[Publib] What makes for a good/great librarian - an opinion from acurrent MLS student

[Dale McNeill]

First, I think you have to define what you mean by "great librarian".  That
is, "well-known library director"? "sought-out specialist librarian"?
"children's librarian with a loyal audience"? "nationally-regarded library
educator"? "oft-published library educator"? "expert cataloger"? or
something else all together? There are different qualities needed for each
of these paths and others.

However, a few things I see in common include (and several of these have
been mentioned and are in no particular order):

*regard for and understanding of the ethics of librarianship
*intellectual curiosity, including curiosity regarding popular culture
*ability to innovate, or follow innovations of others, while holding in
history of our profession in regard
*genuine liking for all sorts of people and ability to shift gears quickly
(to first help a homeless person and next a patent attorney)
*ability to communicate well--including the *listening* part of
communication
*interest in the kind of "product" you're working with (fiction, archives,
digital resources, government documents, scores, whatever).  The very best
librarians are often *confirming* what they know in a source, rather than
truly answering questions (at least for up to 50% of questions)
*ability to do many things at the same time (if you can't watch a movie,
carry on a conversation, and play cards at the same time, you may find
library work challenging, in my opinion--or substitute 3 or 4 other things)
*desire and ability to share what you know--this is one of the things that,
in my opinion, separates good librarians for great ones
*ability and willingness to learn about other disciplines--architecture,
human services, purchasing, law, interior design, space planning, acoustics,
and so forth
*some mechanical ability (or willingness to learn).  Yes, there are still
some non-electronic things in the library!
*willing to "take charge" and willing to "take direction"

OK, that's enough for now!

Regards,

Dale
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