Adam

“Every day, librarians enforce copyright policies that we may disagree with and that, in some ways, run contrary to the values of our profession. Every day, librarians must decide between a desire to preserve the privacy of our community members and offering services our communities demand. Every day, librarians must make a choice between doing what’s easy, doing what’s right, and determining what’s right in the first place. No textbook or mission statement or policy document can relieve us of the necessity to make those decisions, nor remove the complexity of those decisions. That’s why we are librarians and why librarians are professionals, not clerks. That’s why we are stewards within the communities we serve, not servants to them. That’s why we must shape the missions and the work of our organizations and communities, and not simply accept them.”
― R. David Lankes, The New Librarianship Field Guide

“(“the book”) is important not primarily because of its intrinsic value but because it has proven to be, at least up to now, the most effective means of both disseminating and preserving the textual content of the human record.”
― Michael E. Gorman, Our Enduring Values Revisited: Librarianship in an Ever-Changing World

“I always assumed everybody shared my love for overcast skies. It came as a shock to find out that some people prefer sunshine.”
― Glenn Gould, Glenn Gould Variations - By Himself and His Friends

“Likewise, if you take away the librarians and the staff, but leave the books, the computers, and the architecture, you will have a fine sculpture of a library that will become a snapshot of the community's past. But, if you threw out the books and the building and left a dedicated group of library professionals, you could invite the public in a they would construct the future.”
― R. David Lankes, Expect More: Demanding Better Libraries For Today's Complex World