Why We Love Librarians

As authors, we know how special librarians are in the lives of readers young and old. The magical ability to match the right book to the right reader at the right time is nothing short of amazing. We also know librarians rarely get the recognition and cheers they deserve.

I think it’s time to change that, don’t you?

Dozens of participating Great Scavenger Hunt Contest authors offered a lovefest of quotes for librarians. I’m delighted to share them with you here in Spread Some Cheer. If you ever doubt the power of your work, look no further. Let the librarian lovefest begin!

If it weren’t for great librarians, I wouldn’t be a YA author. Several years ago, a writer friend suggested I consider writing YA. That sounded like a blast, but I hadn’t read YA books in years. And spending oodles on books to research a new genre for me as a writer? Not exactly in the cards. So I popped into my local library hoping for a little help.

The lovely teen librarian introduced me to books like Meg Cabot’s The Princess Diaries, Ann Brashares’ The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Julia DeVillers’ How My Private, Personal Journal Became a Bestseller. With only a few questions about the kinds of adult fiction I liked to read, she magically picked titles I instantly fell in love with. I knew immediately that YA was what I wanted to write. The rest is happy history!

To me, the best librarians are the ones who bring not only a love of books to their work, but a sense of humor and enthusiasm for what they do. Those are the truly magical librarians. Cheers to awesome librarians like Stacy Post and Emily Fleischer at Brownsburg Public Library, Ed Burns at Ferndale Public Library, and fellow YA authors/librarians Josh Berk at Allentown Public Library and Emily Horner at Jamaica Bay Library. You give librarians a good name!

~ Kay Cassidy (www.kaycassidy.com – a.k.a. the place you are right now )

My mama took me to the public library every Saturday morning, partly because it was entertainment that fit into our mac-and-cheese budget. It was there that I first excelled at anything. I was a reader. In third grade, I won the summer reading contest and received an award presented by the mayor. The librarians’ support and enthusiasm gave me the core skills and confidence to succeed in school and later become the first person in my family to graduate from college. I’ve been paying it forward ever since.

~ Cynthia Leitich Smith (www.cynthialeitichsmith.com)

When I was growing up, I spent a great deal of time at my grandmother’s house on the south side of Houston. The Park Place Branch Library was only a block or two from her house and my sisters and I spent many summer afternoons there, basking in the air conditioning and the books too. It was sort of like our own private club, that library. We read hundreds of books each summer. And the librarians just kept handing us book after book. It was wonderful. Whenever I wander into a library, it feels like home to me.

~ Kathi Appelt (www.kathiappelt.com)

The first librarian to make a difference in my life was at the Colonie Town Library, in Albany NY. A librarian noticed that my twin sister and I always checked out the maximum number of books we could (13! Not enough) and asked us to help out with some children’s programs. I loved recommending books to younger kids….and I still love to recommend books!

~ Julia DeVillers (www.girlwise.com)

My first librarian arrived in my life when I was nine. It didn’t take her long to figure out that I’d been essentially bookless thus far (when she asked what I liked to read, I answered, “Cereal boxes,”) and to ask a few questions that led her to put Eloise into my hands. From then on I was hooked, first a reader and then a writer. I am forever grateful to her and to her legion of similarly gifted souls.

~ Audrey Couloumbis (www.AudreyCouloumbis.com)

I’ve been a reader for a lot longer than I’ve been a writer and one of the happiest days of my life was when we moved house and I suddenly found myself in walking distance of my local library! Since then no matter where I’ve moved (and it’s been a lot) one of the first things I’ve always done is join the library. In fact I honestly can’t imagine what my life would be like if I couldn’t just go to my local library and hang out with the books. So a big thank you to librarians everywhere because you guys touch more lives than you’ll ever know.

~ Amanda Ashby (www.amandaashby.com)

I love libraries. The quiet. The books. Those nice cozy reading spots where you can curl up for hours, getting lost in a story. . .and I always thought it would be so cool to be a librarian—a champion of books, a dispenser of information, an advocate for literacy—they do it all! Thanks to all of you awesome librarians for all that you do in sharing the magic of books!

~ Alyson Noël (www.alysonnoel.com)

Librarians are the world’s best matchmakers. They can ask a reader just a few questions and pair them up with their literary soul mate almost immediately. Thank you for putting our books into just the right hands!

