Section 7.0 Go to the Libraries FAQ Homepage Go to the Libraries FAQ Index |
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7.1 Where did the "Marian the Librarian" stereotype originate? |
The following
comes from Grimes, Deborah J. "Marion the Librarian - The Truth
Behind the Image" in Scherdin, Mary Jane (ed.) _Discovering
Librarians: Profiles of a Profession_ (Chicago: ACRL, 1994), pg.
3:
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7.2 What happens when downtown New York's fiercest ruling party girl finds herself down and out working in a public library? |
PARTY GIRL "Mary's having an identity crisis. Torn between the high-drama, high-fashioned world of nightclubs and DJs and a steady paycheck as a librarian, she's not sure if she should grow up and settle down with Mustafa (Omar Townsend), the handsome Lebanese neighborhood falafel vendor, or join the ranks of Rene, the aging, strung out diva of New York's club scene. Or should she just curl up in a fetal position and couch potato the '90's out? "Daisy von Scherler Mayer makes her directorial debut with PARTY GIRL having co-written the screenplay with Harry Birckmayer who produced the film with Stephanie Koules. Starring Parker Posey (SLEEP WITH ME, DAZED AND CONFUSED), the supporting cast includes Sasha von Scherler, Omar Townsend, Anthony DeSando (FEDERAL HILL, Under Suspicion), Donna Mitchell (LESS THAN ZERO, THE ROOKIE), and Guillermo Diaz (FRESH, CROSSING THE STICKS." Party Girl was also a FOX Network sitcom, http://us.imdb.com/Title?0115310, (Fall 1996, Mondays at 9 EST) , starring Christine Taylor as Mary. For an episode guide, see http://epguides.com/PartyGirl/
"Monkeys have died trying to learn the Dewey Decimal system."
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"Wilderness" was a UK three-part TV series (Fall 1996), based on the novel by the same name by Dennis Danvers. It featured Alice White (played by Amanda Ooms), a broken hearted academic librarian werewolf who declares "academic libraries are sexy"". IMDB info: http://us.imdb.com/M/title-exact?Wilderness%20(1996) Highlander Web Magazine article: http://www.highlanderweb.co.uk/wolf.htm Book info:
http://shop.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/
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7.4 Where can I find information on librarians in film? |
From the sans-George Bailey spinster Mary Hatch (Donna Reed) in It's a Wonderful Life, http://www.lib.byu.edu/dept/libsci/films/mary.html, to the adventurous Evelyn Carnarvon (Rachel Weisz) in The Mummy, http://www.universalpictures.com/mummy/characters.html , many of the most memorable characters in film have been librarians. Martin Raish's LIBRARIANS IN THE MOVIES An Annotated Filmography includes a bibliography of articles on librarians in film, http://www.lib.byu.edu/dept/libsci/films/introduction.html Steven J. Schmidt ,of Indiana Univ.-Purdue Univ.-Indianapolis, has selected his Top Ten Films featuring Libraries, Librarians and the Book Arts, www.iupui.edu/it/libref/lib_film.html . His top pick: Sophie's Choice; Steve says the scene where Sophie asks for Emil Dickins (Emily Dickenson) "should be shown in every reference class as an example of the worst reference interview of all time."
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7.5 Where Can I find the lyrics to songs with libraries in them? |
Yahoo lists a large number of lyric pages, many with
searchable databases:
http://www.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Music A good place to search for the lyrics to thousands of old folk songs is The Mudcat Cafe Digital Tradition Folk Song Database, http://www.mudcat.org/folksearch.html: THE BOLD LIBRARIAN
Sliders, the former FOX and now Sci-Fi channel TV show, gives us: "Library Rap" Yo Homes, what's up? I'm moving down the aisle with my Homeys in tow Hemingway... Lawrence... Checkhov and Miller Quiet pleeease! The silence is golden "Library Rap" is performed by MC Poindexter & The Study Crew
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7.6 Who is the patron saint of librarians?
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St. Jerome was born in Stridon, a town on the confines of Dalmatia and Pannonia, about the year 340-2. He died in Bethlehem, September, 30 420. Pope Damasus had selected Jerome to make a new Latin translation of the Greek New Testament. Jerome later expanded his assignment to include the Old Testament, which he translated from the Hebrew. For online biographical information (and portraits): Catholic Encyclopedia http://www.knight.org/advent/cathen/08341a.htm Saint Jerome's House http://members.aol.com/DWFrancis/sjh.html
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7.7 How many librarians does it take to change a light bulb? |
Four. One to install the bulb
and three to test it in staff mode for three months before the
patrons get to use the light.
