The Avant-Garde Librarian

"Stupid questions are exhausting!"

katyapereyaslavska — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:34:27 -0500

“Stupid questions are exhausting!”

- http://vampirelibrarian.blogspot.com/2009/03/stupid-questions-are-exhausting.html

"Ummn do you have a book on Romans in the USA?"

katyapereyaslavska — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:31:29 -0500

““Ummn do you have a book on Romans in the USA?””

- http://librarianintheraw.blogspot.com/2007/05/stupid-reference-questions.html

"Why don’t you have any books by Ibid? He’s written a lot of important stuff."

katyapereyaslavska — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:28:00 -0500

““Why don’t you have any books by Ibid? He’s written a lot of important stuff.””

- http://www.tiac.net/~cri/1999/librefq.html

Bizarre Library Buildings

katyapereyaslavska — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:22:33 -0500

Bizarre Library Buildings

"We have become information narcissists, so uninterested in anything outside ourselves and our..."

katyapereyaslavska — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:32:50 -0400

“

We have become information narcissists, so uninterested in anything outside ourselves and our friendship circles or in any tidbit we cannot share with those friends that if a Marx or a Nietzsche were suddenly to appear, blasting his ideas, no one would pay the slightest attention, certainly not the general media, which have learned to service our narcissism.

What the future portends is more and more information - Everests of it. There won’t be anything we won’t know. But there will be no one thinking about it.

Think about that.

”

- “The Elusive Big Idea,” by Neal Gabler

New York Times (August 14, 2011), p.7

Library Art: Jay Walker’s Library

katyapereyaslavska — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:24:49 -0400

Library Art: Jay Walker’s Library

North Natomas Public Library Art Controversy, Again…

katyapereyaslavska — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:22:28 -0400

North Natomas Public Library Art Controversy, Again…

“Isthmus,” a sculpture commissioned in celebration...

katyapereyaslavska — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:20:00 -0400

“Isthmus,” a sculpture commissioned in celebration of the 10th anniversary of theIndiana University–Purdue University Library Building, will be on display in the library atrium through summer 2004. The sculpture by IUPUI student James Darr was chosen from among the entries in the Second Annual Student Art Contest.

Seattle Public Library Art Installation “Tony...

katyapereyaslavska — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:17:50 -0400

Seattle Public Library Art Installation

“Tony Oursler’s artwork is a series of three video sculptures. The installation is a contemplation on the transmission of information. The artwork is designed to reflect the tradition of the public library and its expanding role as the transmitter of myriad information forms: spoken, printed, recorded, and digital. The installation will be located within the walls of the escalator connecting levels 3 and 5. Three video sculptures will be revealed through holes in the walls. Inside the walls, a tableaux of faces and their features will be projected among the wiring, studs and pipes and onto white forms, which act as 3-D screens.” S.P.L. website

A photo of the fountain/art piece in the center of the Nokomis...

katyapereyaslavska — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:15:29 -0400

A photo of the fountain/art piece in the center of the Nokomis Community Library in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

CATHARINE CLARK - WHITE WALLS - SHOOTING GALLERYSILVERMAN - ...

katyapereyaslavska — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:13:51 -0400

CATHARINE CLARK - WHITE WALLS - SHOOTING GALLERY
SILVERMAN - PUBLIC BARBER SALON
YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS

National Archives, UK

katyapereyaslavska — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:12:15 -0400

National Archives, UK

A New Age of Library Superheroes?

katyapereyaslavska — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:06:00 -0400

Being a social media freak, I finally realized that my Blog and my Twitter name just did not match…like at all. ‘Katusha1” had nothing to do with the “Socialite Librarian”? This discovery unnerved me deeply! As an avid follower of the BitchyLibrarian and others, I have noted that these divine creatures (who are mostly ladies) are pretty consistent about their identity, creating almost a superhero-like strong image and a very consistent voice. What a wonderful idea!

Desperate to join their ranks I started testing out different ideas for new names…Sassy Librarian, Sparkly Librarian, Social Librarian etc…Shockingly, most of my 1st choice ideas were already taken! What I found is an amazing plethora of really awesome “superhero” librarians out there who, having adopted really cool names, share their wisdom and personalities via Twitter, Blogging and other social media. Posts, of course, also reflect this personality and most engagingly so!

FuckItLibrarian: “This is ridiculous. Just. Fucking. Ridiculous. I’m so mad right now at the inconsiderate nature of this whole mess.”

BrassyLibrarian: Goofy smirk aside. Here is my morning date outfit. With turquoise shoes and jewelry. http://twitpic.com/64e3np

SmokeLibrarian: “Love is so short, forgetting is so long”

Citybrarian: B/c everyone loves a soggy paperback? No thx. “@shawnmicallef: You can’t bring an ebook to the beach. The case for old school books.

