What's So Civil About Librarianship?

I thought I’d begin this blog by explaining the genesis of its name: The Civil Librarian. Essentially, my decision was based on the broad areas about which I’ll write: namely, public librarianship and public administration. Because I’ve studied in each of these fields and I work as a manager in a public library system, these are topics to which I give a lot of thought and which I find quite interesting! Thus, as I thought about the ways public librarianship and public administration are related (public librarianship really is just a sub-discipline of public administration in my mind), I started brainstorming blog names.

First idea: The Managing Librarian

Hey, I’m a librarian and I’m a manager, right? But I didn’t like it. The name seemed like some kind of play on words on “how I manage to get by” as a librarian. Not what I’m looking to convey.

Second idea: The Bureaucratic Librarian

The word bureaucracy did not originally carry the negative connotations that it does for so many people today. By using this name, I hoped to recognize my aspirations toward the efficient organization Weber describes (though he didn’t coin the term). However, I realize that today’s image of bureaucracies as rigid and often illogical was not that with which I want to associate myself. And, frankly, those negative ideas about bureaucracy are often pretty accurate in the world of public library organizations!

Third idea: The Public’s Librarian

OK, I liked this one at first! More than anything, what I’m always looking for in myself and trying to foster in the people with whom I work is the notion that we work for The Public! This name seemed to make that clear and I thought it was clever, too. Maybe not, though. Besides, it just isn’t easy to say out loud. Keep thinking…

Finally: The Civil Librarian

Still trying to make the verbal connection between working for a public library and being a civil servant, the Civil Librarian jumped out at me with what seemed to be, in 20/20 hindsight, a pretty obvious choice. And, I like the word "civil", too; it has several, subtly different meanings the sum of which, to me, imply the foundational aspect that public libraries play in the lives of the community. This idea, again, that public libraries exist for the benefit of, and belong specifically to the citizens of the community is what I plan to underline through my postings on this blog. Thanks for reading!