Librarian Roz Warren finds humor on and off the shelves

For 15 years, librarian and humorist Roz Warren has been a beacon of calm and a source of knowledge to patrons at the Bala Cynwyd Library in Montgomery County. Her latest book, “Our Bodies Our Shelves: A Collection of Library Humor,” contains many musings from the circulation desk.

 

A recent visit made it clear how she finds humor on the job.

“When you walk in the door, you never know what’s going to happen,” Warren said. “We get old people, we have young (people). We get rich, we get poor. We have people who clearly have almost nothing, and this is a place they need to shelter, (as well as) people who are multimillionaires.” 

It can be tricky dealing with the needs of so many people, she said, comparing being a librarian to being a referee and showing restraint in tight situations.

“We have children here, and we have to monitor our behavior for our little patrons,” she said. “So when someone goes off on me — and patrons occasionally do — it’s not OK to fire back. Everyone needs to feel that they’re welcome here. Because everyone is.”

For more on Roz Warren, including the life of being a librarian and some of the very interesting things that people use as bookmarks — including bacon — listen to the interview at the top of the page.