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Our Favorite Librarians

By Joanna Robinson | Posted Under Miscellaneous | Comments (33)

halle-berry-shh-575.jpeg

Listen, my children, and you shall hear me whisper the following in your ear. IT’S LIBRARY LOVERS WEEK! Oops, I shouted. I can’t help it, I love libraries. I’m a stubborn book worm who refuses to convert to the e-book cult so you can imagine how my heart both pitters and patters when I walk in a library. I love the smell of mildew in the morning.

But a library is nothing without the bespectacled gents and tightly wound ladies who run the show. Actually, one of my favorite people in the world is a librarian and a looser girl you’ll never meet. (Dubious compliment!) My brother did ask her to demonstrate a proper “shush” once at a party and it made me quake in my stylish yet affordable boots. This post is dedicated to the unsung heroes of the book world, librarians. We’d sing your praise more often, but you’d likely shush us for trying.

Tim Robbins—“The Shawshank Redemption”
Areas of Expertise: Alexandre Dumas and French Pronunciation

Shirley Jones—“The Music Man”
Areas of Expertise: Honoré de Balzac and Choreography

Parker Posey—“Party Girl”
Areas of Expertise: Melvil Dewey and His System

Anthony Stewart Head—“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”
Areas of Expertise: Demonology and Watching

Katherine Hepburn—“Desk Set”
Areas of Expertise: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Trans-Atlantic English

Robert Downey Jr.—“Chances Are”
Area of Expertise: William Shakespeare and Fooling and Fiddling with The Folios

That Scary Ghost Lady—“Ghostbusters”
Area of Expertise: Tobin and Symmetrical Book Stacking

Joanna Robinson made sure to include Giles just to raise the ire of a notoriously curmudgeonly Pajiban librarian.









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Comments

The library? Of all the horrifying miserable things in the world.

Pawnee’s library department is the most diabolical ruthless bunch of bureaucrats I’ve ever seen. They’re like a biker gang. But instead of shotguns and crystal meth, they use political savvy… and shushing.

The library is the worst group of people ever assembled in history. They're mean, conniving, rude and extremely well read, which makes them very dangerous.

Punk ass, book jockeys!

Worst librarian ever....Tammy Swanson.

***RON & TAMMY PART 2, this Thursday!***

Posted by: Petrie at February 8, 2011 4:09 PM

I am an unapologetic Party Girl fanatic. I need to dig that tape out and watch it again.

Posted by: Todd at February 8, 2011 4:16 PM

What about Samantha Mathis as Nora DeNiro from Pump Up The Volume? She didn't have a degree in Library Science or anything, but she did work at the "libary", so she should count. She was kinda cute, maybe because she reminded me of a girl in high school who you could tell smoked a lot and had sex before everybody else.

Posted by: sars at February 8, 2011 4:17 PM

Yay for librarians.

I would say that, I am one.

And I am 23 with contact lenses no tweed but sometimes pearls (cheap fake ones in my hair).

Posted by: sevenstories at February 8, 2011 4:18 PM

Who is the mention of Giles gonna rile?

Posted by: Rykker at February 8, 2011 4:18 PM

Wha? No love for UHF's Conan the Librarian. I'm so deflated.

Posted by: Rob at February 8, 2011 4:18 PM

I was gonna give you this "Sherlock realizes he's dealing with a troll" picture I made.

Though you did present Giles in a favorable way...

Posted by: Jay at February 8, 2011 4:19 PM

And I like that that phrase says that I'm curmudgeonly Pajiban. I kinda like that.

Worst librarian ever....Tammy Swanson.

No. Jocasta Nu.

Posted by: Jay at February 8, 2011 4:20 PM

Watch out or the Library Police will be on your case

Posted by: Uncle JR at February 8, 2011 4:21 PM

I see that pornographic productions got snubbed, again.

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at February 8, 2011 4:22 PM

Goddamn Motherfucking Jocasta Nu. I didn't know how wrong she was back in 2002, but JEEZUS was she bad at her job.


(we do accept credit/debit cards and offer downloadable ebooks and audiobooks)

Posted by: Jay at February 8, 2011 4:22 PM

I'm in a library right now, definitely not procrastinating on Pajiba.
I wish Mr Giles was here. I'd let him shush me.

Posted by: squeeziee at February 8, 2011 4:26 PM

Happy Your Week, Jay.

Can you peer over the rim of your specs ever so alluringly for us?

Posted by: PaddyDog at February 8, 2011 4:32 PM

Also, "Desk Set" is a fabulous film. I love the Christmas scene when everybody in the station needs the names of the reindeer.