~ Stephanie Hale (www.stephaniehale.com)

I spent many wonderful hours in my local library growing up, and one of the first things I did after the release of Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress was to fly back to my hometown and present the teen librarian there with a signed copy. The experience made me giddy, was a symbol of making my own dream come true, of not only publishing a book, but having it available to the next generation of students at my former schools. And if you’re friends with me on MySpace, you’ll know I always tell librarians that I think libraries–and not Disneyland–are the happiest places on earth!

~ Tina Ferraro (www.tinaferraro.com)

I spent my junior high and high school years living out in the desert, ten miles from the nearest store, let alone bookstore. My lifeline was the Bookmobile, which came around to our little area every month. The librarian running the Bookmobile was so great — she made sure that the limited stock always carried new things for me, things she thought I’d like. She introduced me to some of the best books I’ve ever read … and I will carry them with me always.

~ Rachel Caine (www.rachelcaine.com)

Growing up in Denver, the Bemis Library helped foster my life-long love of reading. Every week, a storyteller would record a new book on their phone line and my sister and I couldn’t wait to call and hear the newest story. I remember my school librarians reading books that I might not have otherwise known about. Now that I’m a mom, I love taking my boys to the Ogden Valley Library for all their fun programs and to help them check out new books to read.

~ Wendy Toliver (www.wendytoliver.com)

The girl who tried to slink into the library for more books. The one whose books were always overdue. The one with library fines. That was me. But did the librarian look over her spectacles and shake a finger at me? Did she say, “You’re no longer welcome here?” Not once. She knew me, understood my book-hunger and loved to recommend books she knew I’d devour. She was the first of many librarians who helped expand my reading world. Librarians are Tops!

~ Janet Lee Carey (www.janetleecarey.com)

A haiku for Librarians:

Libraries are great
Librarians sage and wise
Books found through them–life

~ Sarah MacLean (www.macleanspace.com)

From age eight to thirteen, every Saturday I visited the local library. If it wasn’t for the awesome librarians I wouldn’t have read and enjoyed so many different genres.

~ Sara Hantz (www.sarahantz.com)

I remember when I was a kid, maybe second or third grade, once a week our class would troop down to the library for story time. The librarian would read to us, usually from chapter books, and after giving us a brief synopsis of “our story so far”, she’d continue until story time was over and we’d reluctantly return to our classroom. It was, without a doubt, the highlight of my week.

~ Sally Nemeth (www.sallynemeth.com)

I love librarians because librarians love books, because again and again they make the connections I could never make . . . the right book at the right time in the right child’s hands.

~ Marion Dane Bauer (www.mariondanebauer.com)

When I was in third grade, the librarian at my school gave me a copy of Little House in the Big Woods to read. How she knew I’d love the book, I’ll never know. Librarians must have a special sense of which book will be the perfect fit for a particular child. They have a way of seeing what a child wants to read, almost like a doctor can prescribe the right medicine. Thank you, librarians everywhere, for your suggestions to children today about which book might just be what they’re looking for.

~ Kathryn Fitzmaurice (www.kathrynfitzmaurice.com)

I love librarians because they’re hard working, wildly creative, informative, passionate and caring. And I know of what I speak….I’m lucky enough to work as a teen librarian and every day I’m surrounded by incredible people who teach and inspire me. There’s nothing better than bringing books and people together.

~ Terri Clark (www.terriclarkbooks.com)

I love librarians because they get so excited when they find the right book for the right kid.

~ Kimberly Willis Holt (www.kimberlywillisholt.com)

When I was nine, I loved the Hardy Boys. Loved them. I think it was my very first bromance. I don’t remember exactly how often a new Hardy Boys book arrived at my library (I think it was every three to four months) but being nine years old I had no concept of time. Every Saturday, which was library day at my house, I ran in and asked Mrs. Ambler (the only librarian at the small one room library in my hometown of Homer, Michigan) if “the new Hardy Boys was in yet?” Every week she patiently reminded me of how much longer I had to wait, while always recommending something else for me to read. Tom Swift. The Rick Brandt Adventures. And it was her who started my life long love affair with MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN. Thank you Mrs. Ambler.

~ Michael Spradlin (www.michaelspradlin.com)

The library staff at the Mid-Columbia Library are the best! They’re never too busy to answer my questions, and I have a lot of questions! When I first wanted to write a young adult novel, Marsha Bates walked me through the YA section, pointing out personal favorites. She also found me books on writing for youth to help me understand the market. La Petite Four would never have been published without her!

