Men of the Stacks 2012

A few years back I created a calendar featuring librarians dressed in leather perched on Harleys. It was an instant hit. The next year a clever group of Canadian librarians hid behinds bubbles, books and a few other objects to create a calendar that was a bit racier. This year Becky Jones, Sarah Kahn, Sarah Daigle Scott, Trevor Dawes, Megan Perez and some incredible men have given us a calendar that is sure to go down in library history. My favorite is Mr. August - Trevor, I didn't know you were such a cooking enthusiast! :-)

Calendar Dedication
Locke Jeffries Morrisey was the Head of Reference and Research Services at the University of San Francisco Library, and one of the driving forces behind the creation of this calendar. Although Locke is no longer with us physically to see the finished product, we know that he would be happy with the result. Anyone who knew Locke personally, or knew of him, would tell you that he had an incredibly generous spirit.





I can't say it better than the said it, so I'll let the men speak. Go to the site. Order a dozen and support the creativity, talent and cause behind this project ....

"We know what people think: Dewey, glasses, shushing, books, hairbuns, Party Girl and card catalogs. Yes, we know what people think. We know that the American, library profession is approximately 80% White and 72% female; and we know that tens of thousands of librarians are expected to reach age 65 in the next 5 years. We also know that this is not us.

There is an entire population of professional librarians out there who disagree with the way the library profession is perceived in contemporary media outlets and in the historical consciousness of the American mind. Different people and different associations will use different means to try to change those perceptions. This is ours.

The Men of the Stacks project was first conceived a couple of years ago after learning of the publication of another library-themed calendar. Our first reaction to that calendar? “Well, cool but…where are all the men?” There was another, earlier calendar that featured only male librarians, but we felt it didn’t quite capture the way we saw ourselves. In both cases, either the stereotype was reinforced or it didn’t go far enough in breaking free of it.

One of our models, Von, captured the spirit of this calendar beautifully:

“We can’t just leave it to others to tell the people who we are; that’s why the stereotypes about librarians continue to flourish. We have to be the ones to go out there and tell people who we are. It’s not enough to complain about inaccurate images of librarians; we must be able to present alternative, positive images in movies, books and, yes, blogs.” — Filipino Librarian

Now, he adds, calendars should be added to the list. So, who are we? What do we want to tell you about who we are? What are these alternative images? Easy. We are, or course, professionals. We are educators, programmers, project managers, entrepreneurs, program coordinators, contractors, consultants, and speakers. We are academics. We are authors, diversity officers, historians, administrators, deans, professors, and researchers. We are creatives. We are musicians, bakers, painters, and storytellers. We are athletes, yogis, gym-rats, runners, and hikers. We are passionate. We are dog-lovers, radicals, conservatives, Christians, and Buddhists. We are in our twenties. We are in our forties. We are in relationships. We are perpetual bachelors. We are privileged beings who try to use their advantages to better the lives of others.

Who are we? We are The Men of the Stacks."

** oh.. and here's a picture from the calendar I did back in 2003 featuring librarians in leather on Harleys. This is my old boss Elaine- she was always game for fun!