The Librarians

The Librarians” is a good one by David V. Forrest, M.D. in This months American Journal of Psychiatry:

Bank robbers go where the money is, and we bookworms and journal raccoons are found in libraries. At the New York State Psychiatric Institute, arguably the premier interdisciplinary psychiatry institute, the library has the honored position of a top floor location in the new Oldham Building, and it is my habitat, so much so that my Columbia University mail is sent there. The multitiered library in our old building had a cachet that the new one in a new computer-age building, reminiscent of the corridors and staterooms of the starship Enterprise, cannot quite replace. Nevertheless, the company of our librarians is rewarding. These devoted keepers of the literature, who have taken an oath of near silence, are themselves an underconsulted resource.