John Fiske (1842-1901) was an American historian, philosopher, lecturer, and prolific author. Renowned as a popularizer of evolutionary theory, Fiske rubbed elbows with Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer. From 1872-79 he served as Assistant Librarian at Harvard University, occupied mainly with what is known today as "Technical Services," i.e., processing, cataloging, and acquisitions. In "A Librarian's Work" Fiske deals with the age-old question of what librarians actually do other than--as the general public seems to think--sit around all day reading books. He answers from the perspective of a nineteenth century cataloger, providing interesting historical insights into predigital cataloging methods as well as procedural and organizational problems that still confront librarians today. (Contains 9 notes.)[This article is reprinted from the October 1876 issue of "The Atlantic Monthly."]