--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was under the librarians' protection…" description: "\"I was under the librarians' protection. Civil servants and servants of civility, they had my back. The would be whatever they needed to be that day: in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c4/marilyn-johnson-27373_cases_i-was-under-the-librarians-protection-ci_605268.png" --- # I was under the librarians' protection. Civil servants and… ![“I was under the librarians' protection. Civil servants and servants of civility, they had my back. The would be whatever they needed to be that day: information professionals, teachers, police, community organizers, computer technicians, historians, confidantes, clerks, social workers…” quote by Marilyn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c4/marilyn-johnson-27373_cases_i-was-under-the-librarians-protection-ci_605268.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c4/marilyn-johnson-27373_cases_i-was-under-the-librarians-protection-ci_605268.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c4/marilyn-johnson-27373_cases_i-was-under-the-librarians-protection-ci_605268.png) > “I was under the librarians' protection. Civil servants and servants of civility, they had my back. The would be whatever they needed to be that day: information professionals, teachers, police, community organizers, computer technicians, historians, confidantes, clerks, social workers, storytellers, or, in this case, guardians of my peace.” [Marilyn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Librarians protect and serve society, adapting roles to meet community needs, from information to emotional safety. **In simple terms:** Librarians are versatile guardians of knowledge and peace. Key Takeaway Seek help from librarians for information and support. Themes community service knowledge stewardship adaptability Mood appreciative trusting Type reflective informative When to use this quote - research projects - school assignments - personal crises - community events Key Concepts information access social support public trust Questions to Reflect On - How have librarians helped you? - What other roles could they play? A Different Perspective Librarians may lack authority to intervene in all personal matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civil servants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-servants/) [Civility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civility/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Guardian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guardian/) [Guardians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guardians/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Librarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/librarian/) [Librarians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/librarians/) [Police](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/police/) [Protection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protection/) [Servant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servant/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social worker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-worker/) [Social Workers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-workers/) [Storyteller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storyteller/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) [Workers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workers/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“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/) > [“Though we were all taught to be proud of living in this great parliamentary democracy the civil servants who ran it were a fearsome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/though-we-were-all-taught-to-be-proud-of-living-in-this-great/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) > [Civil servants take forever to do anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wambaugh/civil-servants-take-forever-to-do-anything/) [Joseph Wambaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wambaugh/) > [We have civil servants like Ollie Robbins who are very pro-E.U., who have never wanted us to leave and have done everything in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-francois/we-have-civil-servants-like-ollie-robbins-who-are-very-pro-e-u-who/) [Mark Francois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-francois/) > [“One obvious palliative of the evils of democracy in its present form would be to encourage much more publicity and initiative on the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/one-obvious-palliative-of-the-evils-of-democracy-in-its-present-form/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [As elected officials, we were sent to the halls of government by our neighbors to do their work - and much work needs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-klobuchar/as-elected-officials-we-were-sent-to-the-halls-of-government-by-our/) [Amy Klobuchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-klobuchar/) > [“To most people any radical change is even more odious than cynicism. 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Keynes opposed conscription, but he was not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mancur-olson/wicksell-s-old-fashioned-liberalism-is-reminiscent-of-john-maynard/) [Mancur Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mancur-olson/) > [“Several studies of thousands of British civil servants (the Whitehall studies) have found that workers who have little control over their jobs—meaning they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wheelan/several-studies-of-thousands-of-british-civil-servants-the-whitehall/) [Charles Wheelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wheelan/) > [Give a civil servant a good case and he'll wreck it with clichés, bad punctuation, double negatives, and convoluted apology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-clark/give-a-civil-servant-a-good-case-and-he-ll-wreck-it-with-clich-s-bad/) [Alan Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-clark/) > [I want to reveal in a simple way the usual - and unusual - life of the city; the corporation workman, the busmen, policemen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-kavanagh/i-want-to-reveal-in-a-simple-way-the-usual-and-unusual-life-of-the/) [Patrick Kavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-kavanagh/) ## More by Marilyn Johnson > [“Maybe it begins the day you pledge allegiance, face the flag and suddenly clutch your left clavicle because you find a tender puff of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-johnson/maybe-it-begins-the-day-you-pledge-allegiance-face-the-flag-and/) [Marilyn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-johnson/) > [“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 vast waterfall of history pours down, and a few obituarists fill teacups with the stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-johnson/the-vast-waterfall-of-history-pours-down-and-a-few-obituarists-fill/) [Marilyn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-johnson/) > [Librarians consider free access to information the foundation of democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-johnson/librarians-consider-free-access-to-information-the-foundation-of/) [Marilyn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-johnson/) > [This is the greatest and most fraught romance of modern society, the marriage between the IT staff and those who depend on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-johnson/this-is-the-greatest-and-most-fraught-romance-of-modern-society-the/) [Marilyn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-johnson/) > [We are all living history, and it’s hard to say now what will be important in the future. 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