--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Pimps make the best librarians. Psycho…" description: "\"“Pimps make the best librarians. Psycho killers, the worst. Ditto conmen. Gangsters, gun runners, bank robbers – adept at crowd control, at collaborati..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/avi-steinberg-31617_librarians_pimps-make-the-best-librarians-psycho-ki_3197314.jpg" --- # Pimps make the best librarians. Psycho killers, the worst… ![“Pimps make the best librarians. Psycho killers, the worst. Ditto conmen. Gangsters, gun runners, bank robbers – adept at crowd control, at collaborating with a small staff, at planning with deliberation and executing with contained fury – all possess the librarian’s basic skill set. Scalpers and…” quote by Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/avi-steinberg-31617_librarians_pimps-make-the-best-librarians-psycho-ki_3197314.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/avi-steinberg-31617_librarians_pimps-make-the-best-librarians-psycho-ki_3197314.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/avi-steinberg-31617_librarians_pimps-make-the-best-librarians-psycho-ki_3197314.jpg) > ““Pimps make the best librarians. Psycho killers, the worst. Ditto conmen. Gangsters, gun runners, bank robbers – adept at crowd control, at collaborating with a small staff, at planning with deliberation and executing with contained fury – all possess the librarian’s basic skill set. Scalpers and loan sharks certainly have a role to play. But even they lack that something, the je ne sais quoi, the elusive it. What would a pimp call it? Yes: the love.”” [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Criminals excel at organization, control, and execution, yet lack the intangible quality of love that defines true librarianship. **In simple terms:** Criminals have skills but miss love. Key Takeaway Recognize skill without love is incomplete. Themes skill control love library metaphor Mood critical thought‑provoking Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - management training - team leadership - ethical decision‑making Key Concepts psychology crime organizational behavior Questions to Reflect On - How does love transform skill into service? - Can efficiency exist without compassion? A Different Perspective Skills without empathy can become harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Librarians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/librarians/) [Pimps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pimps/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Pimps make the best librarians. Psycho killers, the worst. Ditto con men. Gangsters, gunrunners, bank robbers- adept at crowd control, at collaborating with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/pimps-make-the-best-librarians-psycho-killers-the-worst-ditto-con-men/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“Pimps make the best librarians.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/pimps-make-the-best-librarians/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [Librarians lend people books from the library. The best librarians are children's book librarians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-scarry/librarians-lend-people-books-from-the-library-the-best-librarians-are/) [Richard Scarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-scarry/) > [ Ive always been a big defender of \[sippin\] syrup. Even when \[Pimp C\] passed, when Screw passed, when Moe passed, I kinda made excuses.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wall/ive-always-been-a-big-defender-of-sippin-syrup-even-when-pimp-c/) [Paul Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wall/) > [Now if ya gave me a Sweet for every bitch that I fucked You'd have to bring four eightteen wheelers Fill em' from back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pimp-c/now-if-ya-gave-me-a-sweet-for-every-bitch-that-i-fucked-you-d-have-to/) [Pimp C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pimp-c/) > [I feel like it took artists like Pimp C and Andre 3000 with 'International Players Anthem' - I feel like it took the Memphis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tay-keith/i-feel-like-it-took-artists-like-pimp-c-and-andre-3000-with/) [Tay Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tay-keith/) > [Rest in peace to Chad Butler (pimp c) everyday I'm riding clean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/rest-in-peace-to-chad-butler-pimp-c-everyday-i-m-riding-clean/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [I think I'd be a good pimp cuz I'd never beat my ho's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-caan/i-think-i-d-be-a-good-pimp-cuz-i-d-never-beat-my-ho-s/) [Scott Caan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-caan/) > [I pour up for Pimp C, light up for Soulja Slim, straight out the gutter with the rest of the bowling pins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/i-pour-up-for-pimp-c-light-up-for-soulja-slim-straight-out-the-gutter/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [Now how can you tell a nigga how to get his mother fucking ends right, and get his motherfuckin game tight? You needs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pimp-c/now-how-can-you-tell-a-nigga-how-to-get-his-mother-fucking-ends-right/) [Pimp C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pimp-c/) > [“I swiped the Communion chalices to use as pimp cups for my