8 Surprising Facts About Your Local Librarian

What you may not know about your local children’s or young adult (YA) librarian could fill, well, a library.

“Librarians are much more than stuffy ladies who check out books,” says Katherine Peery, a former children’s librarian in the Dallas-Fort Worth area who now teaches first-year librarians at the University of Texas, Arlington. “In fact, there is a science behind selecting materials and using them to engage children in reading and the world around them,” she says.

Yup — it’s called library science for a reason. And the staff manning the YA desk? They know more about what tweens and teens are plugged into than you think, making them an invaluable resource.

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