Bookworms, Indeed

On August 9th, Jason Smalley mused in a blog posting for American Libraries on the importance (or lack thereof) of the name of the job. In "A Bookworm by Any Other Name," he points out that it isn't always so easy to answer the seemingly-innocuous question, "So, what do you do?"  As another librarian who doesn't work at a library, and as a librarian whose job title doesn't include "the L-word", Jason has some really interesting thoughts on the matter.

When I stopped to think about it, some of what he said rings true for me as well - I almost never get away with saying simply "I'm a librarian," because I always then have to go into what kind of librarian I am, and no, I don't work at the public library, and yes, there are librarians who don't work at public librarians, and yes, there are librarians who spend their entire day working on computers, and....

I must say, however, that I disagree with Jason's statement that he's not a librarian, because he doesn't park his car at a library and "there aren’t thousands of me doing the same job that I do." I think this is just another case where we can stand up and say loudly, "Yes, I am a librarian!"  Yes, many of us do things you don't expect, and there are a whole lot of us who work in places that aren't labeled "library", and there may only be a few who do what we do individually (there certainly aren't a lot of folks doing the same job that I do!).

I hope Jason is able to reconsider his statement of belief. What about you? Do you believe you're a librarian, even if you don't work in a traditional library, or don't have a job title that states such?

Random Librarian Humor

* There is nothing we can't do, including hypnotizing lobsters.

* Bulgari's fall eyewear collection is "fit for a librarian with its tortoiseshell rims and blocky design." Sigh. At least they're "luxurious and stylish" this time around.

* "85 Reasons to be Thankful for Librarians."  Check #15.

* Visit "Three Turtles and their Pet Librarian" on those days when you really can't figure out what to read next. The turtles will tell you.

* Once again it's time to Pimp Your Bookcart!

* Last but not least, I can't believe I didn't post these here! Of course by now you've probably seen them (or at least heard of them), but hey, I can't not put 'em up here. Here are Old Spice and New Spice... now look at them. Now back at me. Now back to them. You're on a cart!