Heroes walk among us. Cleverly disguised in civilian clothing, they use their superhuman abilities for the benefit of humanity – specifically, for the littlest humans of all. School librarians, we’re looking at you. We don’t want to blow your cover, but we’re pretty sure the cat’s out of the bag – or Clark Kent is out of the phone booth, or Batman’s mask fell off. Whatever the case, we’re still celebrating School Librarian Day.
Mango fans may have noticed that our social media pages double as librarian love-fests. Whether it’s memes hailing their greatness, photos of our most beloved libraries worldwide, or major PDA sessions with our librarian friends on Facebook, we’re pretty open about our infatuation. We’re extra awestruck by school librarians because they grow brighter students in their schools every day. They’re the people handing out free books to kids and sending them on fantastical adventures all over the world. They help them find answers to every question, and give kids free, uninhibited access to the imagination sanctuary that is a library. If that’s not a superhero, then we don’t what is. And we’re ready prove it.
1. Time Travel
The 2010s are cool and everything, but time travel is way cooler. And who can facilitate a quick time travel, say, in the middle of lunch period? Librarians. Want to stop by and say hi to George and Martha Washington? They’ll make it happen. Just finished a unit on dinosaurs and need to explore it for yourself? There are more than 50 books to choose from, and your librarian knows exactly where they all are. As Neil Gaiman said, Google can bring you back 100,000 answers, a librarian can bring you back the right one. And for that, we love them.
2. Endurance
So many of the greats possess the indispensable power of endurance: Batman, Green Goblin, and the School Librarian. Let’s face it: it takes a lot of endurance to manage over 2,000 books, upwards of 100 kids at any given time, and countless questions spanning hundreds (maybe thousands!) of subjects, time periods, and genres. What’s a school librarian to do? Evidence shows these super-humans respond with a warm smile and a freakishly accurate list of books and resources tailored specifically to a child’s interests. All while working the library staff to keep the space functional, organized, and fun. There’s no place like a library.
3. Healing
An apple a day keeps the doctor away, and a library card keeps kids really happy. It takes a village to raise a child, and librarians take center stage. In the chaos of a student’s life, constants are crucial. For most kids, the school library is a free, safe haven where they literally have limitless opportunities to explore and indulge in their interests and passions, all under the watchful eye of the school librarian. The Cheers of the kid world, the library is a place where everybody knows your name. And when you’re young, safe spaces make all the difference. Librarians, add the power of healing to your already rock-solid resumes.
4. Precognition
In layman’s terms (a.k.a. non superheroes), this is the power to predict the future. Walk into any school library, and you’ll see that librarians are doing just that. Keeping inventory fresh and modern, pioneering technology initiatives, and keeping tabs on student needs and interests is all in a day’s work. They use their forces for good and not evil (obviously) by predicting trends and providing challenging, innovating resources to keep the future bright for their students.
This year’s School Librarian Day is the perfect opportunity to buy your librarian the cape they clearly deserve, give them a hug (and maybe some cupcakes), and show them some love. After all, you’re in the presence of a scholastic superhero.
