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Librarians Martha Loeppky Reading Season 2

Season 2. Episode 2: Martha on Librarians are Awesome

Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia.  Thank you for listening in.

Neil Gaiman said “Librarians are the coolest people out there doing the hardest job out there on the frontlines. And every time I get to encounter or work with librarians, I’m always impressed by their sheer awesomeness.”

Librarians have awesome, even magical powers.  They are the champions of literacy; they safeguard our stories and keep record of our ideas.  Above all, they are the wizards that facilitate learning.  We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to their determination to preserve and protect our civilization.

We live in a world where technology and connectivity are growing exponentially.  Now, more than ever, we need librarians to be our guides.  How to annotate texts?  Ask a librarian.  What is copyright and fair use?  Ask a librarian.  How to determine whether the information is honest?  Ask a librarian.

Librarians keep us grounded and create spaces that encourage and support exploration.

I am pleased to introduce Martha, my long-time friend from college days, who chose to be a librarian.  Martha joined me in a huge leap into the podcasting unknown from a distance.  We are linking Vancouver and Winnipeg, which is a separation of 2,313 kilometers

So, put the kettle on and join in the conversation.  We would love to hear your thoughts on TeaToastTrivia.com

I am your host Rebecca Budd and I’m looking forward to sharing this moment with you.

Thank you for joining Martha and me on Tea Toast & Trivia.  A special thank you to Martha for sharing her love of books and for agreeing to come back in future podcasts.  One last thought comes from Albert Einstein, who said many years ago. “The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.”

Until next time, dear friends, safe travel wherever your adventures take you.  And don’t forget that libraries have the best adventures

By Rebecca Budd

Blogger, Visual Storyteller, Podcaster, Traveler and Life-long Learner

10 replies on “Season 2. Episode 2: Martha on Librarians are Awesome”

Books, libraries and librarians…some of my very favorite places and people! Two of the more difficult times in my adult life were spent in and volunteering at libraries in little rural towns. The librarian at the first helped me obtain rare out-of-print books from libraries all over the country. The librarian in the second town convinced me to become an officer of our Friends of the Library fundraising arm, as well as participate in our book club. This little library was literally the cultural hub for the local children. Without it many kids would have had little access to learning and community events. My youngest children had opportunities for volunteerism at a very early age through love of books.

During the times I patronized these libraries, both were growing so quickly they had to either relocate or build new. The transition to electronic and digital resources you both address is demonstrated at my present library which also has moved into a brand new building. And although the book collection is smaller, with increased reading and study spaces, laptops to borrow, etc. patrons can request books be purchased and added to the collection. Thanks Rebecca for your tribute to librarians, since they deserve our respect and admiration.

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What a brilliant testament to the power of books, volunteerism, progress, and education. Librarians are the keepers of our stories and knowledge. Growing up in a small mining town in Northern Manitoba, books were my constant companions in the long winter months. Our school library was small, but our teachers were amazing. Many of our teachers were fresh out of university and came north to begin their careers. They brought with them, the latest knowledge on books and education. I was looking ahead to predictions of what our libraries will look like 50 years from now. I read this prediction: that will be able to “check out” brand-new realities, like what it would be like to climb Mount Everest or see what it would be like to live as a dog. Well, that is for tomorrow. Today, as Martha said, “I’ll stay with the book.”

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I greatly enjoyed this episode giving librarians and libraries their due. My childhood happiness and equilibrium depended on my weekly walk to the library to check out four books to get me through the week ahead. Those long-ago small town libraries are so ingrained in me that to this day if a library’s shelves aren’t wood, and the place doesn’t smell like wood, varnish, and musty old books, it’s not a real library. Coincidentally, less than an hour ago, I read a blog post about a WPA program in the US during the Great Depression that sent librarians on horses to bring books to rural areas. https://dustyoldthing.com/book-women-horseback/

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This is marvelous article of the WPA program. A reminder to me of the many people who feel a “call” to share knowledge and wisdom. Many of their names will not be held on the walls of great buildings or quoted by those who follow after their passing. They will be lost in the folds of history, but their good work has been the foundation of our society. And that “foundation work” has touched others who many never know to whom they owe their gratitude. While I appreciate awards and reward systems in general, they are generally attached to a resource outcome. While nice and certainly give good feelings, they don’t have the profound meaning of knowing that you have given to a cause greater than yourself, without the need for remembrance. Wonderful comments, Liz!

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