We’re all familiar with the stereotypical conception of the librarian as a person—often a woman—of a certain age carrying a massive pile of books, eyeing you with suspicion over reading glasses before sternly shushing you. Nowadays there’s not as much need for shushing, as libraries are much louder and livelier than they used to be—budget cuts have spurred interest in community programming, and public computers combined with printers have raised the volume on average. It’s more likely that a librarian will give you the stink eye you for not being careful with your coffee while sitting at a computer.

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