Wow! So I learned to knit a few months ago, and although it is taking me a long time to finish it, it’s coming along nicely. How stereotypical is that? I learn to knit right before entering Library School.

Funny how many stereotypes are attached to the librarian image. You know what I mean, the little old lady in a black sweater is sitting behind the desk. Her grey hair is pinned up in a tight bun, her thick glasses perch on the edge of her nose, and her nasal voice rings loudly across the library as she shushes a patron. Thankfully, like most stereotypes, this image is largely incorrect. I don’t know about my fellow Library classmates, but not only do I not fit this image in anyone’s mind (I like to wear bright colors, don’t have grey hair or glasses, and am a very bubbly person) but I have yet to meet this stereotypical librarian.

Even so, my friends all get this confused look on their faces when I say I am in a Master’s program for Library Science. “You need a Master’s for that? Really?!” is such a common response that I can usually anticipate and interject with, “not the Clerk who works at circulation, the person behind the Reference desk.” To which I usually get, “Oh…..” Although they may understand that I am not the little old lady who says, “SHHH!!!” They have trouble with the idea that a Librarian is not just someone who moderates the noise level in the Library, but an Information Professional.