Every time I see or hear the phrase “hip, young librarians” I catch myself on the verge of gagging. Why, you ask? Weeeeelll…as one such young librarian, I find it a bit tiring to be singled out as the antithesis of the “old librarian stereotype.” Above-referenced article contains at least one such mention. I quote:
“…Although ‘hip’ is not an adjective generally associated with librarians, a stack of archivists, publishers, illustrators, librarians, and other bibliophiles called the Desk Set is out to challenge their image as staid…”
Don’t you just love the press?
A lovely group of young people who share professional goals and a love of all things bookish decide that it would be fun to get together on a regular basis to socialize and let down their nonexistant buns. Not so different from how I spend my weekends to be honest (though I tend to leave out the cataloging of my drinks and the official logo, which I might add is pretty sharp…)
The PRESS seems to think it’s ‘neat,’ ‘hip,’ ‘cool,’ ‘groovy’ that librarians might even think to have a few drinks and dance the night away. Thus they write these catchy little pieces that highlight how unusual such a bunch of people is…how different from the norm or stereotype they are. And the kicker? All the while the journalists are creating their cute little stories, they are perpetuating the librarian stereotype just by virtue of mentioning it for point of comparison…
Of course those Desk Set librarians (I only single them out because they’re the subject of this article…MANY of us are guilty) don’t quite help matters when they drink dewey decimal-titled cocktails and sport slogans like “she blinded me with library science.” Again, so consciously resisting the stereotype that the end result is something that brings the stereotype to the front of our minds.
Soooo….from one young librarian to many others. I think it’s time we just be ourselves, whatever that might mean…
Now THAT would be something to write about… 
~Charlotte
Interesting … funny, I’ve found myself so excited by my recent discovery of the University Librarians … I have found them all to be smart, excited, and yes even “young and hip.” I guess the issue isn’t the young and hip part as much as it is the pointing to the stereotypical view of the Librarian. I must admit to falling into that trap in the past. Everyone I have been working with and talking to doesn’t match any of those old notions. If these reporters would spend more time actually talking with Librarians before they write about them maybe they’d just see smart, hip, passionate people.
At any rate, I thought I’d jump on the soapbox with you for a minute!
Cole,
You hit the nail on the head! Even as I posted that entry, I was having an internal struggle about what it was I was REALLY trying to say with that piece. And you’re exactly right! I have no problem with people thinking I’m hip or cool…in fact, it’s what I hope they think. It’s just that once those traits are paired with ‘librarian’ all the old grubby stuff comes to the surface. And no one wants to feel grubby, right?
Thanks for joining me on the soapbox!
~Charlotte
I dunno Char, I hear what you are saying, but I have to mostly disagree with you on this one. It’s def not perfect, but I’m more of the thinking that:
1) There’s no such thing as bad advertising
2) We can’t have it both ways. We can’t complain about the dowdy, shushing, bun-wearing stereotype and also about something that tries to shed a positive light on the profession.
I think Jessamyn’s response puts it well: http://www.librarian.net/stax/2084/on-fame-and-whats-enduring/