NMRT (New Members Round Table)

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The mission of the New Members Round Table (NMRT) is to help those who have been association members less than ten years become actively involved in the association and the profession.

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Online Discussion Forum October 2021 Topic: Combatting the Librarian Stereotype

  • 1.  Online Discussion Forum October 2021 Topic: Combatting the Librarian Stereotype

    Posted Oct 01, 2021 08:39 AM

    Hello all, 

    My name is Laura Birkenhauer and I'm the Chair of the NMRT Online Discussion Forum Committee. Our committee's October 2021 topic is Combating the Librarian Stereotype. I hope you'll take the time to participate right here in Connect; simply click on the Reply button to share your thoughts. 

    We're all likely aware of the librarian stereotype. Plenty has been written on the topic (see: this, this, and this). 

    This month, let's highlight the diversity of the New Members Round Table membership and the many representations of library work within the ranks of NMRT! Who are you? What are your experiences? (How) do you defy the stereotypes? 

    Share as much as you are comfortable detailing in this space. I look forward to hearing from new and returning members of NMRT!



    ------------------------------
    Laura Birkenhauer
    Student Success Librarian for Campus Engagement
    Miami University Libraries
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  • 2.  RE: Online Discussion Forum October 2021 Topic: Combatting the Librarian Stereotype

    Posted Oct 03, 2021 01:09 PM

    I was just discussing this topic with my husband in the context of Harry Potter and the school librarian, Madam Pince. It occurred to me that she was all the worst stereotypes of librarians. She's suspicious of students, enforces a strictly silent library, often breaks up study groups, withholds information from the students, and all manner of other stereotypes such as being a spinsterish middle-aged lady. My husband's argument was that she was working with very dangerous books on magic, and thus it made sense for her to be stricter than normal. But I think it's just a bad British stereotype of Librarianship. We compared this to the character of the Librarian in Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, which seemed much less stereotypical to me, though I can't articulate why exactly. 

    Anyway, it just strikes me that even in these popular media, we are still encountering damaging stereotypes about what librarians are like. They are a bit older now, so perhaps newer popular media is combatting this, but I can't much think of any. And I compare this to the even older depiction of a librarian in "The PageMaster" who is rather the antithesis of stereotypes and I'm even more salty about some of the most popular media of our times (Harry Potter) having such a problematic depiction of Librarians feeding directly into people's minds. 

    As for how I combat stereotypes, mostly I'm just me. Enthusiastic, queer, disabled, openly fannish, with pink hair and an internal body-temperature that discourages cardigans. I try to be as open and helpful as I can, and actively try to combat injustice in the library to my limited ability. 



    ------------------------------
    Kestrel Ward
    Library Associate I
    University of Florida Smathers Library
    she/her
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Online Discussion Forum October 2021 Topic: Combatting the Librarian Stereotype

    Posted Oct 04, 2021 09:42 AM
    Edited by Lauren Carter Oct 04, 2021 09:44 AM
    I am a left brained woman having extraordinary right brained experiences.  Now at the age of 56, I'm viewed as the eccentric new staff member.

    I'm the Business Librarian.  My colors are too bright, my shoes are too funky. Style is important to me.  I am not going to wear black and brown shoes with bows.  

    I am not genetically inclined to color inside the lines.  I wasn't spawned from a fit in/blend in gene pool.


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    Lauren Carter
    Business Librarian
    Atlanta University Center
    She/Her/Hers
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Online Discussion Forum October 2021 Topic: Combatting the Librarian Stereotype

    Posted Oct 05, 2021 12:48 PM
    Fellow business librarian who doesn't fit in checking in! The students are always a little taken aback when I walk in - most business students dress very conservatively, 'professionally,' etc. in class. No unnatural hair colors or tattoos to be seen! I typically have both. I get a lot of comments about how I remind them of their school librarian (are school librarians typically tattooed?!). I enjoy it though - I feel like I crack their stereotypes a bit and bring some entertainment into the classroom with my bad jokes.

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    Jennifer Wilhelm
    Business Librarian
    Texas A&M University
    She/Her/Hers
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Online Discussion Forum October 2021 Topic: Combatting the Librarian Stereotype

    Posted Oct 04, 2021 10:06 AM
    Hi everyone!

    In my first position out of library school, I worked at a very small community college in TN. My director and some coworkers definitely fit in with the older stereotype of grumpy librarian who didn't want to hear a squeak of a mouse (which we hopefully didn't have!).  My director even believed that we should always dress formally because we are a serious profession. I disagreed wholeheartedly.  If kids came into the library with their parents, I got on the floor with them and entertained them. My coworkers started calling my Aunty Kim. I slowly started dressing more casually with fun patterned leggings and silly socks. I actually let the students get to know me, so I ended up having many conversations with student workers on Doctor Who, Supernatural, and Marvel movies. There are certain lines I didn't cross in terms of getting too personal with students, but I didn't put on a "professional" mask around anyone. I just acted like my weird, goofy self. The result? The students were more comfortable asking me for help.

