Here is another post from the “This I Believe” essays written by students in Nancy Lensenmayer’s Foundations of Library Science class at Kent State University’s Columbus program. This essay was written by Cassie Lewis.
—George
This I Believe
When I graduated from the Ohio State University in 2004, I wasn’t quite ready to go on to graduate school. I knew that I needed some time to find something that spoke to my heart, that I believed in doing.
I weighed many options, and many of them felt like just another hungry, empty quest for the almighty dollar. Then I began to research library science. Suddenly, my mind was filled with memories of myself as a little girl searching the tall stacks of books for Roald Dahl and other fantastic fiction, or anything I wanted to read and learn about. I remembered the small building that was our rural library in Mechanicsburg, Ohio and the friendly librarians that I have known since I was that little girl. There are thousands, even millions, of those little girls and other people from all walks of life that need those friendly libraries and librarians.
That is why I am here, in library school. I believe that being a librarian isn’t just another job, another paycheck. It is helping any person, anywhere, anytime with the greatest asset to our species and civilization: knowledge.
Education is more than just going to a school, it is the initiative and empowerment to engage in the process of learning on one’s own, to explore this vast wealth of knowledge with curiosity and wonder. It is the excitement of discovering something new. I believe the library is the “instrument of universal education, and assembles together and freely distributes all the tools of education and disseminates knowledge with their aid. (Ranganathan 1931)” Therefore, I believe that everyone should have access to a library, from bustling major cities, to quiet rural towns. Using experience, our own education, and the desire to serve, I believe librarians should teach and provide the inspiration for libraries as an American value, supporting this universal education from science to history, philosophy, and beyond.
Aside from the vital importance of knowledge, let us not forget the equally important vast world of imagination. From J.R.R. Tolkien to Jules Verne to J.K. Rowling, I believe that librarians can facilitate the amazing journeys to be had through fiction for both the young and old. These literatures, as well as works of art, works of poetry, and works of music abound in our culture, and librarians should lead the celebration of our ability to create.
In these worlds of knowledge and creativity, I also believe that this includes all knowledge and creativity. Libraries and librarians refusing to censor and instead promoting intellectual freedom contribute to a healthy society, something I believe we are currently sorely in need of. Promoting intellectual freedom serves as an example to educate people that what feels right for them may not necessarily be right for others, and that limitations of ideas only promote discord, not democracy.
All in all, I believe my future as a librarian is a bright one. I greet and embrace my new profession with hope, optimism, and devotion. Most importantly, for as many walks of life that I can possibly reach, I believe I can be among those friendly librarians that inspired me as a little girl.