Madam Librarian
So in my last post, I wondered why there are so many librarians in fandom, and suggested that I had some theories on why. Folks asked me to elaborate, so here are some random thoughts, in no particular order:
1. Librarians read. Okay, this is pretty much a statement of the obvious. More usefully, librarians are passionate consumers of media. Books, movies, television. Games admittedly less often, but I have known other gamer librarians, and games are gaining more traction in libraries all the time. Could that passion translate into a predilection for fannishness?
2. Librarians share content and information. This would seem to be a natural match for fandom, which is so much about sharing enthusiasm for content. Recommending books and films to people is a huge part of my job.
3. Librarians find each other. It's like belonging to a club, or a clan. Whenever I meet someone and discover that they're also a librarian, it's an instant bonding moment (just like in the comment thread that kicked this discussion off). So it may not actually be the case that there are more librarians in fandom; we just may be more likely to know that about each other.
Just some off-the-cuff suggestions. Any other ideas? Are there actually more librarians in fandom, or does it just seem that way?
This entry is also posted at http://owlmoose.dreamwidth.org/559331.html. There are currently
comments on DW.
1. Librarians read. Okay, this is pretty much a statement of the obvious. More usefully, librarians are passionate consumers of media. Books, movies, television. Games admittedly less often, but I have known other gamer librarians, and games are gaining more traction in libraries all the time. Could that passion translate into a predilection for fannishness?
2. Librarians share content and information. This would seem to be a natural match for fandom, which is so much about sharing enthusiasm for content. Recommending books and films to people is a huge part of my job.
3. Librarians find each other. It's like belonging to a club, or a clan. Whenever I meet someone and discover that they're also a librarian, it's an instant bonding moment (just like in the comment thread that kicked this discussion off). So it may not actually be the case that there are more librarians in fandom; we just may be more likely to know that about each other.
Just some off-the-cuff suggestions. Any other ideas? Are there actually more librarians in fandom, or does it just seem that way?
This entry is also posted at http://owlmoose.dreamwidth.org/559331.html. There are currently
comments on DW.