souls.
We serve because as Librarians we
believe in something greater than ourselves. For it is in the living of it, it
is in the doing of it, which gives what we do as a profession meaning and worth.
Because as Librarians we believe that each new voice enriches us and ennobles
us, and each voice lost diminishes
us.
Our third and fourth
most important duties are to Compassion and Humility.
We should be efficient in our duties, but not at
the price of compassion. We may take pride in our service of others and in our
professional accomplishments, but never to the point of arrogance. For it is
compassion and humility, which shows us where the true nature of our service
lies. Being a Librarian does not mean deciding what to do based on whether or
not it serves some warped sense of professionalism or ego. It means serving our
patrons rather than “the Rules”. It means doing the right thing
simply because it is the right thing. Because as Librarians we understand that
infinite power and infinite wisdom are not enough, without infinite
compassion.
As Librarians we move between
fact and fiction, between fantasy and reality, between incantation and equation.
We watch the shifting edges between them all and we guard the sum of all things.
While we may not be able to turn bullets and bombs, we can help to turn hearts
and minds. Because we understand that giving someone a book is the ultimate
subversive act.
As Librarians we struggle against intolerance,
ignorance, chaos, despair and the darkness of the soul. We fight against the
death of hope and the death of dreams. Against this danger we can never
surrender. If we fail in our duty as Librarians, our towns, cities, countries
and world will become a poorer and darker place. If we fail in our duty, then
none of us will be saved, and our values and beliefs, our history and culture,
the best and worst of us, will not even be a memory. We are what we are because
as Librarians we believe that to forget is to die.
Our libraries tell of the past, converse
with the present, and speak to the future. They enable us to rediscover our
dreams when the world has stolen them from us. Each new idea enriches and
ennobles us. Each idea lost or censored, diminishes us. Although our
collections may be written in many languages, they all speak in the language of
hope, in the language of the heart and of the soul. Our libraries allow us to
choose something better and give us the courage to go on. They shelter us, they
transform us, they propel us and they redeem us. Above all, our libraries are
the light that will lead our way to a bright and better future if we remain true
to our Duty and Ourselves.
David I. Harvie is
a renegade librarian and library apostate. He is currently the Associate Library
Director at the Stratford Public Library. He is old enough to know better, is
not married, has no children, has no cats, and lives alone with the voices in
his head. He is the Chief Scout of the Outriders of Reality. He has always been
who is he is becoming.
Posted: Fri - October 24, 2003 at 10:34 PM