ABSTRACT

People grow up knowing what a doctor, priest, mail carrier, or firefighter is and does, but rarely have a feel for who scientists are, and what scientists do. During the formative years of many readers, school and small town public librarians may not always be good sources of this information for at least two practical reasons. The first is that those librarians must buy what seems likely to circulate most readily. The biography of an historical figure or that of a star athlete may see more action in these collections than the life of a chemist. Second, most librarians have not been drawn from the ranks of the scientifically eager. They have had little contact beyond a few required courses during their undergraduate years with the people who have made up science. Librarians are not likely to have much anecdotal background to start up and fuel the young reader’s interest.