librarian

[ lahy-brair-ee-uhn ]

noun

1. a person trained in library science and engaged in library service.
2. a person in charge of a library, especially the chief administrative officer of a library.
3. a person who is in charge of any specialized body of literature, as a collection of musical scores.

librarian

/ laɪˈbrɛərɪən /

noun

1. a person in charge of or assisting in a library

Other Words From

• subli·brari·an noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of librarian¹

First recorded in 1660–70; libr(ary) + -arian

Example Sentences

The odor of cooking and pipe smoke penetrated the air, and soot from baking bread in the basement damaged books in the Library of Congress, a librarian noted.

From Washington Post

She hopes that the books will be cataloged by the end of January, and that she and the other reference librarians can start answering food-related questions and adding to the site shortly thereafter.

From Eater

Philip Williams, a librarian at a Singapore school, has used games on Roblox, a popular platform for the preteen set, to teach physics concepts.

From MIT Technology Review

She can describe the real experience of librarians and borrowers who are often overlooked in the copyright debates.

From Fortune

To help with that task, librarians have compiled a 2020 Election Reading List, with nearly 200 nonfiction and fiction titles for adults, kids, and teens.

From Fortune

The mother had left the fields to become a librarian and her love of literature passed on to her three children.

From The Daily Beast

Marjorie Wilkes Huntley was a New Age feminist, a widow, and a librarian.

From The Daily Beast

How about the man who created her—a lover of women who lived with a wife, his lover, their children, and a wayward librarian?

From The Daily Beast

On stage, Amber spoofed Sarah Palin in a topknot and librarian glasses, yanking a toy gun and stuffed moose from her skirt.

From The Daily Beast

Aloof and bookish, Pius XI (Achille Ratti) spent years as a Vatican librarian before becoming a diplomat and cardinal.

From The Daily Beast

Because it's so much pleasanter, in a small library like this, to poke about by one's self—with the help of the librarian.

From Project Gutenberg

The Marchesa Baroli, at Turin, provided for his maintenance, by engaging him as her secretary and librarian.

From Project Gutenberg

The librarian told me I'd never find a copy, and this was on top of a pile of trash in a second-hand shop right here in this town.

From Project Gutenberg

She had been trusted by the librarian to take good care of it.

From Project Gutenberg

In any case, she may ask the librarian to advise her which biography to read first.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• curator