Sensible shoes. Hair in a bun. Glasses perched on the tip of a nose. Tweed suits. Do you recognize the occupation? Shhhhh! Whisper the answer! You’re in the library! Yes, librarians have been battling this stereotype for years. Thankfully, books are helping us change our image.
While some books work subtly to show librarians in a different light, others make it their mission. There are books about librarians in every genre, and for readers of every age. Romance in the library? Yes, indeed. Try The Dewey Decimal System of Love by Josephine Carr. While librarian Alison Sheffield outwardly fits the librarian stereotype, behind the scenes she’s solving a murder, investigating a library break-in, and, of course, falling madly in love.
If your busy schedule allows only for short bursts of reading, check out In the Stacks: Short Stories about Libraries and Librarians, edited by Michael Cart. This collection includes classic, as well as modern, short stories, from authors well known to unknown. You’ll be hooked in short order. Or take a break from the comics in your daily newspaper, and delve into the six volumes of Unshelved Comics, by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum. You may be surprised by just how ridiculous and laughable library life can be. Then again, maybe you wont!
Several books for children make it clear that librarian stereotypes are a thing of the past. There are a number of picture books about librarians for the youngest readers. Library Lil, by local author Suzanne Williams, saves her town from too much television watching … and a motorcycle gang! In Jerry Spinelli’s The Library Card, four kids’ lives are transformed by a magic library card that comes to them just when they need it. Upper elementary and middle school readers may want to look into Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck, also a Newbery Award-winning scribe. Fourteen-year-old Peewee McGrath cannot believe the upheaval in her small town when four young librarians move in.
To meet librarians from around the world, check out the nonfiction picture book My Librarian Is a Camel by Margriet Ruurs. These librarians serve their patrons from 18-wheelers, “book boats” and wheelbarrows! For a look at a more serious situation, introduce your children to Jeanette Winter’s The Librarian of Basra: A True Story of Iraq, in which Alia organizes the community to secretly move and save all 30,000 books in her library, which burns down nine days after she finishes.
Find more fictional librarians in this recent post. Once you begin reading about librarians, you’ll never view us the same way again. If I see you in the library, eyeing us suspiciously, I’ll know that you’re on to us.
~ Shannon S.
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