“Against the hair of your professions”: Fictional librarians and hair buns

Often librarians are portrayed as quiet, bookish people, who shush those who are noisy, and act in a stereotypical manner. However, librarians come in many types and kinds, either with an MLIS/MLS or not, and those stereotypes can be disrupted when a librarian changes professions as it changes audience expectations. Even so, librarians aren’t united on what the image of librarians should be changed into in order to counter the stereotypes. Through all of this, many librarians are portrayed with hair buns, part of the oft-stereotype. [2] Today, I’ll explore that, determining why this is the case, its significance in librarian portrayals, and what it means overall. As Swallow said in Act I of William Shakespeare’s classic comedy play, The Mary Wives of Windsor, “if you should fight, you go against the hair of your professions,” meaning that you are going against the grain.

Fictional librarians are often shown with so-called “traditional” outfits, looks, and hairstyles, including hair buns, which are symbolic in research around stereotypes themselves. This has even cropped up in webcomics. This is in part because styling one’s hair can be “highly politicized” and complicated, especially for people of color, who experience microaggressions when people want to “touch” their hair or question it entirely. Some have even argued that different hair styles can be empowering and resist stereotypes, even as a library can be a “very conservative” place to work, although this may not be as strict in university library environments. Hair can also be an opportunity to communicate change, while serving as an intricate part of the identity and responsibility of the profession itself, with different hair styles having the potential to dispel stereotypes. [3]

In Western animation, this is clear as librarians of color, like Clara Rhone in Welcome to the Wayne, and Mira in Mira, Royal Detective episode (“The Case of the Missing Library Book”) don’t wear hair buns. Neither does Ms. Herrera in a Archie’s Weird Mysteries episode (“The Haunting of Riverdale”). However, the unnamed librarian in a We Bare Bears episode (“The Library”) prominently wears a hair bun, and serves as the only librarian of color that I know of, in Western animation, that does so. This could be a function of her role in the library and set rules which may establish that she dresses to “impress” in a semi-formal outfit. So, it could be a consequence of that, as other librarians I’ve mentioned may work in environments which are more open with their rules around self-expression or care little about how people look.

When it comes to White female librarians in animation, it is a different story. Apart from Kaisa in Hilda, the unnamed librarian in a Steven Universe episode (“Buddy’s Book”), the librarian in the first Zevo-3 episode, Mrs. Higgins in a Sofia the First episode (“The Princess Test”), and Amity Blight in The Owl House, who briefly wears her hair in a pony trail, which became a sensation among fans of the series, to give a few examples, many of the other librarians wear hair buns. [4] This includes the librarian characters, who are effectively one-episode-wonders or only appear very briefly, in episodes of Futurama, DC Super Hero Girls, Rugrats, Kim Possible, Timon & Pumbaa, Dexter’s Laboratory, Totally Spies, Phineas & Ferb, and The Simpsons, to name a few shows.

Also, Francis Clara Censorsdoll in Moral Orel wears a hair bun. Even, the blue-glasses wearing librarian in The Flintstones episode “The Hit Songwriter” wears a hair bun. At times, it appears that librarians with hair buns are meant to symbolize social conservative and prudish people, like the librarian in an episode of Beavis and Butt-Head (“Cyber-Butt”), who faints when she sees a nude image on a computer screen. Although she doesn’t wear a hair bun, what she symbolizes is similar to how some librarians are portrayed in Western animation.

Others have declared that the perception of librarians with hair buns or lace collars should be discarded, as librarians are highly active and high tech now. While someone can easily agree with this, it is harder to push away the image of a spinster librarian with a hair bun, with some wearing buns and braids while working in the library. There is the further point that many librarians may not have enough hair to put into a bun in the first place. At one point, librarians adopted the hair bun style at one time, giving life to what became the stereotype and cliche. However, nowadays many younger librarians have different hair styles, and some might even have better eyesight than anyone else as they don’t need glasses! [5] Still, tropes like the”Prim and Proper Bun” remain, with those with this hairstyle said to be in charge or be respected. This is somewhat countered with the “Loony Librarian” trope, which is said to describe a librarian who’s let “their profession mess with their mind a little.”

Top row, from left to right: Violet Stanhope in Archie’s Weird Mysteries, Miss Dickens in Carl Squared, Sara in Too Loud, Sarah in Too Loud, and Mrs. Shusher in The Replacements. Bottom row, from left to right, Marion the librarian in Hanny Manny, Millie in Madagascar: A Little Wild, unnamed librarian in Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil, unnamed librarian in Martin Mystery, unnamed librarian in Martin Mystery, and unnamed librarian in Uncle Grandpa.

The stern librarian with hair tied tightly behind their head, peering at patrons from behind their glasses, still remains a go-to-stereotype for too many, even perpetrated by journalists who should know better. Some even try and make it sexy, serious, while others highlight other hairstyles or fashions instead. [6] The shushing librarian remains, despite the fact it doesn’t reflect reality, with uptight librarians fading from existence except in pop culture, where they remain a negative stereotype. They appear as early as a 1921 silent film, with hair buns becoming an “occupational indicator” of librarians over time, even as there is no single image of a librarian. [7] Instead, actual librarians are different, and have varying styles. Jennifer Snoek-Brown, who runs Reel Librarians, has recognized this with posts about librarian style, like a librarian-themed clothing collection she posted about in May 2022.

Of course, there are actual librarians out there, like the elderly White woman with grey hair in a bun shown at the beginning of Ghostbusters, and others who embody the stereotype or wear librarian costumes for Halloween. However, there are just as many who run afoul of that stereotype, either by not shushing any patrons. The stereotype itself has its roots in gender with the profession dominated by White woman, although it is not accurate in the slightest. [8] There is supposed “greying” of the profession which only reinforces the images of frumpy stereotypical librarians, an image with unknown origins. The latter image is something which has become a signifier of the profession, for better or worse, despite efforts to counter it. The fight to counter such images continues, with some showing they are more than a librarian, like those who also bellydance, and others who thrive on change and want to dispel of the bun entirely. [9]

There are various librarians in Western animations who don’t wear hair buns. Apart from Amity, who I mentioned earlier, there’s Violet Stanhope in an episode of Archie’s Weird Mysteries (“The Haunting of Riverdale”), Miss Dickens in Carl Squared episode (“Carl’s Techno-Jinx”), Sara and Sarah in Too Loud, Mrs. Shusher in The Replacements episode (“Quiet Riot”), Millie in Madagascar: A Little Wild episode (“Melman at the Movies”), and Marion the Librarian in Hanny Manny. There are additional unnamed librarians in Martin Mystery, Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil, Uncle Grandpa, Phineas and Ferb, and Amphibia, none of whom wear hair buns either.

But there is something more to the bun hairstyle. In some ways, it can be practical, despite being a stereotype for librarians, and is claimed to add “glam” or “chic” to any outfit, with no “right or wrong way to wear a bun” as one site declared. This can also be pushed away by people of color who want to move away from being called a “bun lady”. At the same time, apart from the types of buns, some of which are said to show that a person is “sophisticated.”

Ancient Chinese, Koreans, Polynesians, and Greeks, often women, all wore hair buns. The hair style was popular in Korea and Japan among men, for one reason or another. It became popular beginning in the 1800s, as styles from ancient Greeks and Romans entering into high society, and again in the 1870s, during the Victorian period. [10]

This isn’t the case for all librarians, however. The above librarian, Nagisa Yasaka (voiced by Hisako Tōjō), appears in one episode of My Roommate is a Cat, “Ones Who Can’t Be Controlled”, and is overjoyed when the protagonist gives her a book, thinking she’d be interested in it, after struggling to decide what to give her, not knowing her interests. She tells him that she is a school librarian. Unfortunately, we only see her in this one episode and never again, so it isn’t known whether she wears a hair bun while working in the library or not.

She is not alone in this. Hair buns are somewhat rare for the librarians I’ve seen in anime to-date, with even Fumio Murakumi in Girl Friend Beta having her hair braided into tails, but not tied up in a hair bun. The same is the case for Hasegawa Sumika in Bernard-jou Iwaku a.k.a. Miss Bernard said, while Himeko Agari in Komi Can’t Communicate has hair too short to put into a hair bun. Even the two librarians briefly shown in the first episode of Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai don’t have a hair bun, as one as her hair in a ponytail and the other doesn’t have her hair tied up. The unnamed and uncredited librarian shown in an episode of Kin-iro Mosaic aka Kinmoza (“The Girl on My Mind”) doesn’t have her hair in a hair bun either. Instead, its just in a pony tail

However, there are a couple librarians in anime who have a hair buns. Take for example, the unnamed librarian in an episode of Akebi’s Sailor Uniform episode (“There’s No School Tomorrow, Right?”). More prominently, there’s Rin Shima in Laid-Back Camp. Apart from her sleeping at the information desk, from time to time, as I described in a post back in January, she seems comfortable with a hair bun. It allows her to keep her hair tied up while she works, and doesn’t serve as a distraction. She might be the most prominent Japanese fictional librarian who wears a hair bun.

