Gary Mason Church Professional roles in the eye of the beholder: How librarians have been viewed over time
As with beauty and other concepts, librarians have been viewed in many subjective ways. On the other hand, some attempts have also been made to obtain more objective views of librarians. This paper provides a summary of these views, or images, that extend back to the early 18th century. It presents the many traits that comprise these images, the sources or origin of the images, the various groups that hold the images, and ends with a reason why current images are indefinite and “blurry”.
Gina R. Overcash An Unsuitable Job for a Librarian? Collection Development of Mystery and Detective Fiction in Academic Libraries
Mystery and detective fiction, once considered inappropriate for an academic library collection, has gained increasing respect in recent years. This paper traces the development of the genre, highlighting its parallels with the development of the novel form. It also examines the changing critical opinion of the genre, explores the increasing rejection of the categorization of these works, provides evidence of increasing scholarly acceptance, and discusses the role of librarians in the collection development of this type of fiction. As a center of learning on college and university campuses, the academic library must keep pace with the changing critical views of mystery and detective fiction. To ignore its movement into mainstream fiction would be to perform a disservice to its institution, its faculty and students, and to the genre itself.
V. Vesper The image of the librarian in murder mysteries in the twentieth century
This document, which discusses the image of librarians in 20th century murder mysteries, suggests that the image initially evolved from an elitist spirit that was the result of the missionary zeal and cultural superiority of early librarians, and that the image of the old maid librarian was probably based on the reality that early women college graduates were forced to choose between marriage or career. Examples of the stereotyping of librarians in various murder mysteries are provided, in addition to later works that indicate the movement away from the stereotype. Topics include the difference between the portrayal of male and female librarians, the growth of concern about the librarian image, salaries, the image of the library director, and the entrance of technology such as online catalogs and online searching.
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