LibWardrobe Librarian Wardrobe: My wardrobe work horse: the black high-waisted A-line skirt. MLIS student, UT Austin http://tumblr.com/x554172pl8

Weelibrarian: it seems uber quiet on my social networks today - it’s kinda weird

Having spent countless hours perusing through my “mentors” tweets and blogs, I made the decision to build my own identity! But what? Googling for random terms, I wanted something catchy and something of a statement. “Insane Librarian” sounded like a good bet, however, 24 hrs later, I realized that as a fresh graduate seeking employment…not everyone would really “get” the joke :( Also, one friend very cautiously pointed out that its possibly not a good way to market oneself? (darn!)

Monster Librarian rocks!

katyapereyaslavska — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:04:30 -0400

Monster Librarian rocks!

Swear like a librarian!

katyapereyaslavska — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 19:49:34 -0400

Swear like a librarian!

10 Things to do to dispel librarian stereotypes

katyapereyaslavska — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:21:06 -0400

1. Kill the cats. You know you are a crazy cat lady and its not helping us deal with our public image.

2. Invest in proper ankle support slippers because girl, we are putting stilettos on those beautiful feet! Get a pair of crutches and learn how to walk in them.

3. Go wild and get a tat…as long as it does not say something lame like “literacy” or “information” you will be fine!

4. Do something with that matted hair, it will give you nothing but hairballs. Brushing is a start but investing in a proper and maybe a little bit more edgy haircut is a must!

5. Glad you got a cushy 10-4 job? Take advantage. For god’s sake, go out and party a little, it won’t kill you. But if it does, maybe you should have retired a long time ago. Think about that.

6. Conferences are not just about free food! Make your presentations a little more sassy and try to at least seem like you are enjoying them. Enthusiasm is everything and if you have issues demonstrating it about your own work, others will care even less. Take acting classes if you need to fake it!

7. Try to socialize with people at work. You might actually enjoy it!

8. Stop obsessively talking about librarianship and its many issues with your friends - they hate it!

9. Embrace technology! If turning a computer on makes you nervous this is your cue to retire.

10. Less talk and more action. Stop repeating key words like “diversifying” or “innovating.” Go out there and do it!

MANIFESTO OF AVANT-GARDE LIBRARIANSHIP

katyapereyaslavska — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 15:54:42 -0400

Shake in your shoes bureaucrats! The time has come for a
realization of the theory-death of the librarian, embodied in
the revolutionary struggle for liberation from this odious
society.

2.
The weapons of contestation at our disposal have so far been
exposed as inadequate. We must forge new tools from extreme
sources.

3.
The revolutionary theory developed by the various
avante-garde tendencies of this century has had no influence
within our miserable milieu. We must resuscitate ourselves
before we die of boredom.

4.
The poverty of library theory is everywhere apparent. Are we
to be just another branch of the bureaucratic management of
coffee-table knowledge? Are we the soft police of social
consciousness?

5.
As usual it has been left to those outside our so called
“profession” to open our eyes. Our rationales are
fragmenting on the road to ruin. What should we do?
Celebrate!

6.
The librarian is the narrator of a story that has lost its
authority, the complacent host of a canon now exploded.

7.
The classifications we invented now reinvent us daily, we are
losing control as control leads us, inevitably, to more
control. Our rules have been turned upon us and we have been
sentenced to an eternity of silence.

8.
Paradigmatic shifts in the fields of knowledge and
information have left us with little to call our own. We are
seduced and abandoned in a sea of data with no shore.

9.
The media image of the librarian is a travesty. The real
situation is ten times worse. We must exorcise those who
wish to see more of the shame as we leave the 20th century.

10.
We must recruit those who have no investment in things as
they are, the future will be for those who will create change
without loving it; those who perceive the joy of creation
behind every destruction.

11.
In the field of the cultural we live in a lie of autonomy.
Publishing is an area as sullied as any other in a world
dictated by the commodity and exchange-value. The file of
information is a commodity like anything else, a can of beans
on the supermaket/library shelf. The library is now a
shopping mall full of boring, aimless academics.

12.
We must determine new relationships for ourselves in order to
give the greatest gift of all, the gift of liberation from the
past for a new situation really worth living.

-Movement for an Avant-garde Librarianship, London, 23/1/93

(Published in _Progressive Librarian_ No. 8, Fall, 1993)

"The only difference between me and a madman is that I’m not mad"

katyapereyaslavska — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 15:50:41 -0400

“The only difference between me and a madman is that I’m not mad”

- Salvador Dali (1904-1989)