THIS is why we do what we do.

Scott Douglas started as a literature-student page (shelvers, in our neck of the woods) in a library in California, and ended up a librarian. He is also a writer, aside from this book, most notably for the McSweeney’s Web site.

Douglas’s experiences typify the public library experience, but are told with a terse, wry humor. Footnotes often appear, either clarifying the text, or providing the author’s personal take on matters. Everything is covered here—MySpace, the homeless, reading programs, office politics.

The difference is the overall conclusion he reaches. Information, computers, and resources are important. But the library is most of all about community, both the people we serve and the people we work with. One of Douglas’s co-workers notes that they are public servants, regardless of who that public might be. Time after time, even after dealing with some really unsavory characters, Douglas finds the humanity in the situation.

And that’s why we’re here.