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Archive-name: books/library-faq/part8
Posting-Frequency: Every 3 months Version: 2.1 See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge Libraries FAQ 2.1 http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/1107 Anthony Wilson paw@iglou.com Libraries FAQ Section 7.0 Culture 7.1 How did the "Marian the Librarian" stereotype start? 7.2 What happens when downtown New York's fiercest ruling party girl finds herself down and out working in a public library? 7.3 Can a werewolf be a librarian? Can she be happy? 7.4 Where can I find a list of sources of librarians in film? 7.5 Where can I find the lyrics for songs with libraries in them? 7.6 Who's the patron saint of librarians? 7.7 How many librarians does it take to change a light bulb? 7.8 Where can I get a list of sources of librarian images in comics? 7.9 Are there sci-fi stories where librarians have a prominent role? 7.10 Are there mystery novels where librarians have a prominent role? 7.11 What librarian is charged with helping Buffy the Vampire Slayer fight gouls, zombies, and other creatures of the night? 7.1 How did the "Marian the Librarian" stereotype start? 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: "In 1950, Meredith Wilson wrote a musical entitled _The Music Man, in which the lead female character is Marian Paroo, a small town librarian and music teacher. The character is a self-proclaimed spinster, who must continually resist the exhortations of everyone around her, including the mother with whom she lives, to "find a man". Marian is characterized as picky, hardworking, standoffish, bookish, and, by most accounts, pitiable. The phrase, "Marian the Librarian", was coined, along with the image, in a song in The Music Man. Over forty years later, the image continues to permeate public opinion and remain the stereotype of the professional librarian." 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 From First Look Pictures: "Armed with a quick wit and begged or borrowed Gaultier, Mary (Parker Posey) struggles to pay the rent. As a hostess extraordinare Mary packs 300 of her closest friends into her Chinatown loft for a rent party. When her roommate, Derrick (Anthony DeSando ), splits with half the rent, and DJ Leo (Guillermo Diaz)threatens to walk out if Mary doesn't give him a place to stay, Mary throws open her doors to the NYPD and ends up in jail. Desperate, she calls her godmother, Mrs. Lindendorf (Shasha von Scherler ), who bails her out but insists. Mary take a responsible job - as a librarian! So despite her phobia of the Dewey Decimal System, Mary becomes a 9-5er. "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 (Mondays at 9 EST.) "Monkeys have died trying to learn the Dewey Decimal system." 7.3 Can a werewolf be a librarian? Can she be happy? Yes; maybe. "Wilderness"", a UK TV series, features a sex-mad academic librarian werewolf type ("Oh dear, I'm going to turn into a wolf") who declares "academic libraries are sexy"". Male academic type: "I've seen you around, do you work here?" Werewolf librarian, pouting, : "I'm JUST the librarian.." 7.4 Where can I find a list of sources of librarians in film? -Martin Raish's LIBRARIANS IN THE MOVIES An Annotated Filmography (includes a bibliography of articles on librarians in film, http://library.lib.binghamton.edu/subjects/liblit/introduction.html -Shoji Ichimura's Librarians in Films database, http://www.bekkoame.or.jp/~ichimura/libmvdb/libmvdbE.htm, and -"Librarians on Stage and Screen" by Frederick Duda in the Whole Library Handbook 2 (see 9.1 below): http://www.ala.org/editions/wlh/movies.html 7.5 Where can I find the lyrics for songs with libraries in them? The DRA Librarian's Library, http://www.dra.com/resources/library/playitsam.htm, has the lyrics to songs about libraries. Yahoo lists a large number of lyric pages, many with searchable databases: http://www.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Music/Composition/Lyrics_and_Notation/Lyrics/ A great site is The Mudcat Cafe Digital Tradition Folk Song Database, http://www.mudcat.org/folksearch.html which contains the words and music to thousands of folk songs, including: THE BOLD LIBRARIAN (Joy Rutherford) http://www.mudcat.org/!!-song99.cfm?stuff=Spring98+D+1433884 "He's the bold librarian. Now, this librarian, he rode out all in the dewy morn, Come in my bold librarian, and I'll mek thee a pot of tea." From the unofficial web site of the former FOX and now Sci-Fi channel TV show Sliders: http://www.brillig.com/sliders/earth-prime.shtml "Library Rap" Yo Homes, what's up? What up with you? Whatcha' gonna say? Whatcha' gonna do? Where you gonna go? What we gonna see? We're goin' to the li-bra-ree. I'm moving down the aisle with my Homeys in tow We're grovin' through the home of the librarian Ho She checks us out from behind thick glasses We walk right past and we wiggle our asses Hemingway... Lawrence... Checkhov and Miller Fitzgerald was a freak, Mailer is a killer... Quiet pleeease! Quiet pleeease! The silence is