Today I was asked by a man what I thought of his pink dress. An odd thing you may think and indeed I did think. But this is mostly old news now. He is shy and self-conscious in need of acceptance. He comes in every so often mostly to connect with another human-being. He pretends to be interested in reading a book, but in actuality he just wants to talk. You can tell he's on the precipice of society and alienated for who he is. He's also mentally fragile and it wouldn't take much for him to lose it. You also have the destitute, the misfits, the mentally deranged, the troublemakers...and then you have the ordinary folk. The 'normal' ones, and we thank the heavens for the respite: "Sorry did you say you wanted information...?" the incredulity is palpable and you sometimes feel like shouting: 'WE HAVE A NORMAL PERSON!'
This is an example of some of the minefields we have to deal with. We are social workers, babysitters, counsellors, psychologists, encyclopedias, managers, researchers, geniuses, teachers, the establishment, stress balls, punch bags, geeks, book lovers, vomit cleaners, referees, first aiders... Just some random perceptions collected from members of the public and staff over the years. When you train for the job nobody tells you just how many roles you'll be playing being the librarian. There are days when it all seems to resemble a tragicomedy: Miss smelly bag lady has hogged the window-seat third from the left and fallen asleep. Other days you visibly bristle when affronted by a complete idiot waxing lyrical about his/her rights and your duty to the taxpayer. At this point you pray for divine intervention. Someone to stop you from enacting your hidden desire to kick the turnip out of the building by the scruff of the neck, making sure they feel every stair as they tumble down them.
On the other hand we have Wikipedia:
"Stereotypes of librarians in popular culture are frequently negative: librarians are portrayed as puritanical, punitive, unattractive, and introverted if female, or timid, unattractive, and effeminate if male. The librarian is in charge of a library just as a principal is in charge of a school or a pastor is in charge of a church."
Well I think on that note we should be put out of our misery. Shoot the "puritanical, punitive, unattractive and introverted" librarians and close their maloderous institutions. To hell with literacy and the community. Nobody reads these days anyway, do they? So why do we do it? Why put up with the nut jobs? Because at the end of the day libraries stand for something - a civilised society where everyone has the right to choose a book and not feel marginalised. Where information and access to resources is not exclusive. Where creed, colour, gender doesn't matter. We are all equal in a public library. Shame on those intent on closing them down! We may not be top of the agenda when it comes to being allocated funds but let's not forget the invaluable service we provide to all those aforementioned people who use it. Nobody else will have them but we have them and as god awful as they can be most of the time, we're a lifeline. They too read (sometimes) and as patrons have the same rights as everyone else. It's not about money, statistics or anything. It's really about people.
I wonder when Mr Pretty in Pink will be back to read all about Rillington Place....again.
