Librarian
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs. Typically, librarians work in a public or college library, an elementary or secondary school media center, a library within a business or company, or another information-provision agency like a hospital or law firm. Some librarians are independent entrepreneurs working as information specialists, catalogers, indexers and other professional, specialized capacities. Librarians may be categorized as a public, school, correctional, special, independent or academic librarian.
Librarians in popular culture
Stereotypes of librarians in popular culture are frequently negative: librarians are portrayed as puritanical, punitive, unattractive, and introverted if female, or timid, unattractive, and effeminate if male. The librarian is in charge of a library just as a principal is in charge of a school or a pastor is in charge of a church.
Examples of librarians in pop culture include:
- In the Discworld book series by Terry Pratchett there is a librarian who has been magically turned into an orangutan. In these stories, librarians frequently have supernatural powers related to books and library work, including access to a form of hyperspace known as L-Space.
- "Weird Al" Yankovic plays Conan the Librarian, in a brief segment of the 1989 film UHF.
- On the May 24, 2007 episode of the Colbert Report, Colbert interviewed Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales. During the interview, he showed on the screen the statement "Librarians are hiding something" and asked Wales how he would stop or prevent vandalism to Wikipedia based on that statement.
- Space Marine Librarians are characters from the collectible miniatures game Warhammer 40,000 ; these superhuman fighters come equipped with potent psychic powers, rather than just being deskbound intellects. Wielding force staffs and psychic abilities, they are found on the battlefield battling alongside their non-psychic battle brothers delivering justice to the Emperor's enemies, while at the same time advising the Space Marine Commander.
See also
- 21st Century Librarianship
- Archivist
- Bookstore
- Curator
- Documentalist
- Guerrilla librarian
- Librarianship in the 21st Century
- Library school
- Library technician
- List of librarians
- Periodicals librarian
