Banned Books Week: Have You Hugged Your Librarian Today?

"And on the subject of burning books: I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength or their powerful political connections or their great wealth, who, all over this country, have staunchly resisted anti-democratic bullies who have tried to remove certain books from their shelves, and have refused to reveal to thought police the names of persons who have checked out those titles.

So the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House or the Supreme Court or the Senate or the House of Representatives or the media. The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries."
- Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country

God bless librarians. While they are often the butt of jokes (imagine the sour-faced spinster shushing teenagers in countless movies), they are also the ones who often stand up to people who try to challenge, ban, or restrict books. Besides that, most of them are extremely cool people who love books, love reading, and love sharing books with others.