Brian

“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

“I can’t think of anybody…who knows the sum and substance of what I know and feel and cry about in my secret self all the time when I don’t feel strong, the sorrows of time and personality, and can therefore on all levels make it all the way with me”
― Jack Kerouac, Visions of Cody

“Bad libraries only build collections. Good libraries build services (and a collection is only one of many). Great libraries build communities.”
― R. David Lankes, Expect More: Demanding Better Libraries For Today's Complex World

“Such a long, long time to be gone and a short time to be there”
― Robert Hunter, A Box of Rain: Lyrics, 1965-1993