Stylish Librarians
Posted September 20, 2012 by cdelnero
A fellow student complimented my shoe choice last week. She noted that many of the GSLIS West students were stylish. I thought about it and realized that she was not only right about GSLIS West students, but librarians in general. The times, they are a-changin’ and so are libraries and the image of librarians.
Gone are the days of the “shush”ing librarian.
Gone also, is her pencil skirt and tightly pulled-back hair.
As libraries across the country morph into modern hubs for technology, learning and socializing, librarians are keeping up with hip wardrobes. Of course, within dress-code allowances. I decided to look into this further and found that there are actually entire blogs just about library fashion. One called, “Librarian Wardrobe,” comes with the tag line, “Not always buns and sensible shoes.” The blog features men and women who work in libraries and aren’t afraid to show a little flair now and then. Forget typical work-wear, these folks are wearing bright colors, fun accessories and anything from flats to five-inch heels.
I think librarians (even archivists and historians!) are pretty creative people. And so our wardrobes follow suit (heh…get it?). Even the gentlemen are spicing it up with bow-ties and blazers. We are always asking questions and finding new ways to get the answers. We push the envelope as far as making technology work for us and apparently our appearances are doing the same.
Maybe this seems trivial, but I can’t help wondering who was hip first: the library or the librarian?
Check out these library fashion blogs. You’ll see that not only are we breaking the mold of the stern and sensible librarian, we are also a diverse and creative bunch. Enjoy!
Librarian Wardrobe
http://librarianwardrobe.com
Office Style at NYPL by The Wall Street Journal
http://blogs.wsj.com/runway/2012/06/27/work-wear-office-style-at-the-new-york-public-library/
Librarian-inspired fashion on Pintrest
http://pinterest.com/schaumlib/glasses-cardigans-librarian-fashion/