This difference in fictional librarians is one of the many aspects which sets apart librarians in anime from those in Western animation. If the photographs on Wikimedia and scattered images online are any indication, Japanese female librarians often don’t often wear hair buns. So, in this sense, the anime may be reflecting reality. The same may be the case for Western animation, to an extent, except that there has been a strong resistance to the “bun lady” perception in Western countries, especially by librarians of color, who don’t want to tie up their hair in buns. Hopefully, Western animation, in coming years, features more librarians without hair buns, and guts the stereotype entirely, even if it is too easy to rely on old cliches of librarians (often White) who are strict, curmudgeonly, and have hair buns.

© 2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

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Notes

[1] Top row, from left to right: unnamed librarian in Futurama, unnamed librarian in DC Super Hero Girls, Ms. Hatchet in Kim Possible, Rita Book in Timon & Pumbaa, unnamed librarian in Rugrats. Bottom row, from left to right: Mrs. L in Dexter’s Laboratory, unnamed librarian in Totally Spies!, unnamed librarian in We Bare Bears, Eztli in Victor and Valentino, Francis Clara Censordoll in Moral Orel, unnamed librarian in Big City Greens, Arlene in Phineas and Ferb, and Censordoll again.

[2] Matthew Wood. “10 Most Awesome Librarians in Pop Culture,” Comic Book Resources, Aug. 22, 2019; Stephen Walker, V. Lonnie Lawson. “The Librarian Stereotype and the Movies,” MC Journal: The Journal of Academic Media Librarianship, 1, no. 1 (1993): 16-28; Dana Vinke. “Unconventional Librarians,” Image of Libraries in Popular Culture, Fall 2001, accessed May 27, 2022; Sadie Trombetta. “11 Of The Coolest Librarians From Pop Culture,” Bustle, Mar. 2, 2015. For additional resources, see Ashanti White’s Not Your Ordinary Librarian: Debunking the Popular Perceptions of Librarians, Nicole Pagowsky’s The Librarian Stereotype: Deconstructing Perceptions and Presentations of Information Work, to mention two books. There are librarians like Lani in Diner Dash and Myrna Bookbottom in Freaky Flyers who both embody librarian stereotypes, but there are others that buck these stereotypes.

[3] Raymond Pun and Jesus Lau, “Hair and Hairstyles as Metaphors for Librarians,” IFLA WLIC 2018, pp. 1-5.

[4] Amity is beloved by fans since she is a somewhat prominent recurring character and she is a lesbian who is in a romantic relationship with the show’s protagonist, Luz Noceda.

[5] Christine Sharbrough, “What Does a Librarian Do All Day?,” BellaOnline, 2013; DarLynn Nemitz, “Male Librarians: Stereotypes and Role Models,” Image of Librarians in Popular Culture, Fall 2001; Amy P., “Librarian Who Hadn’t Updated Her Look In 8 Years Underwent An Extreme Head-To-Toe Makeover,” LittleThings, May 12, 2022; “So, what does a librarian do all day?,” Iowa State University University Library, Apr. 11, 2007; UNH Library, “The Top 10 Misconceptions about Libraries and Librarians,” The Charger Bulletin, Nov. 14, 2012; David Levy, “Reel Librarians: Images and Stereotypes of Librarians and Libraries in film and literature,” Proceedings of the 53rd Annual Conference of the Association of Jewish Libraries (Boston, MA – June 18-20, 2018), pp, 1-3; “How to Style Your Hair Into an Upside Down Bun,” StepByStep, accessed May 27, 2022; “More Librarian Misconceptions,” Bound: A Blog About Books & Libraries, Apr. 1, 2014; Glenn A. Hascall, “Larry & The Librarian,” accessed May 27, 2022; Megan Halsband, “Let’s Talk Comics: Librarians,” Headlines & Heroes, Library of Congress, Jul. 3, 2019; Jodi McFarland, “Saginaw Valley librarians ride Internet age forward,” mlive, Jul. 7, 2008;Michelle Reilly, “Librarians,” It’s a Dog’s Life, Jul. 10, 2008.

[6] Jesse Chadderdon, “Video: Librarians shake their book carts in national dance competition,” The Bulletin, Jul. 13, 2009; Eric, “One of the Wonders,” It’s all good, Jul. 8, 2007; Roger Ebert, “Party Girl,” Roger Ebert website, Jul. 7, 1995; Phyllis Korkki, “Spare a Hair Band? A Man Bun to Go,” New York Times, Jan. 26, 2012; “Hair Dos: 10 Beautiful Buns & Tucks,” The Frisky, Oct. 8, 2019; Lawrence Feldman, “The librarian’s bun — A ‘tail’ for the High Holy Days,” Times of Israel, Sept. 24, 2017; Emma Smart and Sarah Currant, “The 10 best librarians on screen,” BFI, Feb. 5, 2016; Ruth A. Kneale, “Librarians’ views of public perception in the Internet age,” You Don’t Look Like a Librarian!, Jun. 2002; Deliala Yasin, “Sexy Librarian Stereotypes,” Oct. 7, 2010; Kelly Jensen, “Queer Phobia and The Public Library,” Book Riot, Oct. 13, 2016; “Marian the Librarian – Pop! Profile,” Pop! Goes the Librarian, Jun. 7, 2012; “Image of Librarians,” LISWiki, Feb. 1, 2016; Caroline Murray, “What Do Men Think Of Buns?,” Stylecaster, Jun. 9, 2012; Heather, “Welcome to the Librarian Fashion blog!,” Librarian Fashion, Mar. 22, 2011.

[7] Pam Hayes Bohanan, “Librarians in Pop Culture,” Bridgewater State University, Sept. 12, 2013; “Librarian Stereotypes,” Life is Just a Bowl Full of Queries, Sept. 28, 2008; Jed Lipinski, “‘This Book Is Overdue!’: Hot for librarian,” Salon, Feb. 21, 2010; Joe Hardenbrook, “28 Lego Librarians (PHOTOS),” HuffPost, Oct. 5, 2013; Marcia J. Myers, “Images of Librarians in Science Fiction and Fantasy: Including An Annotated List,” Jun 1998, p. 3, 6, 8-9; “When it rains it pours… and other cliches,” lclibraries, May 28, 2013; Antoinette G. Graham, “Sign of the Librarian in the Cinema of Horror: An Exploration of Filmic Function,” Florida State University Libraries, 2010, pp. v, 12, 21, 23, 28, 47, 54; Carly Bedford and Chelsea Misquith, “Old Maid, Old Maid, How Librarians are Portrayed,” University of Toronto, 2015. Also see Kathleen Low’s book, Casanova Was a Librarian: A Light-Hearted Look at the Profession and another book by Ray Tevis and
Brenda Tevis entitled The Image of Librarians in Cinema, 1917–1999.

[8] Julie Manser, “Shushing the Librarian Stereotype,” Zócalo Magazine, Mar. 5, 2015; Monique L. Threatt, “Bad to the Bone, Librarians in Motion Pictures: Is It An Accurate Portrayal,” Indiana Libraries, The Image of Librarians, p. 7; Eric Sherman, “Librarians Confess Their Naughtiest On-the-Job Moments,” AOL, Oct. 8, 2013; Aaron Gouveia, “Librarians show off their moves,” Cape Cod Times, May 9, 2008; Arianna Rebolini, “Here’s What It’s Actually Like To Be A Librarian,” BuzzFeed News, Nov. 17, 2018; ““When they take of their glasses and put down their hair”: Defogging the Glasses Girl Stereotypes,” Things He Says, Feb. 17, 2016; Jenni Bean, “Teens rebel…. Library closes. WHAT?!?!,” My Life as a Married Super Librarian!, Jan. 2, 2007; Gabrielle Barone, “‘I don’t shush’: Local Librarians share their thoughts stereotypes rooted in their profession,” Daily Collegian, Penn State University, Nov. 15, 2017; Jeff Voyt, “Librarian Stereotypes,” A Year in the Life, Apr. 24, 2014; Macy Haford, “The New Sexy Librarian,” The New Yorker, Oct. 2, 2011;

[9] “On the Great Myth of the Librarian Grays,” Guardienne of the Tomes, Sept. 3, 2010; Jessamyn West, December 2002 entries, librarian.net, Dec. 2002; “Katharine L. Kan, MLS,” Librarian to Librarian, accessed May 27, 2022; Bari L. Helms, “Reel Librarians: The Stereotype and Technology,” Masters Thesis, Apr. 2006, pp. 3, 5, 9-10, 256; David James Brier and Vickery Kaye Lebbin, “Learning Information Literacy through Drawing,” Hawaii University, accessed May 27, 2022; Katy Shaw, “Buns on the Run: Changing the Stereotype of the Female Librarian,” University of Washington, October 2003; Chelsea Fregis, “Quick & Easy Curly Hair Styles for Finals Week,” NaturallyCurly, Nov. 7, 2011; Scholastica A.J. Chukwu, Nkeiru Emezie, Ngozi Maria Nwaohiri, and Ngozi Chima-James, “The Librarian in the Digital Age: A Preferred Nomenclature, Perceptions of Academic Librarians in Imo State Nigeria,” Library Philosophy and Practice, Dec. 2018, p. 5; Aja Carmichael, “The Changing Role of Librarians,” Wall Street Journal, Jan. 5, 2007; Ana Tintocalis, “Young, Hip Librarians Take Over,” KPBS, Jan. 10, 2011; “Hairstyle with Pins for Parties : Pinned to Perfection,” fashioncentrel, 2011; “Black History Month: Plainfield librarian challenged segregation, created literacy programs,” nj.com, Feb. 12, 2010; Eris, “The Bellydancing Librarian,” Nov. 21, 2013;Kay Oddone, “Change in the Library,” National Education Summit, Jan. 26, 2022; Genevieve Zook, “Technology and the Generation Gap,” LLRX, Aug. 27, 2007; Amanda Thomas, “Some minority librarians seeking to update image of white ‘bun lady’,” The Decatur Daily, Associated Press, Dec. 17, 2006. Also see the article entitled “The Graying of Academic Librarians: Crisis or Revolution?“, and many others, like: “Why I suck at blogging,” You have to go to college for that?!, Sept. 12, 2006; “Easy does it.,” You have to go to college for that?!, Jun. 24, 2006; Erin, “Gallery of Bellydancing Librarians,” The Bellydancing Librarian, Jul. 27, 2002; Dan Evon, “Tattooed Librarians Of The Ocean State Calendar Goes On Sale,” Inquisitr, Oct. 28, 2016; Kristy Gross, “Testing, Testing…,” Not Your Typical Librarian, Dec. 26, 2011; Jess Carter-Morley, “The updo is back,” The Guardian, Aug. 10, 2010; Regina Sierra Carter, “Librarians: Do Any Look Like Me?,” Inside Higher Ed, Mar. 29, 2017; Jack Broom, “Toymaker finds librarian who’s a real doll,” Seattle Times, Jul. 10, 2003; Leslie A. Pultroak, “The Image of Librarians in Poetry, 1958-1993,” MLS Research Paper, Kent State University, Aug. 1993; “Wend of the Webolution,” Anne of Green Labels, Mar. 12, 2009; Cynthia L. Shamel, “Building a Brand: Got Librarian?,” Searcher, Vol. 10, No. 7, Jul./Aug. 2002; Steven M. Bergson, “Librarians in Comics: Sources,” Aug. 17, 2002; Aimee Graham, “Debunking 10 Librarian Misconceptions,” INALJ, Jan. 12, 2015; Eliza, “7 Beautiful and Stylish Hair Dos to Give You a Whole New Look …,” All Women’s Talk, accessed May 27, 2022; Marcus, “Google Book Search and the Psychology of Librarians,” Marcus’ World, Apr. 28, 2007; Gabriel Spitzer, “Librarians Go Wild For Gold Book Cart,” All Things Considered, NPR, Jul. 13, 2009; Emelie Svensson and Evelina Magnusson, “Books, libraries and beige” [Abstract], Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för kulturvetenskaper, Dec. 31, 2012; Julie, “[Untitled],” A day in the library…, Jan. 24, 2010; Ruth Kneale, “Librarian Image Study,” Marketing Library Service Vol. 16, No. 8, Nov/Dec. 2002; Rachel Sawaya, “Ideas for a Librarian Costume,” eHow, accessed May 28, 2022; Sarika Sawant, “Women librarians in traditional and modern attires in India: Nationwide scenario,” IFLA WLIC 2018, pp. 1-17; Angeline Evans, “The librarian ‘do [outfit],” The New Professional, Jun. 2, 2011; Ted Menten, “The Naughty Librarian,” Sasha Street, Feb. 27, 2010; Manda Sexton, Samantha Reardon, Jennifer Carter, and Matthew Foley, “The Inked Experience: Professionalism and Body Modifications in Libraries,” Georgia Library Quarterly, Vol. 58, No. 4, Fall 2021, p. 1-2; Melissa Wooton, “Warrior Librarian: How Our Image is Changing (A Personal Look),” Indiana Libraries, c. 2003, p. 24; Catherine Butler, “[Review of] Margaret Mahy: Librarian of Babel,”Online Research @ Cardiff, Cardiff University, 2015, p. 3, reprinted from article of same name in Lion and the Unicorn, Vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 129-145; Miss Cellania, “Tattooed Librarians,” Neatorama, Aug. 3, 2009; Ellie D., “Bunning Without Breakage — The 5 Rules of Bunning Natural Hair,” BGLH Marketplace, Feb. 3, 2015; Adriane Alan, “Librarians in Children’s and Teen Literature,” Image of Libraries in Popular Culture, c. 2000, authorship shown here.

[10] “23 Types of Women’s Hairstyles – Do You Know them All?,” Headcurve, accessed May 27, 2022; Fiorella Valdesolo, “Why the Bun Is the Power Hairstyle of Our Multi-Tasking Age,” Vanity Fair, Apr. 4, 2019; Melanie Green, “Why Black people (including me) are cutting our own hair in Vancouver — and what that says about our city,” Toronto Star, Nov. 10, 2019; Amanda Thomas, “Some minority librarians seeking to update image of white ‘bun lady’,” The Decatur Daily, Associated Press, Dec. 17, 2006; “Hair Buns,” Black Hairspray, accessed May 27, 2022; “Is Fall Here, Yet?,” The Designer Librarian, Aug. 13, 2013; “Five-Minute Braided Bun,” A Beautiful Mess, accessed May 27, 2022; “Popular Ladies’ Hairstyles of the 1870’s,” Poughkeepsie Public Library District, accessed May 27, 2022; Tori, “12 Easy Messy Buns You Can Do in Under 5 Minutes,” TerrificTresses, accessed May 27, 2022; “How to Create Space Buns for a Fun, Effortless Look,”  Beauty Magazine, L’Oreal Paris, Mar. 21, 2022; Christine George, “How to Do a Quick and Easy Hair Bun,” WikiHow, Sept. 15, 2021; “How To Create A Messy Bun In 3 Just Steps,” Beauty Magazine, L’Oreal Paris, May 27, 2022; Andrea Haba, “40 Easy & Cute Bun Hairstyles Trending in 2022,” Hairtyle Camp, Jun. 1, 2020; “The History of the Hair Bun,” Vieda, 2017; Wes, “Hair History: Topknots & Buns,” Hairstory, Sept. 12, 2017; Ellie Crystal, “Hairstyles Through the Ages,” Crystalinks, accessed May 27, 2022; “The allure of the bun,” The Australian Ballet, Jan. 3, 2012; “Buns & Braids,” History & Culture of Chinese Women’s Hair, Apr. 28, 2019.

Examining and analyzing the librarians in The Simpsons

An elderly librarian asks Homer Simpson to leave the library in “The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace”, questioning whether he is a “valid” patron

As I wrote about back February 2021, libraries appear repeatedly in The Simpsons, time and again. Instead of covering the episodes I mentioned in that post, [1] I’d like to focus on the librarians within the series, then later about the libraries in the series. There are at least fourteen librarians shown in the course of the series, and even more if some librarians are counted as different characters.

In “The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace”, Homer reads about Thomas Edison at the Springfield Elementary School library because they won’t let him in the “big people library” in downtown Springfield because of some “unpleasantness.” The school librarian, an elderly White lady, asks him if he is a student at the school, and he says yes. She undoubtedly kicks him out after that. She questions whether he is a valid patron, which is understandable, but it would have made more sense to have him go about his business in the library instead.

