Making a Difference

Many of the 50 librarians and other individuals profiled in the 2007 Movers & Shakers represent a new breed. They are young enough to have grown up with computers and the Internet. They're not just embracing new technology, they own it. They create it. And they use it to develop and deliver myriad services to library users and nonusers, to meet their customers online, and to bring up to snuff even those who aren't yet comfortable with our high-speed world. The same can be said of all the M&Sers here, whatever their generation or specialty.

Librarians like Kelly Czarnecki and Bonnie Peirce have developed web spaces where adults and kids can comment on the books they're reading and share their favorites with one another. Indiana University's Michelle Dalmau, Brooklyn Public Library's Susan Benz, and Enoch Pratt's Nadia Nasr are unearthing and building digital collections of photos, sheet music, sports memorabilia, and historical newspapers, and they're making sure that researchers, genealogists, teachers, and students use them. And librarian Beth Goldsmith, information architect Casey Bisson, and newbie Emily Lynema are working on removing the barriers preventing users from finding all the data and content the library has and using it in new ways.

There are other kinds of barriers, too, that librarians continue to break down. Librarians like Shawna Thorup, Loida García-Febo, and Lorely Ambriz eliminate barriers to intellectual freedom, language and literacy, jobs and careers, and health information. And Carolyn Neal and Gina Millsap bring together community organizations and individuals.

Library budgets being what they are, all this growth doesn't necessarily come easily. Yet librarians continue to add to their expertise and expand how they serve our communities. They and their institutions deserve our support. That's why we'll be sending this supplement to members of Congress, governors, and mayors nationwide.

We plan to celebrate the Movers & Shakers, some 300 strong now, at the American Library Association conference, this year in Washington, DC. Once again, a special thanks to LJ's own Movers & Shakers: Guest editor Marylaine Block, zine publisher, “Librarian Without Walls,” and longtime LJ contributor; and contributing editor Rachel Singer Gordon, webmaster, LISjobs.com, and author of The NextGen Librarian's Survival Guide (ITI, 2006) and LJ's online computer book reviews.

Librarianship is much more than a job. Amanda Etches-Johnson says it is“one of those professions that you just are rather than something you do.” And, as Larry Neal says, it is a career that gives “you a chance to 'make a living making a difference.' ” That's what the 2007 Movers & Shakers do. They make a difference.