I may, often times, wear my hair in a tight bun, and I have librarian glasses...and yes, I am grumpy occasionally. But I do NOT shush everyone that walks in the door!
Here are some other misconceptions about librarians:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariannarebolini/things-everyone-gets-wrong-about-librarians?utm_term=.fgO7v7Z1K#.mnWjmjKQ7
LIBRARIAN MISCONCEPTIONS
1. That your job is stress-free.
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“I hate when people say, ‘It’s so quiet in here. Your job must be so relaxing.’ Or they assume you have three hours at work to just read whatever books you want.” —Jackie DeStefano, Facebook
“Especially during the summer reading program!” —Maria Slytherinn Hill, Facebook
2. That technology has made your job redundant.
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“[People assume] that librarians and libraries are obsolete because ‘you can find everything on Google.’ There’s so much information (electronic or otherwise) that can’t be accessed through Google, and we know how to find it.” —AnnaBanana617
3. That you spend your days reading.
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“People have told me they would love to be a librarian because it would be so nice to work with books all day. Nope. That’s not what I do all day. I work with PEOPLE all day — reference, teaching programming. Sometimes that involves helping them find books, but if it weren’t for people, there’d be no librarians.” —Emily Lauren Mross, Facebook
4. That you either look like this…
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“[People assume] that you have to look a certain way! I have purple hair, tattoos, and a nose piercing.” —Maria Slytherinn Hill, Facebook
6. That if your focus is children’s books, it’s all playtime.
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“I hate the assumption that those of us in children’s services (or school media) are glorified babysitters that only do story time. I’m responsible for way more, including technology and study skills!” —Jessica Vining Prutting, Facebook
7. That you only work in libraries or public schools.
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“The library profession is really wide-ranging. We work in corporations, law firms, research institutes and laboratories, the government and military, special libraries. We don’t just check out and re-shelve books. We are researchers, computer specialists, collection developers, archivists, subject experts, meta data experts (you know, make everything findable off and online) and a lot more.” —AnnaBanana617
8. That you don’t need an advanced degree.
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“People always get so shocked when I tell them that I am getting my Masters to be a librarian. I think they just assume that librarians only need to know the Dewey Decimal system, and maybe know how to use the computer once in a while.” —Chelsea Phillips, Facebook
9. That the job is easy.
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“I’m an elementary school librarian, and it’s enormously frustrating to hear, ‘Your job must be so easy! You just read to them all day!’ Yes. And teach research skills, communication skills, and public speaking, among others. Not to mention standard classroom management, ordering, processing, assisting teachers… It is certainly not as easy as I try to make it look!” —brittanyo4910df152
10. That you’re technology averse.
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“Most people don’t realize we have to take pretty intense computer classes to get our library degree. Many of us know database design, HTML, C++, and other coding!” —laureno404824e16
11. That you have to be of a certain age.
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“I’ve heard this one a number of times: ‘But you’re so young!’ (I’m an anomaly. Most librarians are hatched in their sixties and only get older from there.)” —katrinalewine
12. That you’re a bunch of prudes.
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“The biggest misconception that I faced, is that all librarians are prudes. I love sex! Just not when I have to witness it/break it up/clean up after it. I worked in a library for about nine years and during those times, I used to catch people having sex and watching porn on the computer ALL. THE. TIME. Don’t even get me started on all of the USED condoms I would find hiding in between the books. *shudders*” —deejuju
13. That you’re an introverted loner.
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“[People think] that you would want to be a librarian because you want to sit alone and read; librarians have to always be on and interacting with everyone from whiny kids, to tired dads and moms, to homeless people looking to keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer, to technophobic elderly people. Not everyone is good at it, just like with any profession, but those who go in thinking they get to sit behind a desk and read all day are few and far between!” —sarahc130
14. That libraries are basically an endangered species.
“[Libraries] aren’t dying — they’re changing.” —Sara Frye, Facebook
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