A Book About a Library Worker: Picks for the 2022 TPL Reading Challenge
From fantastical adventures to real life stories, our recommended reads for the “a book about a library worker” cover many genres. Library workers and library lovers share their favourite books featuring library worker characters.
Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Yas Imamura
Love in the Library is based on the true story of Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s grandparen'ts. During the Japanese Internment, Tama, Tokuda-Hall’s grandma, worked at the camp library and George, Tokuda-Hall’s grandpa, visited every day. The picture book manages to beautifully interweave their love story, the trauma of incarceration, and the library setting.
Staff Recommendations
Here are some recommendations from TPL staff for this category.
The New LiBEARian by Alison Donald and Alex Willmore
A rare picture book where the librarian isn’t wearing glasses…and isn’t really a librarian. A simple misunderstanding leads to comical adventures and maybe a new appreciation for what library workers do.
– Katherine, Library Assistant
A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
Earlier this year I read A Town Called Solace, and I was thrilled that the town librarian in this fiction novel by this popular Canadian writer was the romantic interest!
It’s a sad story about a teenage runaway, her family trying to cope with it, a man who is going through a divorce and inherits a house in this small town, and a lonely little girl who misses her sister. The librarian tries to help here and there, at the same time trying not to get too heavily involved, as she is also busy making ice cream that the townspeople buy from her.
– Despina, Branch Head
The Paris Library by Janet Skeslian Charles
I just started reading The Paris Library but right away I feel like I was the character as she is looking for a job in The American Library in Paris. The Dewey Decimal system is explained on page 2! In 1939, Odile Souchet wants the job so much she is so nervous during the interview and fears she will not be awarded the position. Of course, in the end, our heroine is hired, and she is as happy as can be, until, the Nazi’s marched in. Odile joins the Resistance with her best weapons, books.
– Despina, Branch Head
The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk
I just had to read this book because of the title (my department) and the great cover. The main character Liesl Weiss works as a librarian in the rare books department of a large university library and has to take over when the head becomes ill. When an expensive manuscript goes missing she has to solve the case which involves library secrets, strange colleagues, university politics and murder! The book is definitely set at U of T and the surrounding neighbourhood and a fun read.
– Fiona, Senior Services Specialist
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray
The remarkable, little-known story of Belle da Costa Greene, J. P. Morgan’s personal librarian, who became one of the most powerful women in New York despite the dangerous secret she kept in order to make her dreams come true.
– Jo-Ann, Library Assistant
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
The Midnight Library is a library that protagonist Nora finds herself in after a difficult period in her life. There, as if in a dream, she meets her school librarian Mrs. Elm, who guides Nora through various experiences and ultimately teaches her a lesson about appreciating life.
– Catherine, Librarian
This is What a Librarian Looks Like by Kyle Cassidy
This is What a Librarian Looks Like is the Humans of New York for libraries. This book gives a glimpse into the experiences of a variety of librarians working in different kinds of libraries in North America through funny and thoughtful anecdotes.
– Natalie, Librarian
Swann: A Mystery by Carol Shields
The novel centres around the murder of an obscure, small town poet, Mary Swann, and the legacy her work leaves behind. Rose is the sole librarian running the tiny, dated two room library in rural Ontario where Mary resides. The novel highlights the special and oft unnoticed connection library staff have with their communities, and how they come to know the people they serve in small but significant ways. Rose, though a rather mousy and introverted depiction of librarians (hah!), stands to humanize the story. Her interactions with and observations of Mary and her reading habits are a window into the woman behind the mystery. An equally funny and melancholy read, Swann is a novel that demonstrates the power of literature in people’s lives, and how important it is to be able to read and write freely without censorship.
– Heather, Public Service Assistant
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
A dark fantasy take on a library, Elisabeth grew up in the library and hopes to be a librarian tasked with taking care of the grimoires – magical books with living skin that whisper while chained to the shelves of the Great Library. Every moment of this book is captivating; it is easy to get caught up in the story when there is an escaped grimoire, a demonic servant, and conspiracies.
– Vyktorya, Librarian
The Incident Report by Martha Baillie
Dark, poignant and very, very realistic.
– Anna, Librarian
Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
– Aaron, Librarian
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
– Elaine, Library Assistant
Chicken Story Time by Sandy Asher and Mark Fearing
Chicken Story Time is a fantastic picture book. The librarian is a major supporting character. A curious chicken decides to join the local story time program, Chaos and hilarity ensue as more and more chickens and children show up each week.
– Morgan, Librarian
I Want My Book Back by Viviane Elbee and Nicole Miles
It is a lovely picture book about a child who does not want to return his library book but when he does – he notices that the local librarian is using the book for storytime! It’s a wonderful book that subtly shares library procedures while also depicting the joy of sharing.
– Shelley, Librarian
Librarian Tales: Funny, Strange and Inspiring Dispatches From the Stacks by William Ottens
Great book, which depicts what we as library workers go through. Some stories are more extreme but still a good read.
– Grace, Branch Head
French Recommendations
If you like to read in French, check out the list of recommended books for “un livre avec un(e) employé(e) de bibliothèque” – there’s a mix of books, eBooks and digital audiobooks to try!
Recommendations from the Facebook Group
These are just some of the recommendations from our Facebook TPL Reading Challenge 2022 discussion group. You can read the entire thread, even if you don’t have a Facebook account.
- Weather by Jenny Offill
- The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
- Bait and Witch by Angela M. Sanders
- The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd
- The Lions on Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis
If you have further recommendations for “a book about a library worker”, please share in the comments below!
One thought on “A Book About a Library Worker: Picks for the 2022 TPL Reading Challenge”
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennet – short, funny, interesting and timely fiction. Queen Elizabeth visits the bookmobile.