RSSThis Interview is Early!
Oct 31
From Our Guest Bloggers Librarians, Libraries, Marilyn Johnson, new books, writing No Comments
Okay, so you might have learned in Library Journal recently that there’s a new book coming out in February 2010, and it’s about us. Yes, all about librarians. It’s called This Book Is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All, and in it author Marilyn Johnson explores just what we do today in our profession and why it still matters. (And, in full disclosure, her coverage of librarianship today includes both the Desk Set and my work; but I promise that there will be no navel-gazing here.)
Marilyn Johnson has gone to our conferences, interviewed us, raised a glass with us, and visited us virtually. And now she’s here at the Desk Set to answer five questions, plus a bonus round, about her forthcoming book.
Marilyn Johnson
1. Your last book, The Dead Beat, was about obituary writers. How did you get from that profession to librarianship?
I couldn’t have written The Dead Beat without the help of librarians. My local librarians not only helped me track down old newspapers that hadn’t yet been digitized, but they were instrumental in showing me how to save and organize my computer research. And there were NYPL librarians who gave me access to the back issues of newspapers from around the world. I remember watching one of my reference librarians zip around a computer database and thinking, Wow, what happened to the librarians? About the same time, I read a number of obits of prominent librarians and information experts that helped me appreciate how challenging a job they had and how creatively some of them were adapting to the digital age. It still amazes me that librarians preserve all this culture, provide access to all this technology, and also help everyone who walks through the door (or calls or IMs)– everyone from the writer who needs an obit of a 19th century pioneer, to the person who can’t figure out how to use a mouse.
2. Who is your ideal audience for your new book? And what do you hope that they take away from it?
I wrote this book for patrons, though I hope librarians will read and enjoy it. I particularly want people who loved the idea of libraries but haven’t stepped in one for years to see what amazing transformations are taking place, how savvy the librarians have become, and how indispensable librarians are in this culture.
3. In your research you attended library conferences and meetings and also talked to lots of us. How did you devise your game plan when it came to immersing yourself in the world of librarians?
I was drowning right away in information. Everybody knows a great librarian. Everybody is convinced that their particular librarian is the greatest. I still have files full of librarians I haven’t called yet. I went to conferences, shadowed librarians in public, academic, and research libraries, interviewed like mad, and plunged into as many social networks and virtual reality sites as I could manage. I loved using virtual reference services in the middle of the night. Librarians are everywhere these days — like in my laptop at 3 am!
4. Stereotypes always creep into talk of librarianship, it seems. Did you find that any stereotypical traits of librarians were dashed or reinforced for you, as a result of your work on this book?
I timed it. If I didn’t mention the stereotype, it took librarians, on the average, ten to fifteen minutes to mention it. The stereotypes are ridiculous, but I love the way librarians turn them on their heads, mock them, or vamp it up. One thing that surprised me was how truly funny so many librarians are. The Library Society of the World’s “cod of ethics.” I love that! And I’m a big fan of Desk Set and the flair and enthusiasm they bring to library work — and play!
5. You now have a unique insider’s/outsider’s perspective on our profession. How would you advise someone considering entering the profession?
The librarians who seem to be happiest have staked out some personal turf on the web and in life. They have an interest and use all their skills to learn everything they can; and then they hang up their shingle and serve anybody who wants to know something about that subject. I just heard about the fantasy football librarian, who knows everything about football and the fantasy leagues; she’s out there, giving advice to the zillions of people who play this so-called sport. There are two librarians who teamed up with a professor and set up an online “death reference desk.” They will answer anyone’s questions about death, dying, and funeral practices. I’ve consulted them several times. Having a specialty gives you an identity.
Okay, here’s your bonus question: If you were to become a librarian, what kind would you want to be and why?
I’d love to be one of those great librarians who turns children on to books, then throws Wii parties in the stacks. One of the librarian obituaries that moved me and made me want to learn more about this profession was for Agnes Swift, a community librarian who taught the children in her Maine town how to sail and at 50th reunions, still remembered what books they’d loved. Imagine that! Remember that great librarian who played Wii tennis with us then gave us Strokes of Genius to read? She was so cool….
My thanks to Marilyn for this little peek at what’s to come in February 2010. If you’d like to read an excerpt from This Book Is Overdue, you’ll find the first chapter here. And, my thanks to the Desk Set for inviting me to contribute here this month. It’s been grand! See you around—and happy Halloween, all!
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