A Response to Rory Litwin Re: Librarian Stereotypes

A librarian at LPL named Kevin Moore started a Facebook group called “No, I don't look like a librarian” and a few people uploaded humourous pictures of themselves in various “non-librarian” activities to illustrate the point. 

Rory Litwin, on his blog, Library Juice, posted this in response:

Yes, you do look like a librarian!
Regarding the Facebook
group, No, I don’t look like a librarian!…. Yes, you do look like a
librarian! I am not joining the group because I think really I do not
look unlike a librarian, and I think most of the people who joined that
group look like the librarians that they are. And there is nothing
wrong with that! We look smart! We are smart! We look approachable and
helpful! We are approachable and helpful!


Don’t be ashamed of what you are!! Embrace it!
Filed under: Web culture, The Profession by — Rory Litwin @ 8:19 pm

I like Rory Litwin, love his blog but think he sort of (well, completely) missed the humour in this group.  I mean, if you are a librarian then of course, you look like a librarian!  But so much of our profession is obsessed with THE STEREOTYPE so why not have some fun and play with it?  (as I did in my recent “Librarian Types” entry) 

Librarians drink alcohol and swear.  Librarians play guitar and go swing dancing.  Librarians lift weights and go rock climbing.  And librarians use technology to show others that they do all of these things.

I don't want to get into a flame war with Rory (because he's bigger than me and could kick my butt!)  But I think it's kinda funny that his sour-faced response is probably the most stereotypically librarian thing to happen around this whole non-event.   

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