Ok, I know it's bad, but the New Jersey State Library http://www2.njstatelib.org/njlib/lbhumtoc.htm, invites you to visit and submit your own library jokes. For more laughs, take a look at IFLANET Library Humour, http://www.ifla.org/I/humour/ and their collection of library quotes, http://www.ifla.org/I/humour/subj.htm Do you want to know more about strange patrons, strange things
found in books, and strange smells in the stacks? See
Hypatia's Humorous Library Tales, by Jenny "the Circ
Girl", http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/2776/ Also, MEL, the Michigan Electronic Library, has a terrific Humor and Culture in Libraries page, http://www.mel.org/libraries/LIBS-humor.html . Llibrarians have even earned their own humor page on Yahoo,
http://dir.yahoo.com/Reference/Libraries/Professional_Resources
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7.8 Where can I get a list of sources of librarian images in comics?
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For information about Batgirl and Mrs. McGreevey see Steve Bergson's Librarians in Comics: Sources on the Libraries FAQ Homepage. Library Cartoons: An annotated bibliography, by Denise Plourde, http://pw1.netcom.com/~dplourde/cartoons/index.html , includes links to many of the cartoons.
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7.9 Are there sci-fi novels where librarians have a prominent role? |
This list is derived from a
thread on soc.libraries.talk regarding
librarians and libraries in sci-fi. (NOTE: Many people have
sent me titles for inclusion in this section. If you don't see
your submission listed below, it means I lost your email when my
HD crashed. Please send them to me again. Thanks. )
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7.10 Are there mystery novels where librarians have a prominent role? |
Yes, and the best
source of information is Marsha McCurley's Bibliomysteries page,
http://www.bibliomysteries.com/
. Besides an extensive bibliography, McCurley includes lists of
librarian detectives, staff victims, reference works, links to
other listings, and a collection of quotes:
"...People just don't get murdered in public libraries. It's not done." -- Police Chief, in Murder in a Library by Charles J. Dutton Continuing in the literary mode: Don't miss the Great Librarian-Poets, at Roth Publishing, http://www.rothpoem.com/poetlib.html. Be sure you enter the "Librarians Are Poets, Too" Contest, http://www.rothpoem.com/libpoet2.html .
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7.11 What librarian is charged with helping Buffy, the Vampire Slayer fight ghouls, zombies, and other creatures of the night? |
Rupert Giles (played by Anthony Stewart Head), is "The Watcher",
a California high school librarian chosen to identify and guide
the single person per generation who can slay vampires with
impunity. He is Buffy's mentor, trainer, and researcher. See
Sonja Marie's The Giles' Appreciation Society Panters Home
Page, http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/7728/gaspers.html
, for quotes, links and more.
"He's like Super Librarian. Everyone forgets, Willow, that knowledge is the ultimate weapon." "Ah, I love the smell of a desperate librarian in the morning." - Principal Snyder to Giles. |
7.12 Other "cool" stuff... |
For your consideration:
Some more cool cats (301 to be percise) can be dug at the Library Cats Map of the United States, http://www.ironfrog.com/catsmap.html .
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7.13 ___ looks like a librarian? |
"You Don't Look Like a Librarian! Librarian's views of public perception in the Internet age" by Ruth A. Kneale, Special Library Association, June 2002, http://atst.nso.edu/library/perception/. In her presentation at SLA 2002, Ruth examined the popular perception of Librarians in the Internet age. You should especially check out Ruth's links to "Some Sites with Attitude" and her "References and Reading List."
Kent Olson of the UVA Law Library posted the following bit of research to the Law-lib discussion group (emphasis added):
For more "looks like a librarian" comparisons try this Google search: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22looks+like+a+librarian%22&btnG=Google+Search
Some miscellaneous librarian perception stuff that was posted on the law-lib listserv: An hp ad states "What the Interent needs is an old-fashioned librarian" (in both .jpg and .pdf formats): http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/hpads/2001/print.htm An ad in the January, 2002(?) Rolling Stone described a sexy woman as "Librarian by day, Bacardi at night" . You can see the ad at the New Breed Librarian: http://www.newbreedlibrarian.org/news/bacardi.html An ad for the Honda Accord V-6 Coupe described the car as : "The automotive equivalent of a really hot librarian. Good-looking, yet intelligent. Fun, yet sophisticated. All in a very eye-catching 200-horsepower package." http://www.hhgproject.org/honda.jpg
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7.14 Which First Lady was a librarian? |
Laura Bush received her MLS in 1973 from the University of Texas at Austin. Mrs Bush worked at the Houston Public Library, Kashmere Gardens Branch, and at Dawson Elementary School in Austin. http://www.whitehouse.gov/firstlady/flbio.html Her speech at the Topeka Public Library Gala on January 9, 2002: http://www.whitehouse.gov/firstlady/news-speeches/speeches/fl20020109.html |
See previous page section 6.0 Organizations
Go to section 8.0 Net Resources
Anthony Wilson
paw@ibiblio.org