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November 04, 2007
This Business of Information Science
"Merchandising, merchandising, merchandising!", exclaims one of Mel Brooks' characters from the 1987 film, "Spaceballs". Library and Information Science has produced its own merchandising subculture ripe with quirky sayings, both encouraging and discouraging stereotypes and, of course, fantastic graphics. These days, to truly know one's library patrons and colleagues means to not only provide access and preservation, but also t-shirts, bookbags, and baseball caps, as well.
In my own closet, I have two shirts announcing loyalty to both Simmons and University of Tennessee's Schools of Information Science, as well as a t-shirt proclaiming, "She Blinded Me with Library Science", which features a mousy, but coy, bespectacled, book-laden librarian.
Cafepress, an on-line middleman, provides an generalized venue for all individual and capitalist adventures, which are born from such random catchphrases and ideas. Using its format, Library Avengers was founded by Erica Olsen to fund her own IS Master's Degree in 2001. Olsen writes "Librarians: more powerful than a Google search, friendlier than AskJeeves, and the best natural language processor on the market." For profit and propaganda, she has the cook's aprons, panel prints, and hooded sweatshirts to advertise her point.
Mild-mannered LIS schlock can produce controversy, as well as profit. To promote user patronage, Wyoming Libraries are using podcasts as well as clever bumper stickers, some of which feature the traditionally Mac truck limited image of "Mud Flap Girl". Accroutrements depiction of the sensible shoe-wearing, bun-bedecked librarian action figure, based on the real-life information professional Nancy Pearl, complete with Sshing action, has caused both highly defensive and good-natured humorous reactions.
Speaking of getting a few laughs, who would have suspected two "guybrarians" to have gleaned a daily on-line and print readership for their comic strip about the workings of a public library in the small fictional town of Mallville. 22,197 people receive "Unshelved" via e-mail subscription, RSS feed or LiveJournal every day. In addition, Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum produce not only original characters, but sell book collections, prints, and jackets.
To explore more creative products of the LIS world, pull out your credit card and click here:
Librarian Avengers Store: http://www.cafepress.com/librarian
Wyoming Public Library System: http://www.cafepress.com/wyominglibrary/3537232
Archie McPhee (for Librarian tattoos and more): http://www.mcphee.com/cgi-bin/mcphee/archie-search.cgi
Cafepress- with the search word "librarian". Themes include "Library Worship", "Baby's Got Book",
"This is My Librarian Costume", etc.:
http://www.cafepress.com/buy/librarian/-/cfpt2_/copt_/cfpt_/source_searchBox/x_0/y_0
Unshelved: http://www.unshelved.com/store.aspx
Christi Underdown
IS 560
3 November 2007
Posted by colldev at November 4, 2007 12:49 PM