Librarians Aren’t Just Old Ladies With Glasses and Cardigans Anymore: A Rant

I’ve seen the notion, with some variation on the wording, that ‘librarians aren’t just old ladies with glasses and cardigans who shush you anymore’ floating around the library world for a few years now. I get the mostly good intention behind it, but boy does it ruffle my feathers.

And I want to ask that all librarians, library workers, and library publications to please stop saying it. Because it both reeks of misogyny and also covers up the real diversity issues in librarian land.

What you’re trying to say

Libraries aren’t what you remember them. They are not what you assume. They are not the cliches you see in television shows as jokes. They have evolved as an institution.

Also, you are unlikely to be shushed in a library anymore. The level of volume we accept is louder. Sometimes we even have musicians in the library for summer reading celebrations blasting off some tunes, so yeah.

Libraries are community spaces. They are technology centers. They are places meant for learning. They are not meant as just the sacred storage of books.

These are all valid things to say and what I know what most people mean to say when they use the “old ladies” comment. Why, then, cannot just say this instead?

What you’re doing

Throwing women under the bus. I know that’s not what you’re trying to do, but can’t you see the flavors of misogyny in that “old ladies” statement, especially the type of sexism that tends to hate older women and pressures all women into buying all the cosmetics to prevent ourselves from aging? Doesn’t it also sound like certain pundits who blame teachers (another female-dominated field) for being the problem with the youth these days?

Look, I am a lady librarian who wears glasses and occasionally cardigans. While I’m young now, one day — hopefully — I will grow to be old. I will no longer the young, hip librarian with teal hair but — gasp — an old lady instead. Will I have instantly become the problem with libraries once I’ve aged?

I’ve worked with so many old and older lady librarians and library associates who were passionate and caring in their job, going out of their way to help people or to organize Escape Rooms and International Festivals. I would be proud to work with those “old ladies” every day of my life and aspire to achieve some of their drive and creativity in my career.

Yes, as the field that has historically been female-dominated, if you look back on the history of libraries there would have been a lot of women who were the problems with libraries. That didn’t want to change. That were the shush-ers. But there were also women who were the library innovators. Women like Anne Carroll Moore who developed children’s library services or Margaret A. Edwards who developed teen services, fundamentally changing the idea of who the library was for. And that’s just an example of two.

What you’re ignoring

Two major things.

One, that librarianship as a female-dominated profession is infected with all the downsides (for females) of being a female-dominated profession. Men fill management roles at a much higher percentage than their representation in the field. That the career itself is devalued in society (and thus paid less). That equally qualified women have male counterparts promoted faster than them, something I’ve experienced personally.

There is nothing like watching a male coworker who was hired the same day as me, both well-liked by our supervisors, with the only difference between us that I — yes, me — had a Bachelor's degree and he didn’t, get promoted when I didn’t even get called in for an interview. (Not to be degree smug. But this is a perpetuation of women needing higher degrees than men to earn the same amount of money.)

So, maybe, men — particularly white men — hold your horses before being so proud that libraries aren’t just old ladies anymore and whatnot.

Two, that the real diversity issue in libraries and librarianship is racial. Librarianship is a predominately white career. Pretty sure I don’t need a long and elaborate argument here why this is… less than ideal. Librarians shouldn’t be so quick to pat themselves on the back for the changing face of libraries while this huge diversity gap still exists.

In conclusion…

It’s time to retire the whole “librarians aren’t just old ladies in glasses” nonsense and all its variations. It paints a target on the wrong people and hides the real problems.

While it may not be as snappy, next time just say what you mean to say: “Libraries are different than you remember.”