Popcorn and a Movie

First off, I loved the interviews with real librarians and the challenges they face in real life and the mix of clips from various movies. It was cool to see everything flow in and out of the other while weaving this wonderful story of the history of librarianship throughout media and our culture.

One of my favorite things about this documentary was watching the librarians’ smiles while they talked about their profession. It made me tear up a bit because I am so excited to join the ranks of librarians and become a part of this world. I have been searching for a profession that would be the perfect blend of all my interests and strengths: writing, researching, love of books, social justice, and human behavior. The more I get into the semester and group discussions, the more I know that this career is exactly what I am made to do. I’ve always been a fierce advocate for all the resources the library supplies. The first thing I did when I moved to my own place was to go to the library and get myself a card. I feel like my library is a place that makes me feel like home. I want to continue to be a person that can continue to use word of mouth advertising to show the continual benefits that a community receives by supporting their library.

The major thing that bothered me was the depiction of women librarians. I know that librarians are mostly women but why do they have to be shown as tight-lipped, old and stuffy people. I am far from fitting that stereotype, as I am quirky, hilarious, and love to share my passion with others. What more is the media in general portrays librarians in the worst way with the notion of the “sexy librarian” fantasy; like librarians are only attractive if they loosen up and take off their glasses. How about we stop portraying women as creatures that are only beautiful for their outer appearance and start seeing their minds as their most attractive feature. Part of what I want to do as a librarian is to focus programs toward young teen girls to help promote positive self-worth and self-esteem. I think that the emerging media and technology culture has put even more pressure on young girls to be this unattainable idea of a woman. I want to create a space in the library that helps cultivate a safe environment where they can grow their skills and hobbies so they are more to the world than just a pretty face.  

The thing that really struck a chord with me was that people think being a librarian is an easy job. I think it’s one of the most courageous lines of work you can go into. I mean, it’s essentially the fight to constantly make sure that knowledge is accessible to the general public and that there are resources to meet every need. The struggle to constantly prove that the library is worth funding is astounding to me. The fact that even in this day and age where we put so much emphasis on education, there’s still the need to talk up libraries as an asset. I hope to be the beginning of the revolution to put libraries on the map of being a central hub to every community without the need to constantly defend their importance.