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Librarian stereotypes tend to come in two, ahem, feminine packages: the old, mothball scented lady slapping her yardstick at the drop-off desk; and the bespectacled, pencil-skirted sexy young thing waiting for you in the ancient texts. For once, the question begging to be asked is: “Where are all the guy-brarians?”
Well, I don’t know about all, but twelve are in the aptly titled Men of the Stacks 2012 calendar. Seeing how public representations of librarians are, limited, to say the least, these brainy men decided they wanted to do something more than just plead the fifth when pressed about their occupations. And what better forum than a calendar to ensure that images of guy-brarians are seen for 365 days straight? That’s a whole year’s worth of “checking out”! Hey, get it? ‘Course not. I know you’re too busy with Mr. January up there.
The calendar’s website explains, “We know that the American library profession is approximately 80% White and 72% female; and we know that tens of thousands of librarians are expected to reach age 65 in the next 5 years. We also know that this is not us.” The rest of the guys range in background and specialties, from a donut-loving Digital Systems Manager to a yoga-certified classicist. Sexy guys who love books AND breaking stereotypes? Can it get better? Well, yes actually.
If you didn’t already have enough reasons to support the self-submitted portraits of these guy-brarians, the calendar is donating 100% of its proceeds to It Gets Better, the anti-bullying project created by Dan Savage last year in support of LGBT youth and teens. I’m predicting this project will inspire a slew of spin-offs and projects. Come on out of your dusty archives, male librarians of the world! We’ve got some more pages for you to turn.
