--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Librarians are trained to be polite…" description: "\"“Librarians are trained to be polite, patient, and helpful, no matter who stands across the reference desk.The most important thing is that we look the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f16/robert-dawson-104684_hope_librarians-are-trained-to-be-polite-pati_245163.jpg" --- # Librarians are trained to be polite, patient, and helpful… ![“Librarians are trained to be polite, patient, and helpful, no matter who stands across the reference desk.The most important thing is that we look them in the eye and take them seriously. Our work demands that we become dreamers, holding onto hope that our society can be better, that we affirm for…” quote by Robert Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f16/robert-dawson-104684_hope_librarians-are-trained-to-be-polite-pati_245163.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f16/robert-dawson-104684_hope_librarians-are-trained-to-be-polite-pati_245163.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f16/robert-dawson-104684_hope_librarians-are-trained-to-be-polite-pati_245163.jpg) > ““Librarians are trained to be polite, patient, and helpful, no matter who stands across the reference desk.The most important thing is that we look them in the eye and take them seriously. Our work demands that we become dreamers, holding onto hope that our society can be better, that we affirm for our patrons that they are still part of this society, no matter how marginalized they have become. I was raised on the notion that the public library is a civilizing institution. And if our work calms someone's demons or teaches someone else how to treat the mentally ill with respect, then I am proud to be part of the process.”” [Robert Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dawson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates for respectful, hopeful interaction with library patrons, emphasizing dignity, empathy, and societal betterment. **In simple terms:** Treat every patron with respect and hope for a better society. Key Takeaway Foster empathy and dignity in public service. Themes respect empathy hope library social justice inclusion Mood hopeful empathetic serious Type Hope:1 Librarians:1 Libraries:1 Library:1 Mental illness:1 Mentally ill:1 Patrons:1 People:1 Public library:1 Writer:0 Librarians Trained:0 Library Civilizing:0 Affirm Patrons:0 When to use this quote - library services - community outreach - mental health support - public policy Key Concepts education psychology civic engagement Questions to Reflect On - How can libraries better serve marginalized groups? - What personal actions can you take to uphold dignity? A Different Perspective Resource constraints may limit impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affirm Patrons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affirm-patrons-2450266/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Librarians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/librarians/) [Librarians Trained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/librarians-trained-2450264/) [Libraries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libraries/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Library Civilizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library-civilizing-2450265/) [Mental illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-illness/) [Mentally ill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mentally-ill/) [Patrons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patrons/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Public library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-library/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“An artist that makes art merely to meet a demand is a slave to what his patrons wants to see, or, hear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/an-artist-that-makes-art-merely-to-meet-a-demand-is-a-slave-to-what/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [In medieval times, artists had patrons that supported them and this is a similar thing, ... We're basically saying, 'Wouldn't you like to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-young/in-medieval-times-artists-had-patrons-that-supported-them-and-this-is/) [Steve Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-young/) > [“I'm not a god in the traditional fashion, I am a patron. Patrons have responsibilities. Granted, I rarely have the opportunity to exercise them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/i-m-not-a-god-in-the-traditional-fashion-i-am-a-patron-patrons-have/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [“Just take a look at our patrons, and you'll know Some don't appreciate us, others never will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/just-take-a-look-at-our-patrons-and-you-ll-know-some-don-t-appreciate/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The drama's laws the drama's patrons give. For we that live to please must please to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-drama-s-laws-the-drama-s-patrons-give-for-we-that-live-to-please/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If people want new music then they are going to have to figure out a way to be patrons of the arts. And they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mackaye/if-people-want-new-music-then-they-are-going-to-have-to-figure-out-a/) [Ian MacKaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mackaye/) > [“The library knows that it is a temporary fix. We have a stamp for the inside front cover: BROKEN SPINE NOTED. It is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-borchert/the-library-knows-that-it-is-a-temporary-fix-we-have-a-stamp-for-the/) [Don Borchert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-borchert/) > [“The patron gets comfortable in bed and opens up the book -- it opens tentatively -- and the patron bends the open book backward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-borchert/the-patron-gets-comfortable-in-bed-and-opens-up-the-book-it-opens/) [Don Borchert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-borchert/) > [Throughout history, ideas need patrons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-kibbe/throughout-history-ideas-need-patrons/) [Matt Kibbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-kibbe/) > [Why not allow patrons to comment on directors' decisions, vote on costume design, listen to dancers' conversations, volunteer to help out in ways beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-not-allow-patrons-to-comment-on-directors-decisions-vote-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Now whenever Franny or Jim spoke to someone who kept a car in Manhattan, they reacted with quiet horror, like people who’d been subjected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-straub/now-whenever-franny-or-jim-spoke-to-someone-who-kept-a-car-in/) [Emma Straub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-straub/) > [Trying to prove you’re not a psychopath is even harder than trying to prove you’re not mentally ill,’ said Tony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/trying-to-prove-you-re-not-a-psychopath-is-even-harder-than-trying-to/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [Being a housewife, makes women sick.It may therefore be that married women say they are happy because they are sick.To be happy in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessie-bernard/being-a-housewife-makes-women-sick-it-may-therefore-be-that-married/) [Jessie Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessie-bernard/) > [“The fear of not living is a deep, abiding dread of watching your own potential decompose into irredeemable disappointment when “should be” gets crushed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/the-fear-of-not-living-is-a-deep-abiding-dread-of-watching-your-own/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [Dead kids are put on pedestals, but mentally ill kids get hidden under the rug.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/dead-kids-are-put-on-pedestals-but-mentally-ill-kids-get-hidden-under/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) ## More by Robert Dawson > [“Gods have a way of sprouting from vacant lots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dawson/gods-have-a-way-of-sprouting-from-vacant-lots/) [Robert Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dawson/) [Explore all 2 Robert Dawson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dawson/) ## More Hope quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“What can we do in any hardship? We can hope with prayerful praise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/what-can-we-do-in-any-hardship-we-can-hope-with-prayerful-praise/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stop trying to give me hope ... I have no room left for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-f/stop-trying-to-give-me-hope-i-have-no-room-left-for-it/) [Jenn F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-f/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Give me love, give me peace on earth, give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth, give me hope, help me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-me-love-give-me-peace-on-earth-give-me-light-give-me-life-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pray, hope, don't worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/pray-hope-don-t-worry/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-tasks-equal-to-your-powers-pray-for-powers-equal-to/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [I am at a point in my life where everything I have worked for starts to look like a burden, a weight on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-abou-samra/i-am-at-a-point-in-my-life-where-everything-i-have-worked-for-starts/) [Simone Abou Samra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-abou-samra/) > [Im really happy that I met you I hope you know that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/im-really-happy-that-i-met-you-i-hope-you-know-that/) [Im Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/im-nothing/) > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Browse all 24,868 Hope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Librarians are trained to be polite, patient, and helpful, no matter who stands across the reference desk.The most important thing is that we look them in the eye and take them seriously. 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