Comments on: A Failure of National Library Week

By: SafeLibraries

SafeLibraries — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 20:11:33 +0000

If you “love articles about librarians busting stereotypes,” then you have to read this:

“Librarians are Guardians of a Trust, by Jo Ellen Ringer, Notus Public Library Director and Guest Writer”

By: Britt

Britt — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 05:20:05 +0000

Oof. This speaks to lazy journalism, I think. Somebody was assigned National Library Week by their editor, and went in search of one “hip” librarian to write a piece that 1) references the gender, age, hairstyle, and, for some reason, odor, of the “typical” librarian; 2) showcases their “hip” librarian as proof that all librarians are hip; 3) because librarians are hip, libraries are happening places. I still see pieces like this all the time. Fluff!

By: Melissa

Melissa — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 22:43:24 +0000

Thanks for the mini history lesson. I can’t remember running into the librarian stereotype in real life. I think I’ve only ever met one mean librarian who didn’t want us looking at the books (in high school). I’m not sure she even had much training, so I hesitate to call her a librarian.

By: Georges Pompidou

Georges Pompidou — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:27:53 +0000

Free Books, Free Movies, Free Wifi
No Questions, Just Answers.
- National Library Week 2011 -

By: will manley

will manley — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:34:06 +0000

AL…I for one loved my stuffy 1950s era public library and school library. I loved the books, I loved the quiet, and I loved the librarians. Whoever is orchestrating these National Library Week p.r. campaigns should keep in mind the lesson of Oldsmobile’s “Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile” advertising campaign. They tried to break a stereotype and a few years after the campaign, they went under. Instead of trying to shed our stereotype (which clearly isn’t working), we should take a page from the groundbreaking VW bug ads of the early 60s…small is beautiful. How about this…in a world of beeps and buzzes, quiet is elegant? Let’s build on our stereotype. Anyway, I thought retro was “in” these days.

By: Jean Costello

Jean Costello — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 11:07:19 +0000

This is an illuminating piece, AL — and it’s as much about gender as it is about libraries. These accounts would have been written differently about a profession dominated by males.

Sexism is as persistent today as in the past, as evident in these articles from 2009:
http://www.radicalpatron.com/sexism-thrives-in-portrayal-of-librarians/