The Secret to Success? Many of Our Favorite Writers Also Worked as Librarians.

April 14 is National Library Workers’ Day. Given the literary nature of library work, it’s not surprising that some of our favorite authors were also librarians. Here’s a short list of writers who put in time between the stacks.

Lewis Carroll Before he began writing Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll (whose real name was Charles Dodgson) worked as a librarian in England.

Jorge Luis Borges This Argentinian author had quite a successful career as a librarian. After working as a librarian for years, Borges served as the Director of the National Library of the Argentine Republic.

Madeleine L’Engle After the success of her Newbery Award-winning novel A Wrinkle in Time, author Madeleine L’Engle had a career as a librarian in New York City.

Marcel Proust Proust is famous for his novel In Search of Lost Time, but he also worked at the Bibliothèque Mazarine. The Bibliothèque Mazarine is the oldest public library in France.

Beverly Cleary Newbery Award-winning children’s book author Beverly Cleary also worked as a children’s librarian. Perhaps her experience putting books in the hands of eager readers helped her create some of her famous characters like Ramona Quimby and Henry Huggins.