Most people think that librarians read a lot. Well, it’s not always true. There was an editorial by Susan Nielsen in the Oregonian recently which ended with the line “A candidate who doesn’t vote much is like a librarian who doesn’t read much. You can’t help but question the person’s true passion for the job. ” This set off a little flurry of discussion on the Libs-Or listserv, an email list for Oregon librarians.

Anyway, seeing the thread of emails on the topic reminded me that I’m one of those librarians that doesn’t read as much as I would like. That’s for all sorts of reasons. But either way, I’m resolving to get back into my previous habit of being a relatively voracious reader. (By the way, I do disagree that a librarian who doesn’t read much isn’t passionate about his/her job – I’m a case in point!)

Do you have any reading resolutions for the new year? Before we get too serious with ourselves on all those “should” reads (e.g. “I really should read War and Peace“), how about this as some encouragement?

The Reader’s Bill of Rights, by Daniel Pennac in Better than Life

1. The right to not read.
2. The right to skip pages.
3. The right not to finish.
4. The right to re-read.
5. The right to read anything.
6. The right to escapism.
7. The right to read anywhere.
8. The right to browse.
9. The right to read out loud.
10. The right not to defend your tastes.

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian