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Winter 2004
Volume I, Issue 1
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| Off the shelf: A.B Credaro, The Warrior Librarian |
 Fans of the Warrior Librarian Web site will be pleased to know that you no longer have to print out each screen: a sense of humor is truly a sense of perspective and it’s nice to have a large helping on a permanent buffet. K-12 MediaShelf editor Ellen Myrick interviews the Aussie librarian in this month’s episode. En garde!
Ellen Myrick: How did the Warrior Librarian idea/Web site start? What was the impetus?
A.B. Credaro: I’m often asked how the Warrior Librarian Weekly (WLW) Web site was conceived, and much as I’d like to enthrall people with tales of epiphanies or inspirational insights, it actually had a much less auspicious beginning. It actually started as an additional backup for the papers I was writing for my master’s degree. Wonderful tool that technology may be, I had a hard drive failure days before one of my major assignments was due, and was shattered to find that the floppy disk on which I had been backing up to had also died. I had to re-write 5,000 words in 48 hours from notes scribbled on the backs of 5x8 catalog cards. That was a powerful incentive to grab some free disk space and ftp all future works for backup--at least until after they were marked.
I rarely revisit those papers now, but I’m often surprised to read that they have been referenced in various journal articles. But the first humor page I published on what would later become WLW was a collection of re-captioned photographs. I was researching the history of Australian school libraries, and was looking for a suitable graphic to put on the cover of my research assignment. Deep in the digital vaults of a government picture archive I came across a series of construction and demolition pictures – none of which were suitable for my purpose, but the library-related captions for the “Virtual School Library Tour” spoke clearly of administrative neglect and the need for increased funding.
The Library Tour page was constructed using very basic html, and I posted the existence of the page to my national school library list, oztl_net. A few people from that list re-posted my original information to a few other lists, and within 24 hours, it had “gone global”. One of the aspects that continues to astound me was the fact that the issues facing school libraries in Australia were not restricted to the K-12 education sector, nor this part of Planet Earth. Public, special, academic, corporate and many other libraries were similarly ‘challenged’. Everywhere.
But Warrior Librarianship did not evolve in any parallel way. The date can be very clearly fixed at April 20, 1999. That was the year that I commenced my master’s degree in librarianship. I had a year’s leave from ‘work’ (which is an ironic term, as I was putting in 18 hour days writing papers and attempting to come to grips with AACR2) to complete this degree, and woke up on the morning of my birthday to hear the news of the Columbine High School tragedy. Whilst having a great collection in tip-top order plus students that were information-literate through a terrific instructional program are self-evident goals, the sanctuary role that the library plays in a school culture is perhaps the most undervalued, understudied and most misunderstood aspect of a school library. The loss of so many young lives in any circumstances is a tragedy, but the fact that it occurred at a school seemed to intensify the calamity. But to have occurred in a library--that depository of the collective wisdom of our species, the place that was supposed to be reserved for quiet contemplation and studious scholarship--caused me to deeply reflect on many of those features of librarianship that had previously seemed unrelated and of little consequence.
Patron behavior had only been examined from the perspective of the search process; library administration appeared to be a prime example of nominative determinism; for those working in libraries, funding was very much a ‘cargo cult’ occurrence. At that time, I began wondering why there weren’t packs of rabid librarians frothing at the mouth, demanding not only a fair wage, but also an improvement in support, funding, and widespread acknowledgment of the importance of their work. The trouble with most librarians is that they are just too nice!
EM: Obviously, your weapon of choice as a librarian is humor. What do you feel are the biggest challenges facing librarians today and how can humor help in combating those?
ABC: Librarians face multiple challenges, but they can be divided into two main areas. The first are those relating to their professional lives, such as having to provide more resources with less funding; and secondly those relating to the affective domain--their personal satisfaction, their own perception of themselves and the conflict with the imposed stereotype. But the common factor is the frustration resulting from finding ourselves in a position where we have very little means of redressing many of these challenges. A few notable individuals have very publicly initiated a ‘stand’ against stereotyping; small groups of lobbyists are working behind the scenes in the matters of funding and support. But for the majority, we are still facing public perceptions that we are volunteers who potter around with books. Wouldn’t that make anyone want to stand up and scream?
The medical profession has long known the therapeutic applications of humor. Well beyond the movie Patch Adams where Robin Williams clowns around with sick children, doctors and nurses have been using humor in cancer wards and with the terminally ill. In fact, many people may be surprised to hear of the numerous professional associations and conferences devoted to the serious study of humor as a tool. For those beyond the world of librarians, it may be difficult to find anything funny about vandalized books or the ever-increasing costs of resources with a correlating shrinkage in budgets. Not to mention the specific challenges brought about by the provision of technology to the general public. And occasionally ourselves.
There are those times when we have two choices--we can laugh or scream. Medical science tells us that laughing is healthy. ‘Mirthful tears’ actually have a different chemical composition to those from sadness or peeling onions. Numerous other biological changes take place when we laugh, all of which are beneficial.