golden To books I am beholden I know I'm bad 'Cuz of the knowledge that I'm holdin' And I give you one warnin' There will be no repeats Get out of my face While I'm readin' my Keats "Library Rap" performed by MC Poindexter & The Study Crew 7.6 Who's the patron saint of librarians? It's St. Jerome, born at 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 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://www.state.nj.us/statelibrary/lbhumtoc.htm , invites you to visit and submit your own library jokes. For more laughs, take a look at IFLANET Library Humour, http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/ifla/I/humour/humour.htm IFLANET also has an interesting collection of library quotes: http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/ifla/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/ "If you had any idea what was going on in the minds of the seemingly normal people around you all day, you'd run for your life." 7.8 Where can I get a list of sources of librarian images in comics? For information about Batgirl and Mrs. McGreevey see Steve Bergson's Librarians in Comics: Sources on the Libraries FAQ Homepage. 7.9 Are there sci-fi novels where librarians have a prominent role? Most of this information comes from a thread on soc.libraries.talk regarding librarians and libraries in sci-fi. I'd like to add more information, i.e. plot lines, characters, etc., so please feel free to send me information on these or other books that feature librarians. Fire Upon the Deep, by Vernor Vinge, features a librarian as a main character and depicts future worlds where whole civilizations live or die by their connectivity to "the net" (internet). Her job is to interpret the many layers of indexing that have evolved, and find the meaningful information that's buried there. (Description supplied by Sue Visser.) Eon by Greg Bear Against the Fall of Night, and Rama Revealed both by Arthur Clarke Counterclock World by Philip K. Dick Deathworld 3 by Harry Harrison Direct Descent by Frank Herbert Restoree by Ann McCaffrey Protector, and Ringworld Engineers both by Larry Niven 1984 (Smith works in the Library of the Ministry of Truth) by George Orwell Gray Lensman, Children of the Lens, and Second-Stage Lensmen all by Doc Smith A Plague of Angels, and Shadow's End both by Sherri Tepper 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.carol.net/dolphin/bibliomysteries/index.htm . 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 7.11 What librarian is charged with helping Buffy the Vampire Slayer fight gouls, zombies, and other creatures of the night? Rubert Giles, a California high school librarian is "The Watcher", the one 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, Christopher Brown-Syed's Cool Librarians of Fact and Fiction page, http://www.lisp.wayne.edu/waycool.html . The following quotes from Buffy The Vampire Slayer are courtesy of Elisabeth Anne Riba, lis@netcom.com : Willow: Uh, if you have sixth period free we could meet in the library? Buffy: Or not. Or we could meet someplace quieter. Louder. Uh, that place just kinda gives me the wiggins. Willow: Oh, it has that effect on most kids. I love it, though, it's a great collection, and the new librarian is really cool. Buffy: He's new? Willow: Yeah, he just started. He was a curator at some British museum, or, or The British Museum, I'm not sure. But he knows everything, and he brought all these historical volumes and biographies and am I the single dullest person alive? Buffy: Not at all. ------------------------------------------------------------ Owen comes into the library and approaches them. Buffy: Oh! (slides off the table) Owen! Hi! Giles: (looks up at Owen) What do you want? Owen: A book? Giles: Oh! Buffy: (to Giles) See, this is a school, and we have students, and they check out books, and then they learn things. Giles: I was beginning to suspect that was a myth. ------------------------------------------------------------ Willow: Xander, we should go with Giles! He could get in trouble! Xander: Oh, he's gone, uh, it's, he's gonna be alright. He's like super librarian, y'know? Everyone forgets, Willow, that knowledge is the ultimate weapon. ------------------------------------------------------------ Giles: Mm. He thought it would behoove me to have more contact with the students. I did try to explain that my vocational choice of librarian was a deliberate attempt to (draws a breath) minimize said contact, but, uh, he would have none of it. ------------------------------------------------------------ Ms. Calendar: Hmm. (to Buffy and Xander) You're here again? Kids really dig the library, don't cha? Buffy: We're literary! Xander: To read makes our speaking English good. Buffy: We'll be going now. (grabs Xander and turns to leave) Giles: Uh, w-we'll, uh, continue this conversation at another time. Buffy: I think we're done. (they leave) (to Xander) Makes our speaking English is good? Xander: I panicked, okay? User Contributions: |
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