Aptitude Quote by Marilyn Johnson
“Good librarians are natural intelligence operatives. They possess all of the skills and characteristics required for that work: curiosity, wide-ranging knowledge, good memories, organization and analytical aptitude, and discretion.”
About This Quote
Source Article: The Librarian's Role, The Atlantic, 2015
Librarians embody intelligence work: they gather, organize, remember, analyze, and protect information with discretion.
In simple terms: Librarians are like secret agents of knowledge.
Key Takeaway
Value and protect the expertise of librarians.
Themes
knowledge
information
privacy
analysis
Mood
appreciative
thoughtful
Type
professional
inspirational
When to use this quote
- library work
- research
- digital archiving
- policy making
Key Concepts
information management
memory
discretion
analytical thinking
Questions to Reflect On
- What skills do librarians need beyond those listed?
- How can libraries balance openness with discretion?
A Different Perspective
The analogy may oversimplify diverse librarian roles.
![“The first [quality] to be named must always be the power of attention, of giving one's whole mind to the patient without the interposition of anything of oneself. It sounds simple but only the very greatest doctors ever fully attain it. ... The second thing to be striven for is intuition. This…” quote by Wilfred Trotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e2d/wilfred-trotter-30944_aptitude_the-first-quality-to-be-named-must-alway_74426.jpg)
