[WEB4LIB] Re: New Member

[McGARVEY, NANCY [McGARVEY.N at gmc.edu]]

veronica wrote:

> I wonder to what extent, if at all, IT has re-shaped the librarian
> stereotype?

Well, consider the following:

http://www.teleport.com/~petlin/liplib/

http://www.librarianavengers.com/library.html

 http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/wpt/shorts/shorts_viewer.html?0011_sht.swf


I'm sure others could contribute just as much if not more.

And yes, knitters did knit sweaters for penguins--lots of them!  In fact, so
many that they're now sold in gift shops on the Island as souvenirs, since
(fortunately) they had way more than they actually needed!  (the little
sweaters kept the penguins from grooming their oil-soaked feathers and were
used as a temporary measure only until the penguins could be cleaned).

Nancy (third generation librarian and knitter)
><>%%%%><>%%%%><>%%%%><>%%%%><>%%%%%%%<><%%%%<><%%%%<><%%%%<><%%%%<><
Nancy McGarvey				Email:	mcgarvey.n at gmc.edu
Systems/Reference Librarian			Phone:	(215) 646-7300 x493
Lourdes Library				Fax:	(215) 641-5596
Gwynedd-Mercy College
PO Box 901
Gwynedd Valley, PA 19437
><>%%%%><>%%%%><>%%%%><>%%%%><>%%%%%%%<><%%%%<><%%%%<><%%%%<><%%%%<><

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Daniel Messer [SMTP:dmesser at yvrls.lib.wa.us]
> Sent:	Monday, August 20, 2001 11:48 AM
> To:	Multiple recipients of list
> Subject:	[WEB4LIB] Re: New Member
> 
> veronica wrote:
> 
> > I wonder to what extent, if at all, IT has re-shaped the librarian
> > stereotype?
> 
> Greetings, Veronica and welcome to the list!
> 
>     Just based on my experience, the library stereotype is still alive and
> well,
> thriving across the American landscape. And I have to say, it's not
> completely
> unjustified. At the last WLA (Washington Libraries Association) conference
> I
> attended, I was able to see the whole spectrum of the librarian species.
> Sure,
> there were several attractive younger guys and gals there who looked as
> much
> like traditional librarians as Sylvester Stallone looks like a brain
> surgeon.
> However, the majority of the folks there... Well let's just say that, if
> you
> were standing on the street talking to a complete stranger and pointed out
> one
> of these people and said "She/He is a librarian," they'd have no trouble
> believeing you.
>     In my opinion, the IT department of the library has made its biggest
> contribution by opening up jobs to a usually younger, more diverse type of
> person that usually only frequented the library as a patron. I think
> you'll find
> that most IT people are as heavily into books as your "standard"
> librarian. The
> interesting thing is that, IT people tend to have mandy of the same kinds
> of
> personality stereotypes attached to them as librarians do. The big
> stereotype
> for librarians (at least where I come from) is that they are quiet,
> bookish
> people with glasses who like to sit off in quiet corners amusing
> themselves with
> intellectual persuits. Librarians are supposed to be fairly meek and
> highly
> intelligent.
>     Now what's the standard stereotype for your average computer geek/IT
> person?
> Well, they're usually considered as being quiet individuals who are
> fascinated
> with computers. They are imagined sitting in basements and far corners
> with
> their faces illuminated only by the light of a computer monitor as they
> engage
> in some intellectual battle either with the computer, or other computer
> geeks.
> They are usually pictured as being fairly meek and highly intelligent. In
> other
> words, IT folks are a lot like librarians, except one is supposedly
> fascinated
> with books and the other with computers.
>     As we know, it's all bull. Only being able to speak for my library, I
> can
> tell you that we have librarians here that look nothing like your
> stereotypical
> librarian and act in a manner that the stereotypical librarians would find
> shocking. One librarian here thinks that the greatest thing to hit TV is
> the
> Ultimate Fighting Championship and the Japanese no-holds barred fighting
> tournament known as Pride. Our IT head is an avid reader and loves sci-fi,
> just
> like most people would picture a geek. He also knows quite a bit about how
> to
> swing a sword and what to do with one when it's put in his hands. I
> consider
> myself a computer geek, and most people aren't surprised when they find
> out I
> work for a library. What they are surprised to learn is that I'm a
> wrestler,
> weight lifter, and work with a local television production team on a
> comedy show
> where we do and say things that stereotypical librarians would find
> disgraceful.
> 
>     The problem is that, even though you and I and a whole lot of other
> librarians know that the stereotypical librarian is far removed from
> reality, no
> one else does.
> 
> Sorry for the long one, I now return you to your regularaly scheduled
> tangents,
> already in progress! :)
> Dan
> 
> 
> --
> Mondai wa
> The subject in question...
> -------
> Daniel Messer, Technologies Instructor
> Yakima Valley Regional Library
> 102 N 3rd St Yakima, WA 98901
> (509) 452-8541 x712
> dmesser at yvrls.lib.wa.us
> -------
> When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
>                      -Hunter S. Thompson
>