In case you were wondering, Librarians are some of the weirdest people you will ever meet, but we get a bad rap in many TV shows.
Look at the librarian in Season 2 of “The Middle”. There is a socially awkward woman who is more interested in talking with a 9 year old boy about his book collection than having an adult conversation at the Thanksgiving dinner. I mean that’s not me at all……….
Look at “Parks and Recreation”. Leslie Knope continually talks about how terrible the library is. Now granted, the librarian on Parks and Recreation is creepy, manipulative, and inappropriate. I can understand Leslie’s conclusion on that one. But that’s not most of us!
Most of us are super fun people! For example, last summer our summer reading was music themed so I searched for parodies! My favorite library parody is of “Uptown Funk” by Bruno Mars- “Unread Book“. It’s hilarious. Go watch it! You will love it!
Not only that but we have to be a little weird. It takes a special kind of adult to proudly come up with motions to storytimes for babies. I mean really. We all know the kids aren’t doing the motions. We all know we look silly- and yet we do it anyways. For you. The patrons. You’re welcome.
In my time as a librarian I have discovered that I have the perfect blend of weird for a librarian. I mean I can walk up to total strangers, Teenagers in fact, and strike up a conversation. Only here is it not creepy to start a conversation with a perfect stranger about their hobbies and tv show interests. It’s normal! It’s expected! How else am I going to find them the perfect book?
But really, we’re all weird. Not a single one of us is normal. You have the quiet librarians who wear their perfect pencil skirts and their cardigans. You have the crazy ones who wear vibrant colors and can’t stop talking to you about books, even if you would wish them to. You have the specialty librarian who is sure that EVERYONE must be interested in reading the kinds of books that she loves, and the list goes on. They’re each their own brand of weird, but you know what- that’s what makes the library perfect. It’s the perfect place for all of those who fit in, and all of those who don’t. So come on in and find some weird people. I guarantee you, we have a lot of fun.
Keep Sparkling,
-B
The Sparkling Librarian 