How to make a librarian happy

In honor of National Library Week, I thought I’d submit a few words on how to make a librarian happy.

In general, those who staff our local libraries are cheerful, well-adjusted folks who don’t ask for much in return for safeguarding the future of literacy on our planet. If you happen to have that one maniacal librarian who follows you through the stacks and low-key realigns all the books you pull out while you’re browsing, I’m sorry. Please stay positive, make frequent eye contact with this individual and smile warmly. Remember, fussy people can change, if properly motivated.

For the rest of you, here are a few suggestions on how to bring a smile to a librarian’s face this week:

1. Return your overdue books. (Let the record state, I do not believe this qualifies as the No. 1 method for making a librarian happy, but let’s get it out of the way.) While you are duty-bound to uphold your end of the borrow/return contract, most librarians aren’t lying awake in the dark watches of the night, wringing their hands over a list of unreturned books. They are lying awake, dreaming up new programs to engage and serve their patrons. Still, if you’re harboring a copy of “Catcher in the Rye” that you’ve had checked out since senior year in high school, this is the week to return it.

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