Nancy Kalikow Maxwell

Libraries have always been divine to me and are certainly my personal sanctuary; and though I lack membership in an organized religion, this book made me realize that perhaps learning is my religion and libraries my church. Although I am not a librarian (yet), I have felt a calling to the profession like that which the author describes in this book.

I found many of the author's analogies between libraries and religious places to hold true, and enjoyed the overall premise of the book. show more However, I did feel it was at times redundant; as another reviewer noted, it would have been better as a long article than as a book. show less

There were parts of this book with which I could nod my head in agreement; however, the author takes an analogy and consistently stretches it too far throughout most of the book. I had to force myself to continue throughout most of the early chapters, but the later chapters were written in a more engaging style. I struggled as to whether or not I should rate this as a 2.5 or 3. I decided to err with the more generous rating although I'm not sure that it's quite at that level.

As other reviewers have suggested, this book would have worked better as a journal article. I think its repetitiveness detracted from the author's purpose. I was puzzled by the author's analogy of librarianship to religious vocation since the idea of vocation is not limited to the clerical profession. It can apply to any profession, including librarianship. The discussion of library as place was the most useful and thought-provoking part of the book for me. While this book isn't a must-read show more for librarians, I would recommend it to those who have a strong interest in both spirituality and the library profession. show less

Maxwell's thesis has potential and the book is ripe with good ideas and speaks well for the importance of libraries. Unfortunately, what unfolds are weak attempts to force inconsistent puzzle pieces together and a lot of fluff regarding librarianship.