Posted by: PaddyDog at February 8, 2011 4:35 PM

He left the library to the city
But he left all the books to her
Chaucer...
Rabelais...
Ball-zac!

Posted by: Jerry at February 8, 2011 4:37 PM

But of course. Check JoRo's Facebook wall.

Posted by: Jay at February 8, 2011 4:40 PM

I love Desk Set so very much. I was trying to convince someone this weekend to watch it but I was nine sheets to the wind so I'm sure it came off like the Mexican Ave. bus scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvuWT5dgpAQ

Posted by: coveredinbees at February 8, 2011 4:40 PM

Posted by: Athena at February 8, 2011 4:41 PM

Yay, Veronica! Boo, Piz!

Posted by: coveredinbees at February 8, 2011 4:44 PM

Posted by: Petrie at February 8, 2011 4:09 PM

Hee hee hee hee hee.

And why *isn't* Jay's picture in this list?

Posted by: Anna von Beav at February 8, 2011 4:47 PM

Now, now, she was nice enough to mention me.

Posted by: Jay at February 8, 2011 4:48 PM

Jerry, you beat me to it!

...brazen overtures... with a gilt-edged guarantee! She had a golden glint in her eye and a silver voice with a counterfeit ring. Just melt her down and you'll reveal a lump of lead as cold as steel. Here. Where a woman's heart should be.

What a good librarian will do for her books.

Posted by: Anne (in Reno) at February 8, 2011 4:59 PM

Though not actually a librarian, I'd like to nominate Jan Smithers, who pretty much nailed the hot librarian look in WKRP in Cincinnati.

And Joanna, you should check with your library. It might offer e-pub books, as they do here in Toronto. Then all that'll be left is waiting for somebody to invent a'Ye Olde Booke Smelle' spray

Posted by: Groundloop at February 8, 2011 5:07 PM

Good call on The Music Man. I love that film. It has supremely memorable songs and little Ronny Howard is almost adorable.

I think we should all be relieved that Cary Grant gallantly turned the lead role down, so that Robert Preston could recreate his stage performance.

Posted by: Simon at February 8, 2011 6:09 PM

My high school had the dumbest fucking librarian ever. She was this old harpy who never knew where anything was (One time I saw her trying to show some poor kid how to use the card catalog. It was ugly.) and was horribly racist and would tell the Mexican kids that they couldn't have a book if it was the only one left "because you'll just steal it". Once I got in a fight with her about how to pronounce "Godot".

BUT. This post is about appreciating librarians, which I do all the more because I've dealt with a crappy one. It just made me love the good ones all the more. I loved the city librarians so much that I did all my volunteer hours with them.

As a final note: mmmmmm, Giles...

Posted by: (Not So) Blonde Savant at February 8, 2011 7:31 PM

Jay is my favorite librarian, hands down.

Close behind is Rachel Weisz's Evie O'Connell in The Mummy.

Posted by: Chickaboom at February 8, 2011 7:47 PM

EVIE!!!

Good call.

Posted by: Rykker at February 8, 2011 8:42 PM

Thanks!

Posted by: Chickaboom at February 8, 2011 9:07 PM

* soaks in the library love * Let this be my official promise that whenever that official permanent library position comes around, I will give all that love right back, Pajiba. But for now, this'll keep me and my permanent glasses (no tweed, no pearls, but lots of cardigans and sweaters here) going through library school.

Posted by: kiyo-chan at February 8, 2011 11:29 PM

Hey, I'M a librarian, Pajiba. Where's the love?

I needed this post. I just watched Sophie's Choice, wherein a librarian is so mean and unhelpful he actually makes Meryl Streep pass out. Worst. Reference. Interview. Ever.

Posted by: J. K. B. at February 9, 2011 2:06 AM

1. Yay, librarian love!
2. Should have known there were lots of other Pajiban librarians. We should totally start a Facebook group. (I wear contacts, work out 3-5 days a week, and believe myself to be reasonably stylish. I do love a nice cardigan, though.)
3. The number of people quoting The Music Man makes my heart swell with love.
4. What, no Noah Wyle?
5. DESK SET. THIS. My uncle (also a librarian) has a presentation he gives quite often, entitled "Everything I need to know about librarianship I learned from Bunny Watson." Sadly, I've never gotten to see it.

Posted by: Samantha at February 9, 2011 8:52 AM

Dewey Decimal rules!!!

Posted by: OldSchool60 at February 9, 2011 10:50 AM

...and I love the smell of old books.

Posted by: OldSchool60 at February 9, 2011 11:06 AM