~ Regina Scott (www.lapetitefour.com)

My mother is a high school librarian, so I know very well how important they are and how hard they work. When I was in elementary school, one of my absolute favorite things to do was to hang out in my mom’s library and help her shelve books—all those rows and rows of books that were far too complicated for me to read, but such fun to flip through… I even organized all of my own books at home alphabetically by author’s last name (and separated the fiction from the non-fiction, of course!). And I’ve always been in awe of the fact that librarians are so amazingly good at knowing exactly what sorts of books I’ll want to read, based on the slimmest amount of information. My hats off to you, librarians everywhere!

~ Lisa Graff (www.lisagraff.com)

The sweet librarian so long, long ago in Plainfield, New Jersey, always helped me find dog and horse books, which were my favorites. But when I wanted to move on to romance, she advised against Daphne DuMaurier, which of course made me want to read Daphne DuMaurier with a passion and a lifelong passionate reader was born.

~ Valerie Hobbs (www.valeriehobbs.com)

I remember how much I loved doing my library’s “book safari” in first grade, reading books and getting animal stickers for every book I turned in. I remember covering my ears in third grade while I squeezed my eyes shut and hummed to myself, all because a librarian was reading “real” ghost stories to our class and scaring the heck out of me. I love how librarians are always willing to help. I love that they love books. That they can scare us with a book, encourage us with a safari and help us find exactly what we’re looking for in what feels like a sea of spines. They rock.

~ Jenny O’Connell (www.jennyoconnell.com)

There is just no one who can drum up enthusiasm and support for a book like a librarian. So many readers look to them for recommendations, and the resulting discussions and sense of community this inspires is just priceless.

~ Tish Cohen (www.tishcohen.com)

I love librarians so much I even created a character, Miss Attickson, in the Maggie Valley Trilogy, who is Livy Two Weems’ lifeline to the world bringing her books on the bookmobile through the Smoky Mountains. Miss Attickson I even wrote a song called BOOKMOBILE LADY, which can be heard on my website. The lyrics begin:

“Bookmobile lady driving stories through the mountains,
bookmobile lady tales and tales rain down in fountains…
Folks with wheelbarrows, wagons, totes, and sacks…
all for to haul the books home on their backs…
Bookmobile lady, holding secrets of the hollers…
Bookmobile lady she’s got mountains to roam…
then drive her lending library truck home…

Librarians gave me so much as a child, and it was honor to create a character like Miss Attickson as my way of saying Thank You!

~ Kerry Madden (www.kerrymadden.com)

As a kid, I spent my summers holed up in the library, devouring as many books as I possibly could. The librarians always made it fun by coming up with summer reading contests, challenging kids to read and review as many books as they could. Oh and my grade school librarian, Mrs. Walden, she was the best. My local librarians are one of the big reasons I became a writer.

~ Stephanie Kuehnert (www.stephaniekuehnert.com)

My mom is a librarian. My sister is a librarian. My husband is a librarian. Of course I love librarians! But I also love the ones I don’t know. The ones all over the world who hand children books every day. Every time you hand a child a book, you help make the world a better place. You help open a mind, build compassion, foster imagination, encourage laughter and allow tears. Librarians understand the magic of books. They are the true Dumbledores of the world.

~ Jo Knowles (www.joknowles.com)

Librarians are more than just librarians. They are like sage wizards who guard a sacred, mystical world. They are detectives who can track down any fact you wish to know, matchmakers who can fix you up with the stories of your dreams, and nurses who can repair what too much love will do to a book. Librarians are like scholastic superheroes who only use their powers for good.

~ Jennifer Ziegler (www.jenniferziegler.net)

My second grade librarian was a senile nun who wouldn’t let anyone touch the books, so it’s all gotten better since then! Seriously, since that first, uh, traumatic experience, I don’t think I’ve met a librarian I didn’t like.

~ Brent Hartinger (www.brenthartinger.com)

Librarians rock. I remember getting caught in class reading library books behind my textbooks, haunting the libraries for new releases because I’d read just about all the old, jumping on the book sales when they sold off stock. But librarians aren’t just waiting for kids like me, the book addicts, to darken their doorsteps. They’re coming up with innovative programs, blogging, instilling the love of reading that fuels the imagination of the next generation. Not just the imagination, but the empathy, because nothing makes you empathize more than living a while in someone else’s shoes, and there’s no better way to do that than between the covers of a book. Through those pages we can understand what it is to be enslaved or discriminated against or truly transformed and we can apply the lessons to the decisions we make in our lives.

