A philosophy of librarianship? Here are some up-past-my-bedtime thoughts.

•  It’s hard to beat Ranganathan’s Five Laws. They are surprisingly durable and flexible.
•  A librarians’ goal when working with people isn’t to create little librarians, just as a doctor shouldn’t expect patients to become little doctors. The goal is to help people be more mindful, more self-sufficient, better able to act in their own best interest, and better able to recognize when to ask for help.
•  A librarian contains and creates unique value for her community due to her profession. We cannot sell ourselves short, as we have knowledge, skills, and a point of view that people need.
•  Even as we experience and shape great changes in libraries, we should be proudly skeptical and conservative as well. Remember that we have responsibilities to generations past and generations yet to come, not just to our contemporaries.
• At our best, many of the things we do–listening, teaching, preserving, creating for the future, being open to all comers–are moving away from professionalism and edging shyly towards love.