Another “positive image” article in the Gothamist (and the New York Sun, Florida’s The Ledger, and the New York Times) for librarians. This one speaks of a group of librarians from Brooklyn with tattoos and style and passion and, heaven forbid, lives.

However, just as in my previous entry about articles like this, this article is both positive and negative. News writers seem incapable of writing anything about librarians without first mentioning the stereotypes. (Of course, they seem to be guilty of this with whoever they are talking about: politicians, lawyers, doctors, etc. They have to bring in some common concept that the public brings to the table, to, I don’t know, win their confidence or something? It doesn’t matter whether it relates to the article’s point or is even true…) This kind of publicity is good, don’t get me wrong. But ideally librarians should be written about in purely objective terms — here’s what they do, here’s what they’re like, here’s why they may be important to something you’re doing — without reference to spinsters or glasses or shushing (or hair in buns).

What would help is if more librarians were in the news of course. Perhaps the reason we’re only spoken of in the media in terms of stereotypes is that the readers/viewers/listeners must be reminded of who we are. So, all you librarians out there, start doing newsworthy things. (Not that I have any specific suggestions, of course. LOL)

Meredith Farkas talks about this article and topic along with plenty of comments about both in her blog Information Wants to be Free.