~ Lucienne Diver (www.luciennediver.com)

I was going to leave this library-love area blank because outside of school, I didn’t have a local library that I could access without driving fifteen minutes. Looking at that blank spot where my answer should have been made me truly realize what life was like without a local library, compared to where I live now, with a great community library. I think because I grew up without a [very] local library, I didn’t understand how local libraries enrich, educate and entertain communities. Thirty years later, there is a library in the area where I grew up. Teachers, school board members, librarians, and local people worked hard to build that library and continue to run it. Because of them, kids growing up where I did now have a completely different experience. What this means to me is: every chance I can, whether it’s a bake sale or a summer reading program, I try to help. Without the community, community libraries would be lost.

~ A.S. King (www.thedustof100dogs.com)

Not only do I love and appreciate librarians in general, one of my closest friends, Janet, is a librarian. I was even one of two witnesses at her wedding.

Janet and I took a vacation together right after my book Life As We Knew It was published. She was so tolerant of my excitement about it, I dedicated the companion novel, The Dead And The Gone to her.

~ Susan Beth Pfeffer (www.susanbethpfeffer.blogspot.com)

Some of my favorite memories are of those when I went to the library as a child. After my parents divorced, my life was somewhat chaotic. But when I walked into the library, everything was so organized and calm, and just as it should be. Every week, I knew where I could find my friends, Betsy and Star, Encyclopedia Brown, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, and more. The library was a comforting place for me, and I will forever be grateful for that.

Thanks librarians, for all that you do to give kids a special, comforting place, and for getting books into the hands of young readers. What you do is so important, and I’m forever grateful.

~ Lisa Schroeder (www.lisaschroederbooks.com)

When I was in elementary school, the librarian, Mrs. Hayes, provided a retreat full of books, a retreat full of other worlds and other lives. I went to the library whenever I could, during lunch, during recess. Once after getting in trouble on the play ground, I ran away to the library. Passing books on the shelves was like passing old friends, because I’d read so many of them over and over again. Like the Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes. And the Black Stallion by Walter Farley. I still love libraries and go to them whenever I get the chance. I love finding about new worlds.

~ Dia Calhoun (www.diacalhoun.com)

Librarians can find anything. They know, two words into a description that starts, “The cover is green with red letters…” exactly which book you want. And once you tell them about that book, they can find another one you’ll like just as much. It’s a psychic ability- one of many. They spend all day surrounded by everything we’ve ever known, since the beginning of time. How could they be anything but nearly immortal, entirely supernatural, and completely amazing?

~ Saundra Mitchell (www.saundramitchell.com)

Without libraries, my life would have been–well, I can’t even imagine! The library near where I grew up was, for years, my *only* source of books, and without those books, and the willingness of every librarian I’ve ever met to recommend books and talk about them, my life wouldn’t be half as rich as it is.

~ Elizabeth Scott (www.elizabethwrites.com)

From the Acknowledgements page of WINNIE’S WAR: Many thanks to the librarians at the numerous libraries I visited in Harris and Galveston counties, but especially to Mrs. Simkulet, wherever you may be, my first favorite librarian, who taught me how to shelve books and about kindness.

Also, my sister Sally Barringer is a librarian, and she definitely rocks. 

~ Jenny Moss (www.jenny-moss.com)

As I go around to different libraries and schools doing author visits, I’m always amazed at the librarians’ dedication to getting kids excited about reading. I once had a school librarian sell snacks during lunchtime in order to pay for my visit. That’s dedication! I hope I was worth all of that beef jerky.

~ Janette Rallison (www.JanetteRallison.com)

In fifth grade, our elementary school librarian read our class Roald Dahl’s THE WITCHES. Every week, I looked forward to sitting and listening to the story unfold, and refused to take the book out and read ahead to see what happened to Bruno and the narrator. That a librarian would pick such a cool book—one that got even the squirmiest of boys in our class to sit still and listen!—amazed me. I’ve been in awe of the work they do ever since.

~ Erin Dionne (www.erindionne.com)

When I was a kid, my dad took me to the tiny local library and introduced me to the children’s librarian. The librarian asked me what I liked to read. I told her, “everything.” Well, she helped me narrow that down to adventure novels, and suggested an author. I took a stack of books home, and read them in a week—one each night. I’ve been a steady patron since then, in every library, in every town that I’ve lived. Thank you Ms. Librarian, whose name I don’t remember. And, thank you Dad!

~ Deborah Lynn Jacobs (www.deborahlynnjacobs.com)

Librarians grow readers and writers. I’ll never forget how my 1st grade librarian let me check out as many books about ocean creatures as I could carry. I’m sure all that reading inspired me to write (and illustrate) my very first picture book, My Fish Book, which has been lovingly preserved by my mother.

