Librarians Get Their Geek On
Yes, librarians geek, too. See what they are passionate about and why they think the public library is a vital community resource. Are you a librarian? Tell us what you geek.
Librarians care about you and your community. They help you explore what you geek and improve the place where you live. And this passion goes well beyond the library walls.
carlageekswildflowers
My name is Carla and I geek wildflowers. My interest in the outdoors started during family campouts when I was a kid. You wouldn’t believe the number of pinecones I’ve collected over the years.
In college, I needed an extra science credit and a course on Iowa botany fit the bill—and my interests. But I really got going on seeking out wildflowers after taking an introduction to prairies hike back in the 1980s with a county parks naturalist. Since then, it is a regular activity to check each year on previously spotted specimens. In fact, in the spring, I can hardly wait to get started looking for the earliest flowers.
I also like to find new places to search for flowers and the library helps me with guidebooks on parks and hikes. And by looking at the plant identification guides at the library I can decide which ones I may want to purchase for my personal collection—since I’m always finding some plant I’ve never seen before.
When I was planning a vacation to Rocky Mountain National Park last summer, one of the first things I did was check the library for wildlife and hiking guides to the area. It was great to know what I should be looking for and where it might be found.
Carla is a librarian from Iowa.