    Kim

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    Kimberly Cull
    Rare Book Project Cataloger
    University of Virginia
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Online Discussion Forum October 2021 Topic: Combatting the Librarian Stereotype

    Posted Oct 04, 2021 10:06 AM
    It's funny: because I started my career during the pandemic (and therefore am still interacting with only family and close friends outside of work), I forgot that the librarian stereotype was even a thing.  I feel like library users in general know better than to believe/expect it, and I would certainly hope that my friends and family know me better than that!

    Maybe because my primary patron base is teenagers, I find that the most common expectation I need to counter is that I will not be familiar with what they're interested in (particularly in regards to manga and anime).  I've found that being open about my knowledge limitations (i.e., I haven't read everything they mention and I don't pretend otherwise) while mentioning the titles I am familiar with has gone a long way toward accomplishing that.

    As far as the what-a-librarian-looks-like stereotypes, I suppose I counter them by fitting different ones on different days: sometimes I'm the vaguely frumpy gray-haired middle-aged librarian and sometimes I'm the funkily dressed tattooed librarian with cool shoes and colored hair.  It all depends on my mood and the weather when I'm getting ready for work.

    In general, I feel like there are widely varying enough depictions of librarians, at least in genre (e.g., https://www.tor.com/2021/09/29/celebrating-the-librarians-of-sff/, that the stereotypes are dying a slow and deserved death.)

    --
    Elizabeth Doherty (she/they)
    Young Adult Librarian

    Walpole Public Library
    143 School Street
    Walpole, MA 02081



    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Online Discussion Forum October 2021 Topic: Combatting the Librarian Stereotype

    Posted Oct 04, 2021 01:25 PM
    I'm really enjoying the responses to this thread so far. The depictions of librarians in books, movies, on TV shared here make me wonder about more recent portrayals of librarians in the media. Do you have any to share?

    I notice many of us have gravitated toward descriptions of the way we dress as setting us apart from a stereotype, which was also one of the first things I thought of, too. I work on a college campus - and the same campus where I completed my undergraduate degree - and have recently embraced dressing down on Thursdays and Fridays, usually opting to wear school spirit gear with jeans or other casual pants. I've been wrapped up in the idea of what a professional is "supposed" to look like for too long and even this small change has felt liberating. It also feels like my interactions with students when I'm dressed this way are more relaxed and - I hope at least - allow me to be a somewhat more relatable figure. 

    Speaking of changes to how I interact with students... I've been intentional about being open and willing to share and talk about mental health topics with students. Even sharing a little bit about my own experiences or resources I've used related to mental health have made a major impact in conversations I'm having with students this semester. 

    I'm trying to combat stereotypes by showing up to work as my whole, authentic self - and that includes talking about mental health, about childcare, health, and parenting struggles with my (almost) two-year-old, about burnout... all of it.

    ------------------------------
    Laura Birkenhauer
    Student Success Librarian for Campus Engagement
    Miami University Libraries
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Online Discussion Forum October 2021 Topic: Combatting the Librarian Stereotype

    Posted Oct 04, 2021 03:35 PM
    It's interesting you mention the unspoken dress code. I'm the kind of person that needs things spelled out for me, so when I started at my first (and current) library job, no dress code was exactly articulated to me. So I end up wavering between cute nerdy dresses and leggings, and t-shirts & leggings. I've never had anyone say anything to me about how I dress, and I've noticed some of the people I work with have been dressing down more too, and I wonder if it's possible that seeing me do it successfully has helped some of my older colleagues who were maybe trained more strictly in the ways of dress to be more comfortable dressing in a variety of ways. 

    But I think more than how librarians dress, we need to disrupt the stereotypes of how we act. We need to embrace being open and accessible to our patrons of all colors, creeds, and abilities. And yes, we need to be bringing our whole authentic selves to the library, so we are talking about the important issues like Justice, mental health, disability, child rearing, burnout, etc. I *am* noticing that a lot of these conversations are happening on Library Twitter. I see people all the time bringing their most authentic selves to Twitter and discussing important topics. Even making zines about it, or creating podcasts (anybody else listened to Library Punk yet? It's quite good, if a little rough around the edges in production quality still).

