librarian

librarian — noun

1. a person whose job is to organize and manage a library, helping people find book

1.名詞A2
釋義

a person whose job is to organize and manage a library, helping people find books, information, or other materials.

例句

Yan asked the librarian where she could find books about astronomy.

ask + where-clause for directions

The school librarian helped Sophia choose a storybook for her reading project.

school librarian — common collocation

同義詞
  • library worker

    broader term; includes assistants and volunteers who may lack formal training

  • library assistant

    usually a lower-ranking staff member who helps the librarian with daily tasks

  • information specialist

    modern term that includes digital and research services beyond a physical library

反義詞
  • patron

    someone who uses the library rather than works there

  • borrower

    someone who borrows books from the library

文法句型

the librarian

a librarian + of + [institution]

[adjective] + librarian

用法筆記

Common in the collocation 'ask a librarian' for help-desk situations. In American English, 'librarian' typically implies a professional with a degree, while in British English it can also refer to someone who manages library services at any level.

常見錯誤

❌I asked to the librarian for a book.
✅I asked the librarian for a book.
💡The verb 'ask' takes a direct object for the person, without 'to'.
❌She works as librarian at my school.
✅She works as a librarian at my school.
💡Job titles after 'as' usually require an article ('a' or 'the').

2. a person responsible for taking care of a specific collection of books, document

2.名詞B1
釋義

a person responsible for taking care of a specific collection of books, documents, or materials, often limited to one field or topic — for example, a map librarian who preserves old atlases, or a music librarian who manages recordings and scores.

例句

The university's map librarian, Apinya, carefully repaired a rare 18th-century atlas.

map librarian — specialist job title

Iris works as the music librarian for a public radio station's archive.

works as + job title pattern

同義詞
  • curator

    broader term; used for museum or gallery collections, not limited to libraries

  • archivist

    specializes in historical documents and records, often in an archive rather than a lending library

  • keeper

    older, more traditional term; sometimes used at institutions like the British Library

文法句型

[collection type] + librarian

librarian + for + [institution/archive]

用法筆記

Usually preceded by a noun specifying the collection type: map librarian, music librarian, rare-books librarian, manuscript librarian. This sense often implies advanced subject-matter expertise beyond general library work. Distinguished from sense 1 by its focus on a single specialized collection rather than the full range of library duties.

常見錯誤

❌He is map librarian at the university.
✅He is a map librarian at the university.
💡Job titles used as countable nouns need an article.
❌The librarian of maps repaired the atlas.
✅The map librarian repaired the atlas.
💡The compound noun form '[collection type] + librarian' is more natural and standard in English.