1.) Shush people
Let’s be honest, this is the real reason many of us entered the profession – the unmitigated entitlement to make people be quiet on command. The librarian “shush” is acknowledged worldwide as an act of authority and finality. When a librarian invokes the shush, it is recognized and complied with. We’ve even got an action figure!
2.) Tell people to “look it up!”
As librarians we find great satisfaction in going through the steps to find the answer to a research question, and we want everyone else to experience that same joy that we do when they are challenged with a research query. So no, we won’t just give away the answer to such questions, but will strive to set people on their own journey to information-seeking bliss.3.) Design obscure classification systems
3.) Design obscure classification systems
One of our librarian superpowers is the ability to devise elaborate organizational systems that almost no one else will know how to use. And we do this even at home. I myself am guilty of this. I’m a huge horror movie fan and I own hundreds of films within the genre. When I have guests over they can’t make heads-or-tails of my collection until I explain my classification system which involves subdividing the films into subgenres such as vampires, werewolves, teens-in-jeopardy, giallos, serial killers, etc. but also by production house in some cases such as Hammer Films, and/or by my favorite directors such as Dario Argento and John Carpenter.
4.) Discuss DRM at cocktail parties
Most librarians are very opinionated (and vocal) about such matters as copyright, and DRM (digital rights management), etc. and do not feel the need to limit their discussions of such topics to library circles and events. I cannot tell you the amount of social situations I’ve been in where a fellow librarian (or myself) has delved into a detailed discussion of the evils of DRM. However, as librarians, this is absolutely acceptable!
5.) Repurpose library furnishings
Librarians have been known to take typical library furnishings and reuse them in any number of zany ways. Party Girl’s Mary, one of the coolest librarian characters to-date, uses her library reading room tables as a runway/dance floor and I’ve personally seen teams of librarians performing synchronized dance routines with library book carts.
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