    ------------------------------
    Kestrel Ward
    Library Associate I
    University of Florida Smathers Library
    she/her
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Online Discussion Forum October 2021 Topic: Combatting the Librarian Stereotype

    Posted Oct 04, 2021 05:57 PM
    I noticed when I first even mentioned library school that people thought it was a good fit for me because I had a background in teaching. They knew I found teaching exhausting because it was just too much extroversion for me in any given day because you are always on. I feel like past and present media stereotypes still show librarians as being introverts though, which I connect with, but I also love working with people and it's my favorite part of my job. Working with students is the best - I just also love having some quieter time to recharge during my day to accomplish other work too. I don't think the media shows, though, how much we really interact with people, and that's sad! It really is the best thing :)

    And while I might love my cardigans...I'm also rather heavily tattooed with a few piercings, and somehow it's never impacted my ability to be able to do my job. If anything, sometimes it helps start conversations that may otherwise not have happened with students. I think that stereotype transcends libraries, though. Tattoos also seem to be a taboo that might be fading away in some settings.

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    Ella Gibson
    Online Learning & Instruction Librarian
    University of Colorado Colorado Springs
    She/Her/Hers
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Online Discussion Forum October 2021 Topic: Combatting the Librarian Stereotype

    Posted Oct 05, 2021 12:26 PM
    When I first read this questions, "I was like, I don't mind the stereotypes! Many of them apply to me! And I love it!", but then once I read the responses,  I realized I had different stereotypes in mind, ones based more on modern librarian archetypes, the people I work with, and interact with in the profession - mostly (white) women, brightly colored clothing, vibrant and quirky style, into arts and crafts, not prone to ssh-shing, unabashedly enthusiastic about what we like,  those sorts of things.

    ------------------------------
    Hanna Roseen
    Branch Librarian
    NCW Libraries
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    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: Online Discussion Forum October 2021 Topic: Combatting the Librarian Stereotype

    Posted Oct 07, 2021 09:27 PM
    I grew up most familiar with the shushing, glasses-and-cardigan wearing, frumpy white spinster wearing her hair in a bun stereotype. I probably fit this more than I'd like, save for the shushing. I'm also a bookish introvert, which adds to the persona. Someone recently guessed that I was a librarian after a short conversation.  I've worked in other fields where I defied the expected look, so I'm finding some privileged comfort in "looking the part." That being said, behaviorally, I think we all try to subvert the judgemental shusher and lean into being helpful and curious, so hopefully, what I lack in surprising looks I make up for with surprising kindness.

    Another stereotype in pop culture is the sexy librarian, which we haven't mentioned yet. It's mostly a funny joke with friends but can lead to some annoying (or demeaning) pick-up lines. I know many public-facing people get harassment from it, but that hasn't affected me on the job yet. What have some of your experiences with this one been like?

    While I don't personally debunk much, I think supporting librarians who defy stereotypes is something I put into practice.

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    Marilyn Creswell
    She/Her/Hers
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 12.  RE: Online Discussion Forum October 2021 Topic: Combatting the Librarian Stereotype

    Posted Oct 09, 2021 09:34 AM
    As a White female who wears glasses for computer work/driving and often wears her hair in a ponytail, I probably look the librarian part more than a lot of others.

    My keen attention to detail and love for organization makes me a great cataloger, but my extroverted personality defies cataloger stereotypes. I have often been told by other librarians to shush or be quiet! 

    I think we can all support librarians who defy stereotypes by providing a listening ear for those who feel marginalized or who just want a couple moments to chat.

    If a fellow librarian is being too chatty, a gentle reminder that we are working is probably better than a shush.

    Sincerely,

    Elizabeth Boniface 



    Original Message


  • 13.  RE: Online Discussion Forum October 2021 Topic: Combatting the Librarian Stereotype

    Posted Oct 11, 2021 04:07 PM
    Hi,

    I am a newbie librarian working at a public library.  I've experienced odd experiences (only a few) regarding the librarian stereotype.  One day when I wore my leather jacket to work a man asked for a librarian and when I told him I was one, he looked and replied "you don't look like a librarian."  Other experiences involved when I didn't wear my glasses. I hate to say this but people take me more seriously when I wear my glasses. It probably also doesn't help that I am Asian and look like I am in my tweens. But I've tried to combat my younger image/look by wearing my glasses and dressing in more corporate/business attires.  This doesn't always make me happy, but I don't ever feel I will climb the career ladder.

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    Maria Lagasca
    Library Manager
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    Original Message


  • 14.  RE: Online Discussion Forum October 2021 Topic: Combatting the Librarian Stereotype

    Posted Oct 11, 2021 04:17 PM
    I'm sorry you feel like you have to suppress part of who you are in order to get ahead in this field. The field should be more open to people of all types and backgrounds, but I know it's often intolerant of difference, especially among people of color. I'm white, so I get a pass a lot on being different, but I see my colleagues of color being more reserved and suppressing themselves all the time. It's one of the things that really needs to change about the profession. For a profession rooted in the freedom of information, which means freedom of expression, we can be awfully uptight about how people express themselves in library spaces. (Also, librarians who wear leather jackets are the bomb, screw that guy!)

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    Kestrel Ward
    Library Associate I
    University of Florida Smathers Library
    she/her
    ------------------------------

    Original Message