~ Sydney Salter (www.sydneysalter.com)

While authors are the ones who create new worlds, it is often up to librarians to introduce readers to them. Librarians are guides to the world of make believe, the world of what might be and the world of what is. Without librarians, we might never discover the very worlds we could come to treasure most.

~ E.D. Baker (www.talesofedbaker.com)

Librarians rock in so many ways. Here are just a few:

1. They’re always ready to help you find or figure out something because they’re super smart.
2. They can guide you back to the light when you’re scared and lost in the stacks.
3. They won’t laugh at you if you pronounce Louis Sachar’s name wrong.
4. They are ninja masters of the Dewey Decimal System and the ISBN code and can get you any book you want. Any book!
5. They will almost always help you when the printer jams.

And the final way librarians rock… They love books and authors! (And believe me, it’s mutual.)

~ Kristin Walker (www.kristin-walker.com)

When I was first starting to write BREATHING, I went to the teen/children’s librarian at my local public library. I asked her to suggest some YA novels that take place in the South, so I could get the flavor of them. She suggested a number of books and got me hooked on Sarah Dessen. Just a short while later, I found myself with a finished manuscript and the same agent and publisher as Sarah! To thank my helpful librarian friend, I brought her an orchid. I am so grateful to her for giving me a push in the right direction!

~ Cheryl Renée Herbsman (www.cherylreneeherbsman.com)

The librarians of the Enoch Pratt (Roland Park branch) Library in Baltimore, MD were perhaps the most important women in my life during third-sixth grade. I pretty much lived in the children’s room, down in the basement. And after awhile, they took pity on me. Taught me to shelve books. Pointed me towards amazing things to read. I thought they were the most glamorous ladies in the universe. I owe them a ton. I’m not sure if I’d be a children’s author today, if it weren’t for them.

~ Laurel Snyder (www.laurelsnyder.com)

My school library didn’t have a librarian. Our class was taken to a room lined with books once a week for about ten minutes and told we could check out one book. The library in the high school was gigantic by comparison. The librarian Hazel Humphreys was a tiny person but she had widespread interests which she shared with those students who like me longed to see more of the world. Librarians are important because they set open eyes to on other worlds, other planets, other times. Librarians know everything and if they don’t, they know where and how to find out! Viva librarians!

~ Brenda Seabrooke (www.childrensbookguild.org)

I can still remember how excited I was every time my mom took me and my older brother to the public library when we were kids. Sure, there were generally a bunch of creepy-looking transients wandering around aimlessly, and the entire place smelled like dust and urine…but those were minor obstacles on our quest to discover new and exciting adventures. We always left happy and eager to read the treasured tomes—and grateful for all those librarians who put up with the sights, smells, and strange folks that wandered through the stacks. Honestly, you’ve got to be a brave soul, and seriously in love with books, to become a librarian. My hat’s off to all of them!

~ Alexa Young (www.alexayoung.com)

I still owe so much to Emily, the librarian for my hometown. I was a very inquisitive kid and she was Google in human form. I’d ask for books about medieval weapons and lo and behold a few weeks later several would arrive from interlibrary loan. Not once did she ever say, you shouldn’t be interested in such things. I think that acceptance of my imagination helped me become the writer I am today.

~ Arthur Slade (www.arthurslade.com)

One of my closest friends, Amanda, is a children’s librarian. About seven years ago, she mailed me a copy of The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot with a note that said, “I loved this book—and I know you could write something just as fun.” I kept that encouragement in the back of my mind, and a few years later, I began writing TMI. Thanks for believing in me, Amanda!

~ Sarah Quigley (www.sarahquigley.com)

Wonderful librarians work very hard to bring knowledge and a variety of books to the public, and to fight censorship and protect our freedom to read what we wish. Many librarians have other amazing talents as well – they are writers, teachers, reviewers, and artists. A few of the many librarians who have inspired me are Ada Con of Fraser Valley Regional Libraries in British Columbia, Mary Palmer of the Seattle Public Library, Jane Lopez-Santillana, also of the Seattle Public Library, Kate Johnson of the Monroe Library (here in WA), Debbie Howard of the King County Library System, Susan Warner of Kalamazoo Public Library, and many more librarians who have read and supported my work.

~ Anjali Banerjee (www.anjalibanerjee.com)

I was a sort-of librarian from 1999-2003. I was pregnant with my one and only child at the time I was hired and the Bethel Public Library where I worked was such a positive atmosphere that my daughter has since grown into a fabulous reader herself as well as one of my coauthors on The Sisters Eight series of books for young readers. Honestly, how can anyone not love libraries? They have books! They have information! And it’s FREE!

