Victoria writes the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series, the Booklover’s B&B Mystery series, and the Hunter and Clewe traditional mystery series for Crooked Lane Books. When not writing or reading, she likes to spend her time watching TV and films, gardening, or traveling. A member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers, Victoria lives in North Carolina with her husband, son, and two very spoiled cats.

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Librarians Today – No Buns or Pearls

Although I’m now retired, I worked as a librarian for over thirty years. For all of those years, and even now, I’ve seen the librarian stereotype perpetuated in ads, TV shows, films, and even other books. And for all of those years, that stereotype has bothered me.

Not that stereotypes can’t sometimes be used for humorous effect, but this particular one is so wrong that I feel it’s my duty to try to contradict it whenever I can.

In many instances, librarians are still portrayed as elderly ladies with their hair in a bun and glasses on chain, wearing sweater sets or frumpy dresses and a string of pearls. They are almost always portrayed as middle-aged or elderly, white, and female. They like to shush patrons and are generally bitter and cranky. They sit behind big wooden desks, still use a card catalog, and seem to spend most of their time stamping due dates in books.

This is so very far from the truth. Firstly, librarians are not all female. Nor are they all older, white, individuals who possess shy, retiring, personalities. In my many years as a librarian and library director, I have worked with all of the following: male librarians, young librarians, LGBTQIA+ librarians, tattooed and pierced librarians, very gregarious and social librarians, and librarians from every racial, ethnic, and cultural background.

Given that librarians constantly interact with a wide variety of patrons, they must possess great people skills. Being extremely reserved or introverted is NOT a good qualification for this career. In fact, if someone goes into librarianship with the aim of avoiding people, they’re probably going to be out of luck. Honestly, being able to successfully interact with a diverse population of patrons is an essential requirement for most library positions.

Today, Libraries are not secluded ivory towers where decorum and silence reign. They are often noisy, exciting places where people of all ages and backgrounds congregate to learn, discover, and share information. Truthfully, in all my years of librarianship, I never once shushed a patron. With many schools and universities requiring a significant amount of group work, libraries must also provide areas where students can interact and collaborate. In addition, libraries provide life-long learning opportunities through literacy training, workshops, and other educational programs. Most of this involves group discussion and conversation, so the days of silent libraries are long gone. (Although most libraries do try to provide some designated “quiet spaces” for those who need them).

Also gone, despite the media portrayals, are card catalogs. They have been replaced by online systems in almost all libraries, even the small libraries in K-12 schools. Librarians generally do not just sit behind desks checking out books, either. Circulation activities happen at self-serve kiosks as well as at desks staffed by library assistants or, at schools and colleges, by student workers. Reference desks are being replaced with “roving librarians,” who go where patrons need assistance instead of making the patrons come to them. Rather than just providing tables and chairs, most libraries now offer “maker spaces” that include the latest technology, as well as computer labs, loans of laptops and other devices, group study spaces, lecture halls, and community meeting rooms.

As libraries have changed dramatically over the last decades, so have librarians. Now they must be tech savvy, embracing cutting edge technology and continually updating their knowledge of new trends in education, business, computing, and other fields.

So the next time you see an old-fashioned portrayal of a librarian, please remember that this is just a stereotype. Librarians can be, and are, as diverse as any other profession. Their only similarity lies in the desire to help others discover, understand, and use information and knowledge, and the joy they take in promoting the love of books and reading.