Some Overdue Attention

In the Middle Ages, way back in the 1950s and 1960s, the phrase “Check that out” had nothing to do with scanning the physique of a member of the opposite sex, as amazing as this may seem. It described what you did with a library book at the front counter with a woman who seemed to know everything, or at least where everything known could be found.

They were amazing creatures, these librarians, always around, always knowledgeable, always suggesting books you’d like. They remembered names, yours or a long-dead author’s. They played the card catalogue like concert harpists. Yes, librarians expressed concern over loud talking, which apparently was bad for books. But these women were quietly wise, like professional aunts or teachers without the chalky fingers. And librarians were paid like teachers--not much.

Which is one reason librarians have fallen on difficult times, with demand far exceeding supply and the ranks of those retiring, or about to, exceeding incoming rookies. It’s worst for the nation’s 120,000-plus public libraries, which must compete as public service callings against the brighter allure and higher pay of World Wide Web design companies. The 67-branch Los Angeles system confronts high staff attrition, a stubborn 17% vacancy rate and one-third of its librarians nearing retirement.

As American Library Assn. members gather in San Francisco this week for their summer conference, a serious librarian shortage has developed, nationally as well as in Los Angeles. Recruiters will swarm the meeting.

Recently First Lady Laura Bush, herself a former librarian who founded a book festival as a fund-raiser for Texas librarians, helped launch a new recruiting campaign to make libraries hipper places to work. A new website ( www.atyourlibrary.org ) opens June 14. Last winter, District of Columbia libraries had only 260 applicants for 813 openings. New ALA President John Berry sees many possible recruiting steps, including community college programs, task forces on salaries and diversity and an October White House Book Fair with Mrs. Bush. It’s essential we address this gap in a profession that has been a major facilitator of individual knowledge-gathering.

Many adults still recall wise librarians from their youth. Mrs. Benson excited visiting classes about something called the Dewey Decimal System by calling it a secret code for unlocking mysteries. There was Mrs. Kandiko, who introduced Kit Carson and Jim Bridger to juvenile minds yet to realize the wild American frontier resided right there on her shelves. They knew their customers’ tastes and needs. Once, lending phonograph records was innovative. Today’s libraries, of course, have many male librarians and are high-tech--videos, CDs and the wonders and dangers of the World Wide Web. For generations American libraries have been self-contained, building-sized search engines. Without skilled professionals, the grand democratic potential of such storehouses of knowledge will go sadly under-utilized just as knowledge explodes exponentially. The new library campaign is encouraging. A concerted effort by schools, guidance counselors, governments and libraries is--like the borrowed library books of some youngsters and adults--long overdue.