Librarians

While trying to find a place in the LANL research library that was hidden from roaming groups of middle schoolers, I found a nook of couches on the lower level. Nearby was a group of people having a discussion.
It didn't take me long to figure out that they were librarians, except for one, who was interviewing the others. I was working on the power point for awards day, but it was all formatting and not writing, so I had no problem being absorbed in the work I was doing (and more importantly appearing to be absorbed) while still listening to the conversation.
I was intrigued. The interview was about what the librarians did, what their job was. They gently guide those who aren't intimately familiar with information structure, helping them find the knowledge that they need. Their job is to be in the know. Know what is available, and where to look for it. Know what's valuable, what's relevant, what's just bullcrap, and know how to get the most out of anything.
They were talking about helping highly specialized LANL researchers find information in their own subjects, and helping them interpret highly specialized information in other areas. The librarians were not specialists in anything but information. They have little to no background in specialized subjects, and yet they understand how to gain understanding in Any subject.