How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All

Book review: 'This Book Is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All,' by Marilyn Johnson

In researching her previous book, "The Dead Beat," which celebrates the pleasures of obituaries, Marilyn Johnson discovered that, with few exceptions, "the most engaging obit subjects were librarians." Motivated by "the idea that libraries were where it was happening -- wide-open territory for innovators, activists, and pioneers," Johnson has now turned her attention to librarians, whom she refers to variously as "natural intelligence operatives" and "enablers," with the good ones possessing "all of the skills and characteristics required for that work: curiosity, wide-ranging knowledge, good memories, organizational and analytical aptitude, and discretion."