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Politics
Nicole A. Cooke, Associate Professor of Library and Information Science, University of South Carolina

How book-banning campaigns have changed the lives and education of librarians – they now need to learn how to plan for safety and legally protect themselves

Librarian Sharice Towles checks in books at the main branch of the Reading Public Library circulation desk in Reading, Penn. Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images

Despite misconceptions and stereotypes – ranging from what librarians Gretchen Keer and Andrew Carlos have described as the “middle-aged, bun-wearing, comfortably shod, shushing librarian” to the “sexy librarian … and the hipster or tattooed librarian” – library professionals are more than book jockeys, and they do more than read at story time.

They are experts in classification, pedagogy, data science, social media, disinformation, health sciences, music, art, media literacy and, yes, storytelling.

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