"The Greatest Librarians of the World. .. Were Not Graduates of Library School"

Librarians often think of professionalization in terms of standard training, starting with a gatekeeper degree to regulate entrance to the profession. Prior to the spread of library schools, however, library school education was not an option for the majority of librarians who lived in regions far from the major universities. In such areas, professional development and professional identity were not perceived to depend upon academic degrees.

The essay treats the Canadian Maritimes during the 1930s. Although there was not a library school in the region at this time, the librarians of the Maritime Library Institute did not view themselves as inferior to the "trained librarians" of central Canada. Instead, they crafted a professional identity founded upon mutual support and the sharing of expertise among a community of librarians, without reference to university education.