Libraries are the heart of the community and librarians may very well be the saints of the literary world. In my world they may even rank above the authors of books since librarians will turn me on to undiscovered authors and books in ways that authors simply cannot. Often it's the people who work at the library, be they the librarian, voluteer or story lady, that make the library such a special place.

Not all memories are of beloved librarians. n a post about her her methods of book selection and reading promiscuously Loose Baggy Monster remembers a disapproving librarian.

I, too, used to read promiscuously, often to the point where one of the librarians would wag her head disapprovingly when I checked out books that she felt were inappropriate for my age (Nothing smutty, really. I just had delusions of grandeur and tried to read War and Peace when I was in seventh grade. I liked to carry it around with me–it felt solid and full of potential in my arms).

In her first blog author Robin McKinley remembers when she discovered author Georgette Heyer - an author that her librarian wasn't too eager for her to read.

I adore Georgette Heyer. Adore, adore, ADORE. I discovered her by sheerest accident when I was a strange, warped, lonely teen and checked her out under the nose of the disapproving librarian, who was always trying to get me to read Great Tortured Works of Literature With Endings of Black Despair, and I read a few of these because I was used to doing what I was told and wanted to fancy myself literary but the effort not to kill myself for weeks after one of these crushing tomes was debilitating. Georgette Heyer is exactly what I needed.

(You can read Robin McKinley's new blog here.)

I have no doubt that those of us who were avid readers as children and, literally, took out stands of books on a regular basis greatly amused our local librarians. Red Room Library once decided to put that pesky limit on checked out items to the test.

It's a truth universally acknowledged that a book lover in a library will leave with far too many books. When I was little, I once tested the library limit and checked out 40 books. With the flabbergasted grin of the librarian upon me, I stashed the booty in my big canvas bag and couldn't wait to get home to look at them.

Erica of Library Avengers remembers the worst librarian ever, whom she met on a library tour.

The Worst Librarian Ever leaned over the student and poked him awake. I watched in horror as he woke with a start to stare into her blazing eyes. The Worst Librarian Ever, pausing for effect, raised her finger, pointed and said in a voice so terrible its echo caused students in surrounding states to drop out of Library School:

“Take your feet off that chair RIGHT NOW young man!”

Wendy Crisp borrowed her prom dress from her high school librarian!

At Rohling Studios Claudia remembers a patient children's librarian.

It was the librarian in the children's library that I innocently asked for, "a book about the birds and the bees". She was a wonderful older woman (at least older to me and, remember, I barely looked over the counter then). She smiled...barely concealing her amusement and distracted me by showing me how to check in books that had been returned to her.

Ruthie remembers a very special library story lady - Granny Meg, who made each child feel special.

Have you shared your favourite library memory?

Contributing Editor Sassymonkey blogs at Sassymonkey and Sassymonkey Reads.