I’ve spent time writing about librarians’ “quests”, and
ethical concerns of librarians. And most
of the time when I compare librarians to heroes, it’s tongue in cheek. I spent four years in undergrad studying
comparative mythology with a personal focus on hero myths, so it is on my mind
a lot and it is easy for me to draw parallels between just about anything and
heroism. But I think sometimes I start
thinking it is a joke. And now I’ve been reminded about why
librarians are heroic:
Librarians stand up for what they believe in. Most recently, the Connecticut Four Librarians
are what bring this to mind, but I have more than one example.
Connecticut Four Librarians
Library patrons aren’t always comfortable discussing what
they’re reading or researching, and there are many reasons for this – personal,
professional, who cares? It’s not the
librarian’s job to judge them or make them feel judged in any way. But when the FBI demands that a patron’s
records be surrendered and this can be done without an Order…well, it is in the
name of protecting the country. But is
it fair?
The Connecticut Four Librarians opposed the Patriot Act to
protect the rights of patrons and libraries throughout the U.S. The quiet bravery of these librarians really reminds
me of why librarians have earned so much respect. The four went up against the FBI to protect
the rights of their patrons-- in particular, their right to privacy. Due to gag orders, they couldn’t draw
attention to what the government was doing and were forced to go about this all
as “John Does”.
Librarians with Tattoos
Yup. Tattooed
librarians are a thing. We don’t all
wear buns, glasses, and Peter Pan collars.
It may not sound heroic on the surface, but the movement and groups forming about tattooed librarians aren’t just about the tattoos. They’re about evolution and stereotypes. We can’t all be the stereotypical librarian
anymore because our field has expanded so far and so quickly—and will continue
to do so—so we need to be more than that sweet old lady who goes “shhh” from
behind the counter. The librarians with
tattoos are the trailblazers for the new world of libraries: technology,
information from all sources, and no
judgement. All are welcome, majority,
minority, it matters not.
Censorship
So you’re not convinced that librarians are heroes yet? That’s okay, I get it. Some people take more convincing. How about the fact that every year ALA celebrates
a banned book week to draw attention to the fact that across the country groups
are trying to ban books? The ALA has
been actively opposing this for decades.
Once again, Librarians are out there protecting the rights of citizens (specifically
the First Amendment in this case). In
fact, the Freedom to Read Foundation (“Free people read freely!”), affiliated
with the ALA, is dedicated to providing legal and financial support to defend
intellectual freedom since 1969. Some librarians have lost their job and
community by standing up for our right to read. Have you thanked a librarian yet taking on the
factions who think you should only be allowed to read what they think you
should read? If it weren’t for them, we
could say goodbye to J.K. Rowling, Judy Blume, Maya Angelou… and the list goes
on.
I’m not going to continue on expounding why librarians are
the quiet heroes of our modern world (who needs Theseus and Samson when we have
John Does and the ALA), but I really do think our librarians deserve recognition
for always doing what is right, even when it’s not the easy thing to do.
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