~ Lauren Baratz-Logsted (www.laurenbaratzlogsted.com)

I loved my librarians at college because they worked so hard to help us incoming freshmen understand how to use the library and online databases for research. And even though half of my class completely ignored them, I totally got it. By the time my senior year rolled around, I was a research pro, successfully finding articles through academic journals and requesting books through inter-library loan.

Even after I graduated, I still called to get the new database password whenever it changed.

Those ladies were omniscient, and if they didn’t know the answer, they knew exactly where to find it. I have a better appreciation for them now that I’m teaching freshmen, because it gets really old typing: “Wikipedia is not a reliable source and should not be used in formal research essays” over and over and over again.

I love librarians because they put information into the hands of the impressionable masses.

~ Leigh Brescia (www.leighbrescia.com)

When my children were young, the local library organized book races in the summer vacation. It was a wonderful way of introducing kids to new authors – and I enjoyed it too! A lot of work went into it, and the librarians spent hours testing each child on the books they’d read. It wasn’t too different from a scavenger hunt, really…

~ Elizabeth Kay (www.elizabethkay.co.uk)

Librarians have been an important part of my life since I was nine. They made me feel welcome in the library, and I always felt as if they really cared about who I was when they made book recommendations. They’re a big reason why my love of books has continued to grow from childhood through my teens years into adulthood.

~ Victoria Hanley (www.victoriahanley.com)

Mrs. Schwerman, who worked at my school library in Libertyville, Illinois, turned me into a reader by handing me one great book after another. I thanked her in the acknowledgement section of my first book and sent her a surprise copy. Librarians are the greatest!

~ Mary Amato (www.maryamato.com)

Why do I love librarians? How can I not love people who love books? An even more compelling reason– they know how to use books effectively. I can’t recall how many times I’ve contacted one of my favorite librarians, who now calls me by my first name, and said, “Help. I need X, Y, or Z.” Help was on its way by the time I finished asking the question.

Hats off to all librarians and especially to those in the teen/children sections. They are wonderful guides for young readers, leading them into the worlds waiting on the shelves, leading them into one of the greatest experiences people can have—communion between writer and reader.

~ C. Lee McKenzie (www.cleemckenziebooks.com)

How can I count the ways I love librarians? Seriously, librarians rock! When I was a kid the librarian in my town knew the kinds of books every kid liked, and as soon as you walked in she’d have a recommendation for you that was generally spot on. In my local branch library here in NYC the librarians love it when I come in with an obscure book question or trying to figure out the title of a book I read in 1976— they are the best!

~ Daphne Grab (www.daphnegrab.com)

My best memories of summer as a child are of the children’s section of the Kemp Public Library in Wichita Falls, Texas. The department was in the basement. The stacks were orderly and colorful. I got to roam at will. And the place was air-conditioned. It was heaven.

~ Helen Hemphill (www.helenhemphill.com)

Librarians actually WANT to help you! Who else can you say that about????

~ Amy Goldman Koss (www.AmyGoldmanKoss.net)

Libraries are like chocolate quicksand…once I get sucked in, it’s nearly impossible to get out…but getting sucked in feels SO-O-O-O good!!

~ M.P. Barker (www.mpbarker.net)

Sheila Rollins was the librarian at City Park Elementary School in Athens, TN in the (ahem!) 80s. Ms. Rollins started this great program: any student who read three books by an author and did a book report on each was eligible to interview that author by telephone! (She did a lot of behind-the-scenes arranging that I can only now appreciate!) The author I chose was Madeleine L’Engle. During my telephone interview with Ms. L’Enlge, I told her I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. Her response? “Good for you! Keep reading and you can do it!” Thanks to Ms. Rollins and her outstanding reading programs, I achieved that goal. Thank you, Ms. Rollins!

~ Kristin O’Donnell Tubb (www.kristintubb.com)

Here’s a shout out to Judy Jones at Union Elementary in Ponca City, Oklahoma. I am so lucky to know her. She’s taken me under her wing when I was a green green green author and has promoted my books throughout her school and her school district. When I do school visits at Union, I feel like a celebrity. The kids are excited, Judy is excited, and they have tons of questions about my writing. It’s such an honor to have a librarian out there rooting for me like Judy does. Thanks!

~ Stacy A. Nyikos (www.stacyanyikos.com)