Lists

9 Great Songs About Libraries, Librarians, and Books

Kelly Jensen

Editor

Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She's the editor/author of (DON'T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen.

This week is National Library Week in the US, and in honor of that, I thought it’d be fun to round up some songs that are about libraries, librarians, or books. I’ve limited to songs that aren’t parodies or done by librarians to support libraries — these are songs from musicals, television, or from bands/singers you might be familiar with. But when you wrap up listening to these, do spend a little time digging into these awesome parody songs by librarians.

Some of these videos are excellently library-themed, too. And one thing I’ve learned in my research here is that if you’re single and looking for romance, the library seems like a really excellent place to find love.

Librarian by My Morning Jacket

Walt Grace’s Submarine Test, January 1965 by John Mayer

Marian the Librarian from The Music Man

At The Library by Green Day

Wrapped Up in Books by Belle and Sebastian

Love in the Library by Jimmy Buffett

French Navy by Camera Obscura

Library Rap by MC Poindexter and The Study Club

Having Fun Isn’t Hard When You’ve Got a Library Card from Arthur

And never forget the time that Tori Amos named her greatest hits album Tales of a Librarian.