[Publib] casting director with their head on backwards

[Jesse Ephraim]

>And while we're at it....anyone else put off by Garrison Keillor's 
>representation of librarians in that skit he does on 
>Prairie Home Companion? Can't recall the name of the 
>ongoing series....it's "something, Reference Librarian" 
>and she's portrayed mostly as an uptight geeky shssing stereotype.

To be perfectly honest, I think the tendency to get mad at every
director, comedian, or writer who depicts a librarian character in a
stereotypical way simply makes their point about "uptight" librarians.
If we can't laugh at ourselves, we are being too serious.  Seeing a
character like that is not going to affect how our patrons view us -
they react to how we treat them as individuals when they visit the
library.  

Rather than fretting about our image so much, we should work hard to
make sure that people receive the friendliest, most helpful service
possible, no matter what our mood that day.  That is what will change
our image in the long run. 

I have never been offended by stereotypical librarian characters - I
find them somewhat funny, to be honest, especially since I have met a
handful of librarians who are actually like that (most aren't, but there
are notable exceptions).  I love the Nancy Pearl action figure - I
applaud her for the ironic humor of it all.   I was a programmer in my
former life, and always enjoyed the ultra-geek stereotypes that were
associated with that profession.  As a banjo player I love nothing more
than a good banjo player joke.  I'm going to have to start listening to
Prairie Home Companion now ;)


Jesse Ephraim

Adult Services Librarian
Southlake Public Library
jephraim at ci.southlake.tx.us