Radical Love in the Library: Seeing the Humanity in Everyone

 Getting to the Heart of Library Work

“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”

— Rumi

When I think of the library, I think about how much I love being surrounded by books and people all day long. I learned about the concept of radical love a very long time ago and I have always been fascinated by the work of the poet Rumi. Radical love is at the very heart of what we library workers do, especially when we serve those the world has overlooked.

Radical love is not cutesy hearts, flowers or hugs and kisses. It’s not warm and fuzzy. It’s not passive. It’s absolutely fierce. It’s uncomfortable and pushes you out of your comfort zone more times than you will know. It requires presence, humility, and the willingness to sit beside someone dealing with internal pain. The key here is that you can't try to erase their pain, but instead, you must embrace it. 

Let's Talk More About Radical Love

Radical love is the kind of love that reaches past convenience and Rumi well-known for writing about this in his poems. Radical love is a love that sees the humanity in everyone and everything. It is not bound by titles, appearances, or how you feel. It is the kind of love that walks straight into the places others turn away from very much like the things we see on the daily at the library. poverty, addiction, grief, fear. Radical love speaks to our vulnerable neighbors, “You belong here too.”

In library work, we are invited on the daily into opportunities to practice this love.

When we speak kindly to someone who’s unhoused.
When we offer warmth to someone who’s angry.
When we are welcoming to someone who’s afraid to ask for our help.

Radical love is not about being perfect or endlessly self-sacrificing. It’s about recognizing our shared humanity and responding with empathy, not ego.

Love as a Path

Rumi’s version of love isn’t something you fall into. It is a path. A discipline. A practice. A way of returning to the heart again and again. When you think about library work, isn’t that what our calling is after all?

Library work challenges us to let go of our assumptions, check our reactions, and show up with compassion, even when we’re tired, even when we don’t get recognition, even when we ourselves are hurting.

There have been many moments in my own journey over the last twenty years in libraries when I realized:

I’m not here to fix people. I’m here to listen to them. Walk beside them. Hold space for their light, even if they can’t see it yet.

Radical love in the library is about choosing compassion, not because it’s easy, but because it’s necessary. It reminds us that our patrons are not problems to be managed, they are people to be seen.

The Poetry of Service and Connection

“Be like a tree and let the dead leaves drop."

— Rumi

There’s something sacred about serving those who are in need and there’s something poetic about connection that blooms in unexpected places. When someone walks through our doors and feels unseen, ignored, or written off by the world, we have the power to "drop our dead leaves" and help them. With one smile, with one hello, we can transform lives.

These are the moments that stay with us 🦋
The teen who finally feels safe enough to open up.
The elderly patron who finds comfort in friendly conversations.
The person experiencing homelessness who smiles when you say hello or welcome.

Radical love is poetry in motion. It is the line between silence and kindness. The rhythm of showing kindness and compassion again and again. This kind of service allows the dead leaves to drop and new foliage to bloom.

Libraries as Sacred Ground

When we root our work in radical love, the library becomes more than a resource hub, it becomes sacred ground. A place where equity lives, where hope can breathe, where transformation quietly takes root. We don't have to call it spiritual. We don't have to name it anything at all. We know it when we feel it. That still, quiet moment when someone realizes they are welcome in the library makes all the difference in the world.

Reflect With Me

Here are a few reflection questions to consider as you think about radical love in your own library work, especially if you're navigating burnout, compassion fatigue, or disconnection:

• When was the last time you offered a welcoming smile to someone who didn’t expect it and how did it make you feel?

• What barriers have you had to release in order to serve with your heart?
  
  

• Can you remember a time when someone offered you radical love in your work or life?

Final Thoughts

Radical love doesn’t ask us to fix everything. It asks us to show up. To listen and to remember that the library is more than just a building. It’s a place where everyone should be met with warmth. Where the overlooked are welcomed. Where the work of transformation is happening, but very quietly, on most days.

If you’re doing even just a little right now, you’re already walking that path, so kudos to you!

Here’s to the poetry of your service. Here’s to radical love, even when it’s hard. Here’s to seeing the humanity in every person who walks through our doors.

With fierce love,
the Compassionate Librarian