librarian
Americannoun
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librarians
plural
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a person trained in library science and engaged in library service.
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a person in charge of a library, especially the chief administrative officer of a library.
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a person who is in charge of any specialized body of literature, as a collection of musical scores.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of librarian
Explanation
A librarian is someone who works in a library maintaining books and information and lending them to patrons. If you have a research project ahead of you, make friends with the librarian. There are many different types of librarians, from archivists who care for, organize, and lend very old or valuable documents; to school librarians who organize book-related projects and buy books and electronic resources that are appropriate for the students they serve. To become a librarian, you might want to get an advanced degree in library science. The Latin root of librarian is liber, "book." In the 17th century, a librarian was known as a "library-keeper."
Vocabulary lists containing librarian
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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A librarian in an Arab town in northern Israel, Maysa Nasser never thought to vote in national elections.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
Months after viral librarian and “Reading Rainbow” host Mychal Threets revealed he sought mental health treatment through a five-day psychiatric hold, he published another update.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
PBS named him as resident librarian in 2024, and in 2025, he became the new face of “Reading Rainbow.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
Batter’s path was set when, at college, a librarian introduced him to a slender, exquisitely fashioned poetry quarterly called Peck & Peck: “about eighty pages of—and I know this sounds ridiculously dramatic—throat-grabbing, life-changing words.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
“Think of me as...Earth’s last librarian, made to look like...someone you trust.”
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
Trautman’s work began with a nationwide drive, managed through local librarians, calling for book donations for servicemen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
The East SOS Foundation, a Ukrainian humanitarian and human-rights organization, has gathered testimony from librarians and teachers who saw books destroyed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
And what about support staff like teaching assistants, canteen staff and librarians?
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
And while parents appreciated the show’s help in getting children excited about reading, Duffield believes it was teachers and librarians who were the most enthusiastic about “Wishbone.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
The librarians always suggested books that were too young for me, but I still went on a regular basis.
From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