cocktails. That”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duff-mckagan/i-swiped-the-communion-chalices-to-use-as-pimp-cups-for-my-cocktails/) [Duff McKagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duff-mckagan/) > [I worked with Pimp C since he was 14 years old, and he was one of my best friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-dean/i-worked-with-pimp-c-since-he-was-14-years-old-and-he-was-one-of-my/) [Mike Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-dean/) > [I wanna ride a baby elephant in my PJ's while sippin kool-aid out a pimp cup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanel-dudley/i-wanna-ride-a-baby-elephant-in-my-pj-s-while-sippin-kool-aid-out-a/) [Chanel Dudley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanel-dudley/) > [Claire was struggling through last summer’s diary volume when Myrnin popped in through the portal, wearing a big floppy black hat and a kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/claire-was-struggling-through-last-summer-s-diary-volume-when-myrnin/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) > [Weren't you aware and you say you from where? Pimp card revoked, your no longer a playa, yeah.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/weren-t-you-aware-and-you-say-you-from-where-pimp-card-revoked-your/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) ## More by Avi Steinberg > [“Fuck it, I thought. As Don Rumsfeld once said, "You go to war with the army you have, not the army you wish you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/fuck-it-i-thought-as-don-rumsfeld-once-said-you-go-to-war-with-the/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“For days I kept imagining the fate of the world's misplaced letters. I started noticing them everywhere. All the right letters sitting on desks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/for-days-i-kept-imagining-the-fate-of-the-world-s-misplaced-letters-i/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“I think you’re more an archivist than a librarian,” he said. He told me that archivists and librarians were opposite personas. True librarians are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/i-think-you-re-more-an-archivist-than-a-librarian-he-said-he-told-me/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“I flipped to the author’s photo in the Library of America edition of O’Connor’s collected works, and forked it over. Solitary examined the photo.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/i-flipped-to-the-author-s-photo-in-the-library-of-america-edition-of/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“Yet for quixotic reasons--namely, that I enjoyed writing obits--I had decided to scale back on articles about city life in order to write exclusively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/yet-for-quixotic-reasons-namely-that-i-enjoyed-writing-obits-i-had/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“I don't need no Smith and Wesson, man, I got Merriam and Webster.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/i-don-t-need-no-smith-and-wesson-man-i-got-merriam-and-webster/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“An officer on an elevator in the Tower once told me he was proud of his job keeping bad guys out of society. "Someone's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/an-officer-on-an-elevator-in-the-tower-once-told-me-he-was-proud-of/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“Pimps make the best librarians. Psycho killers, the worst. Ditto con men. Gangsters, gunrunners, bank robbers- adept at crowd control, at collaborating with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/pimps-make-the-best-librarians-psycho-killers-the-worst-ditto-con-men/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“All across America public libraries were, and are, being shut down, while prisons-with libraries-were, and are, being built. This has been a choice the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/all-across-america-public-libraries-were-and-are-being-shut-down/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“Pimps make the best librarians.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/pimps-make-the-best-librarians/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“He told me that archivists and librarians were opposite personas. True librarians are unsentimental. They're pragmatic, concerned with the newest, cleanest, most popular books.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/he-told-me-that-archivists-and-librarians-were-opposite-personas-true/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“Harvard was a lovely assisted-living facility from which I'd emerged, like my classmates, stupider and more confident.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/harvard-was-a-lovely-assisted-living-facility-from-which-i-d-emerged/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“His elegant librarianship ... made me appreciate how order is created: Not through grand schemes - to which I was often drawn - but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/his-elegant-librarianship-made-me-appreciate-how-order-is-created-not/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“Unresolved shit, man, resolves itself eventually." --Chudney Franklin”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/unresolved-shit-man-resolves-itself-eventually-chudney-franklin/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) > [“The space itself - its piles of papers representing decades of tangled history - reminded me of all that I didn't know and couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-steinberg/the-space-itself-its-piles-of-papers-representing-decades-of-tangled/) [Avi Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) [Explore all 16 Avi Steinberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-steinberg/) ## More Librarians quotes > [“To librarians, booksellers, and collectors there is nothing limited in the subject of books about books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leona-rostenberg/to-librarians-booksellers-and-collectors-there-is-nothing-limited-in/) Leona Rostenberg > [In general, librarians enjoyed special requests. A reference librarian is someone who likes the chase. When librarians read for pleasure, they often pick a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/in-general-librarians-enjoyed-special-requests-a-reference-librarian/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“I regretted my human form briefly; it would be so much easier to drag and rope information into the brain as neatly as one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-johnson/i-regretted-my-human-form-briefly-it-would-be-so-much-easier-to-drag/) [Marilyn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-johnson/) > ['The Librarians' is a show that really needs to have ten days, but we shoot it in seven, so the workload is really tremendous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-wyle/the-librarians-is-a-show-that-really-needs-to-have-ten-days-but-we/) [Noah Wyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-wyle/) > [“The librarian, a tiny blonde twenty-something in a Riot grrrl T-shirt, looked up from her desk and smiled. Don’t let anyone tell you that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-callaghan/the-librarian-a-tiny-blonde-twenty-something-in-a-riot-grrrl-t-shirt/) Helen Callaghan > [“To all the librarians in the world on behalf of all the kids y’all helped grow up to be writers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/to-all-the-librarians-in-the-world-on-behalf-of-all-the-kids-y-all/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [Librarians have always stood up for writers and readers in every kind of community across this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/librarians-have-always-stood-up-for-writers-and-readers-in-every-kind/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [Librarians lend people books from the library. The best librarians are children's book librarians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-scarry/librarians-lend-people-books-from-the-library-the-best-librarians-are/) [Richard Scarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-scarry/) > [“Is magic common in librarians?" "Oh, yes. Anyone who touches a book has more than a little magic brush off on them. And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-monk/is-magic-common-in-librarians-oh-yes-anyone-who-touches-a-book-has/) [Devon Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-monk/) > [“We also wish to make it absolutely clear that Librarians should not attempt to use the Library to transport dinosaur eggs. And if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genevieve-cogman/we-also-wish-to-make-it-absolutely-clear-that-librarians-should-not/) [Genevieve Cogman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genevieve-cogman/) > [The librarian of today, and it will be true still more of the librarians of tomorrow, are not fiery dragons interposed between the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-osler/the-librarian-of-today-and-it-will-be-true-still-more-of-the/) [William Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-osler/) > [“As a general rule, librarians are a kick in the pants socially, often full of good humor, progressive, and, naturally, well read”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hall/as-a-general-rule-librarians-are-a-kick-in-the-pants-socially-often/) Bill Hall > [“There’s something deep in the heart of every person that wants to protect culture. The only thing about my pending career that was changed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-douglas/there-s-something-deep-in-the-heart-of-every-person-that-wants-to/) [Scott Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-douglas/) > [Those who declared librarians obsolete when the Internet rage first appeared are now red-faced. We need them more than ever. The Internet is full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-schroeder/those-who-declared-librarians-obsolete-when-the-internet-rage-first/) [Patricia Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-schroeder/) > [“Librarians wield unfathomable power. With a flip of the wrist they can hide your dissertation behind piles of old Field and Stream magazines. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-olsen/librarians-wield-unfathomable-power-with-a-flip-of-the-wrist-they-can/) Erica Olsen [Browse all 270 Librarians quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/librarians/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Pimps make the best librarians. Psycho killers, the worst. Ditto conmen. Gangsters, gun runners, bank robbers – adept at crowd control, at collaborating with a small staff, at planning with deliberation and executing with contained fury – all possess the librarian’s basic skill set. Scalpers and loan sharks certainly have a role to play. But even they lack that something, the je ne sais quoi, the elusive it. What would a pimp call it? 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