I think one of the reasons why WLW has become so popular is that it speaks to us in our own jargon. Although we all appreciate a witty pun or a clever joke, changing the context to our own profession really does require insider knowledge.
EM: Warrior librarianship is for librarians of all kinds: what do you feel are the overarching characteristics of librarianship that becomes the common denominator for humor?
ABC: Librarians have very few shared characteristics, beyond those relating to their professional lives. Humor is very much a personal thing, and I never forget that the ‘profession’ is made up of individuals. The ‘hit counter’ and guest book at WLW indicate that different individuals appreciate different types of humor. I once had a very irate e-mail from a librarian who objected to my satire of library patrons. In contrast, the technology hamsters show that the patron pages are very popular.
I think rather than the characteristics of librarians being common, it’s the characteristics of library services that are shared. While we are all busily trying to keep our shelves in order to increase ease of access to book stock, it sometimes seems that the whole world is conspiring to mess up the order. Regardless of the type of library in which we work, we all share the common struggle to develop collections that meet the needs of our users. We drool over catalogs and reviews, wondering if we can justify the expenditure from budget allocations that Jenny Craig would envy.
School librarians often despair that someone who doesn’t have even the most basic of library qualifications controls their library’s management. The school’s principal determines staffing levels and financial support. And often doesn’t even visit the library except for non-library related activities such as parent-teacher night or inter-school debating competitions. The situation may be very similar for corporate and special libraries. In the public sector, although the local administration is through a qualified and experienced librarian, they too are at the mercy of boards and politicians. Although my knowledge of American politics is very limited, it seems ironic (to me) to give presidents their own library. That’s like continually replacing a kid’s pet after they have neglected to death a succession of unfortunate animals.
EM: What would be your perfect library job? Why?
ABC: My idea of a perfect library job is probably far from the dream of others. For a start, I’d want one where I got paid at least twice the salary of my boss--money talks, and pay levels are often the greatest determinant of authority. Who pays any attention to the ideas of those on minimum wages? In stark contrast, the incompetence of those high in the organizational chart is frequently camouflaged by their level of remuneration.
For my library budget, I’d want an allocation that meets the needs of the library. Every time I prepare a budget submission, I methodically list the types of resources, quantities, estimate costs based on list prices, provide both a line item and a program budget, neatly processed and as professionally bound as possible - within the limitations of the equipment available. But each year, I know I’m going to get what I got last year, if I’m lucky.
Staffing is an important issue for me. The ultimate library appointment would be one where there was time for reflection. Rather than lurch from one crisis to the next, day in and day out, it would be idyllic to have sufficient staff to have the opportunity to take some time-out during the workday. Not just for myself, but for anyone working in that library. Sometimes five minutes in the powder room just isn’t long enough.
Despite my parody of patron behaviors, I enjoy my contact with those who may be a little off-center. In my ideal library, I’d have time to spend with those library users whose agendas are not related to literature or information. I’d have the staff to attend to the continuance of library operation, and a budget to cater for those whose interests fall outside the library’s articulated policies.
Utopian ideal, or the dream of a fool? I know that such a position doesn’t exist, nor ever will. But Victor Hugo once said “there is nothing like a dream to create the future”.
EM: The illustrations are wonderful both on the Web site and in the book. Tell me the background of your partnership with Peter Lewis and how the various characters are developed.
ABC: The original graphics on the Web site were mainly those from copyright-free archives. When the book was accepted for publication by Libraries Unlimited, the need for original graphics became paramount. I started my search for an illustrator with a posting to oztl_net -- there is no greater benefit from the Internet than the creation of professional listservs? I received a few suggestions, and e-mailed some professional cartoonists. My offer of payment was half of any royalties that might result from the sales of the book, but with no guarantees. I asked those who were still interested to send me one sample drawing of their concept of Biblia, after looking at the Web site.
At this stage, I didn’t know that Peter was the editorial cartoonist for the Newcastle (Australia) Herald. He sent me his sketch for Biblia, together with the URL for his Web site. I was as impressed with his work as he apparently was with mine. From there, we became a sort of mutual admiration society!
Peter’s original concept for Biblia drew heavily (no pun intended) from the graphic that I’d been using on the Web site. That original graphic showed a Boadicia type standing over the body of a bound man. Peter’s first sketch was a Xena with a book. A short time later, Peter and I had our first face-to-face meeting. Then Peter amended his concept. Sigh. Biblia now bears a striking resemblance to the real-life me.
With the other characters in the book and on the Web site, Peter had complete artistic license. This wasn’t part of any formal agreement--I simply deferred to Peter’s professionalism. Interestingly, Peter and I don’t have any contracts with each other. We’ve met a few times since, usually in the company of our kids--which total six between us. The graphic on the dedication page was drawn after Peter had observed my husband trying to keep the kids under control whilst we discussed layout designs.
