You Don't Look Like a Librarian: Shattering Stereotypes and Creating New Images in the Internet Age

Jane Klobas (Bocconi University, Milan, Italy and University of Western Australia)

Library Management

ISSN: 0143-5124

Article publication date: 23 February 2010

567

Keywords

Citation

Klobas, J. (2010), "You Don't Look Like a Librarian: Shattering Stereotypes and Creating New Images in the Internet Age", Library Management, Vol. 31 No. 3, pp. 220-222. https://doi.org/10.1108/01435121011027381

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2010, Emerald Group Publishing Limited


Stereotypes are sets of characteristics that are commonly agreed to describe the “typical” member of a group. What is the stereotype of a librarian? (Take a moment to think about it!) In this slim volume, Ruth Kneale focuses on representations of librarians in popular culture, primarily in the most recent decade or so. Drawing on her blog, “Random musings from the desert” (http://desertlibrarian.blogspot.com/), Kneale reviews sources from the web to film, television, print and even t‐shirts; presents examples (many of them of the kind that you feel you must print or share) and anecdotes that she maintains establish a negative stereotype; and suggests how that stereotype might be broken down.

The book consists of a foreword from Elizabeth Burns (www.popgoesthelibrary.com), a brief introduction from the author, four short chapters, the results of two surveys (in appendices), a rewarding list of sources and links, and a useful index. The chapters act as a kind of annotated media‐ography for sources of references to librarians in popular culture. The first chapter covers print and web sources of discussions of the image of librarians and closes with anecdotes that loosely illustrate the theme, “But, you don't look like a librarian”. In Chapter 2, Kneale introduces book series, movies, television programmes, comics, advertisements, toys and t‐shirts that represent librarians in various ways. Chapter 3 contains interviews with 14 librarians of different ages working in different fields who, Kneale says, are breaking the stereotype, along with introductions to online groups and blogs (from Facebook groups to Bellydancing Librarians). The final chapter presents some “Thoughts on the future” and argues that librarians need to embrace social and technological change if they are to break down the stereotype. Many of the links cited in the book can be found together with some updates on the book's accompanying web site at www.librarian‐image.net/. Although there is a brief review of the Australian television programme, The Librarians (www.abc.net.au/tv/librarians/series2/), the sites, images and interviews presented in the book are overwhelmingly from the USA. The surveys draw on a small proportion of responses from further afield, but too few to change the balance.

Followers of Kneale's blog will delight in this book, which brings examples, sources and references to librarians in popular culture together in a single small, beautifully laid out, joyfully illustrated and cheerfully written package. Even if they are not familiar with Kneale's work on the web, librarians looking for an entertaining read and an overview of representations of librarians in modern media should also enjoy the book – provided they either buy into (or ignore – see below) Kneale's presentation of the stereotype and discussion of how to break it down. Students and new librarians, keen to see what careers librarianship can offer, will find inspiring examples among the interviewees in Chapter 2.

Library managers and readers who have been in the profession for more than a decade would be forgiven, though, if they found their enjoyment tempered by a little frustration. Where did Kneale get the idea that librarians do not, as a rule, embrace new technology? Librarians have been at the forefront of applications of new information and communications technologies for around 50 years, library managers have been embracing new technologies and struggling with their implications throughout the history of the profession not least in the last 30 or so years, and the material presented in the book provides no indication that the stereotypical librarian is a Luddite.

Stereotypes are about more than appearance; they embrace personal characteristics such as integrity, and knowledge and skills such as formidable capacity to organise information and access knowledge. Although Kneale reads the results of her researches and surveys as presenting a negative stereotype, the sum of them is positive (in addition to the positive images of librarians presented in the majority of reviewed resources, 70‐80 per cent of survey respondents say people comment positively on their profession). Indeed, the main weakness of this book is that Kneale fails to establish the negative stereotype of the librarian that she argues must be broken down. I was left with the sense of a profession that is valued by its patrons and the public – what is wrong with a stereotype of being helpful and being able to access all the information in the universe (gosh, let alone being intelligent and sexy in the same package)? If the worst images that can be thrown at librarians is that they dress conservatively (although there was not much support for this one in the book either) and say “shush” a lot, we should be grateful. Imagine how much worse it is for bankers, lawyers and IT support staff!

Overall, then, read this book for its collection of amusing illustrations and links, and enter into its spirit of fun, but do not read it expecting a serious analysis of stereotypes else you will be disappointed.

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