bibliotekarie

A bibliotekarie is a trained information professional who works in libraries to organize, preserve, and provide access to information resources. The role combines collection management with user service, aiming to support reading, research, learning, and lifelong information literacy. Librarians typically work with physical collections and increasingly with digital resources, databases, and online discovery tools.

Education and professional preparation usually involve university study in library and information science (LIS). In many countries a bachelor’s or master's degree in LIS is expected, and professional accreditation or continuing education is common. Librarians may specialize by setting (public, academic, school, or special libraries) and by subject area.

Core duties include collection development and weeding, cataloging and metadata creation, classification, and ensuring resources are discoverable. They provide reference and information services, user instruction, and reader's advisory. They may design programs for children and teens, support digital literacy, manage online resources, and participate in preservation and digitization efforts.

Work settings vary from public libraries and school libraries to university and national libraries, archives, and cultural institutions. Collaboration with other librarians, information specialists, educators, and IT staff is common. The profession also engages with policy areas such as copyright, privacy, open access, and ethical access to information.

Historically, librarianship developed as a professional field in the 19th and 20th centuries with the expansion of public and academic libraries. Today bibliotekare navigate evolving technologies and information landscapes, emphasizing user-centered service, accessibility, and information literacy in a digital age. Internationally, librarians are represented by professional associations such as IFLA.