International Special Librarians Day – April 13

The idea of a “special librarian” wasn’t always a thing. In fact, most people thought librarians just worked in public libraries, shushing people and stamping books. But oh, how wrong they were!

Enter the early 20th century — a time of industrial growth, expanding universities, and booming businesses. It became clear that organizations needed a new kind of librarian. One who could dig deep into industry-specific data, curate collections tailored to professionals, and make complex information accessible and useful. And so, the role of the special librarian was born.

In 1909, a visionary librarian named John Cotton Dana realized just how important specialized knowledge would become in modern society. With this in mind, he helped launch the Special Libraries Association (SLA) — a professional body built to support and connect librarians working in fields like law, medicine, business, and science.

The SLA wasn't just about books. It was about knowledge, accuracy, research, and making information useful. Today, the SLA is still going strong, helping thousands of librarians keep pace with technology, research trends, and the ever-growing mountain of data.

Now here’s a fun historical twist. Did you know that Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, was a librarian? That’s right — our beloved superhero fought crime by night and fought ignorance by day. She worked as a research librarian, using her brainpower to solve mysteries and navigate information with ninja-like precision.

Her story became a pop culture moment that helped shine a light on just how powerful and intelligent librarians truly are — and not just the crime-fighting ones!