I stumbled today upon a delicious article in the Guardian about librarians who buck the twinset-and-specs stereotype, or who subvert it. One of my favourites is the YA librarian with the Dewey Decimal code for librarians – 020.23 – tattooed on her upper arm.
I’ve worked with librarians throughout my career and they are some of the most interesting people I’ve ever met. I’ve often thought it must be some sort of osmosis from being constantly in contact with books. But the mild-mannered, mousey stereotype is misleading. A friend of mine used to work at the National Library of Scotland when I lived in Edinburgh, and she told tales of outrageous Christmas parties. When they say it’s the quiet ones you have to watch, they’re not kidding.
I developed a huge silent crush on a National Library of Scotland librarian who didn’t even know I existed as I swotted day after day in preparation for my Finals back in 1991. He was beautiful, but what made him so irresistible was the pile of books he always seemed to be carrying – so confidently and purposefully – and the t-shirt he wore, emblazoned ‘So Many Books, So Little Time’.
Ain’t that the truth.