As the book progressed, I would e-mail Peter each page of text, and he would e-mail back the graphic for it. With over 300 illustrations, the management of the pictures was as great a task as writing the actual text.
I included some of the most popular of the web page articles, with revisions, updates and expansions. With technology being the irrational beast that it is, there is no way to guarantee continued access to the web pages. However, now that the Australian National Library is periodically archiving WLW, perhaps the pages won’t be lost forever in the event of some unforeseeable cataclysmic event.
Peter took himself off to his local library and did his own ‘research’. It’s so fortunate that librarians are such tolerant people, because in their midst was some crazy guy sketching away. He also came up with original material, which was an interesting experience for me writing text to match his illustrations. But in retrospect, this was pretty much what I had done when I did the first humor page, the Virtual Library Tour.
EM: What piece has received the biggest reaction? Why do you think that is?
ABC: Undoubtedly, the most popular page on the Web site is the OPAC errors. I’d hesitate to offer the opinion that the general population admires computer errors, but it seems something that the whole on-line world can relate to. The search queries on the Web site frequently include terms such as “winsim not responding” and “java.lang.NullPointerException”. Clearly this humor page is showing up on search engines as the place to look for that type of information. As if I had any idea! Sheesh!
After that page was launched, there was a lot of feedback from the librarian community, both directly and indirectly. American Libraries published (with permission) one of the graphics that I made for that page, and other parts of that page appear in online newsletters (without permission).
As the book is a fairly recent release, there hasn’t been a great deal of feedback yet. Those reviews that have been published generally don’t specify the reviewers’ preferences, but colleagues tell me that New Serials for Progressive Libraries and the Astrology Guide for Library Administrators are amongst their favorites. But it’s the sort of book that you can dip into at any time and at any point.
EM: What piece have you enjoyed the most and why?
ABC: I’ve enjoyed them all immensely. I guess that’s the benefit of writing for one’s own pleasure rather than as a profession. Sometimes I get an idea that just won’t go away, and eventually develops into something quite different to the original concept. A few times when I’ve agreed to write an article for a journal, I found that writing process quite different. Not exactly arduous, but certainly not delicious.
Although I enjoy writing in a formal style for journal publication, it’s not ‘fun’ in the same way as a WLW piece. When writing the book, Biblia’s Guide, the Hallmock Library Greetings was probably the most enjoyable, from the perspective that it pretty much seemed to write itself.
EM: What is the most important way to maintain a sense of humor in one's job at a library?
ABC: There are a few tips that might help librarians to keep their sense of humor, at those times when the need is greatest. Firstly, take everything seriously, except yourself. Sometimes we get so focused on the Big Picture, we forget that at pixel level we are the sum that is greater than the parts.
You know you’ll never have time to smell the flowers whilst on duty, but you have to make time to look at the humor inherent in a serious context.
Finding a ‘laughter buddy’ is quite important. For people in One-Person Libraries, there are plenty of discussion lists available online. Sometimes, it may seem that your colleagues at your worksite are a bunch of sad sacks -- but you might find that they are great people if you take the time to get to know them better. But sometimes they’re just sad sacks. You’ll never know until you make the effort.
Librarians, just like any one else, must never feel guilty about laughing. In a library, however, there may be times and places where is may not be viewed as appropriate (see sad sacks above).
One thing that librarians may find difficult is finding appropriate humor on which to focus. The self-evident place to look is on your library shelves. If you don’t have anything that you find amusing, then go buy some! Whatever your library budget, if you can’t buy at least one book that you find humorous, then things are indeed in a tragic state.
 EM: Do you have any plans for other books or humor Web sites?
ABC: At the moment, I’m experimenting with the R.L.Stine method, where you think of the titles, then write the book later. So far, I have “Random Thoughts from a Sick Mind”, “Leave me alone: I’m trying to read”, and quite a few others. But I’ve been offered a Ph.D. scholarship, and if I take that up whilst doing full-time work, it will severely limit my writing time. Unless I can find a sympathetic supervisor that will allow me to write my dissertation in the style that people will want to read. Who would want to wade through 600 pages of academic research with charts, graphs, diagrams and not one joke? Apart from an academic, of course.
EM: What books or authors have had the greatest influence on your writing?
ABC: I’ve always admired the practicality of the late Erma Bombeck, and the refreshingly unique views of P.J. O’Rourke. Many decades ago, I discovered the joys of James Thurber, and am delighted that his books are still in print. A recent review of Biblia’s Guide compared it to Mad Magazine--although I have to admit reading them when I was a younger child, I don’t consciously draw on them for inspiration. But who knows where the Muse finds nourishment? Not me. I’m a librarian, not a psychoanalyst.
You’ll have to excuse me now – I need to go to the Powder Room and scream for five minutes.
Biblia’s Guide to Warrior Librarianship is available from Ingram Library Services.
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