The same librarian appears again in “Brother’s Little Helper”, where she almost gets run over by Bart’s tank. In another episode, “Sweets and Sour Marge” there is a book sale at the Old Springfield Library, the main library in Springfield which apparently has a “serious bat problem in the filing cabinets,” and has old books like calendars and diaries. It is often visited by Lisa. In that episode, Homer mocks the library selling books, asking why he would want to buy books from the library. Comic Book Guy buys books on Spock and Scotty, Nick Rivera reads a book about human anatomy entitled Grey’s Anatomy, and Lisa buys a cart full of books, saying she has to “save” them after Marge tells her she can’t buy more than her weight in books. There is even a scene after this of the aforementioned librarian feeding chopping up books and feeding them to pigs, ha. No books are sacred here.

The episode also features another unnamed librarian who is working at the cash register and looks much more formal and proper than the above librarian. Marge convinces Homer to get a book entitled the Duff Book of World Records which has photographs of deformities, making him laugh. After Lisa says tavern, he drives to Moe’s because she said the word, with Marge yelling she never agreed to that rule. He later uses the book throughout the episode.

In another episode, “Eeny Teeny Maya, Moe”, Moe tells the story of surfing the web at the local public library with occasional drinking fountain breaks, where he is going back and forth with another woman, Maya. He then calls the “Crazy Cat Lady” a man, and she throws cats on him. He says he would do anything to chat with Maya apart from buying an actual computer. Maya calls him cute and he dances a little with the elderly librarian, who is confused by the whole ordeal, before he leaves the library.

She finally appears in “No Good Read Goes Unpunished”. In that episode, in which she closes the library with reduced hours of operation, because after a certain point in the day the silverfish take over the library. Milhouse is trapped inside while covered with silverfish, just wanting to renew his library card. After that, the Simpsons family goes to a book-themed department store, then a bookstore with old books, some of which Bart is interested in. Unlike her other episodes, she is voiced by Tress MacNeille rather than Maggie Roswell, who had voiced her in previous episodes.

The librarian says that the library has reduced hours because of the silverfish

Apart from her, there is another librarian (voiced by Tress MacNeille) who briefly appears in the episode “Bart the Mother”. She looks even more of a spinster librarian than any of the others shown so far. This is after Bart watches a film about taking care of birds from Troy McClure (voiced by Phil Hartman). This episode marks Hartman’s last speaking appearance. This librarian tells Reverend Lovejoy that he has checked out the bible every weekend for the last nine years and asks him if it would be easier to just buy a Bible instead. He says he could do that on a “librarian’s salary,” implying that librarians make a lot of money, even though they do not. Although BLS statistics say that Librarians and Library Media Specialists earn an average of $60,820 per year, equivalent to $29.24 per hour, the more common Library Technicians and Assistants only earn, on average, $31,840 per year, equivalent to $15.31 per hour. That’s barely living wage! Disgusting if you ask me. That pay should definitely be higher, without a doubt.

There are two librarians that appear in the season 6 episode “Lisa’s Wedding”: a human librarian and a robot librarian. Lisa, in this future vision, goes to the reference desk where the librarian is and she types on her calculator and says that the book she needs was checked out by Hugh Parkfield. They both try to compete with each other in reading the book, then end up kissing one another. The one librarian quips that at one point Hugh and Lisa hated each other, then love each other, with the other librarian saying it doesn’t make sense to her because she is a robot, then her head melts. The voice actors of both librarians are sadly not known at this current time.

We also see other librarians in the series. This includes the library clerk in “Bart’s Girlfriend” voiced by Hank Azaria. He runs the young adult section at a library in Springfield and Lisa has a crush on him, while he also dates Jessica Lovejoy at one point. Lisa thinks she can “tame” him, even though she calls him “well-read and just a little wild.” There’s is, additionally, an unnamed prison librarian (voiced by Tress MacNeille)  in “Dial “N” for Nerder”. Lisa imagines herself as an older prisoner, with this librarian passing her jail cell with a trolley of books, asking whether she had Joyce Carol Oates. The librarian said she only had Danielle Steel, causing Lisa to scream in terror. This is significant because this librarian is perhaps the only prison librarian that I’ve ever seen in animation. Hopefully I see more in the future.

Prison libraries can be restricted, even though what they do can lead to empowerment of inmates. Such libraries, situated within prisons, can arguably be described as what Jeff Hirschy calls prison institutions, or those institutions in which a librarian or archivist “serves an oppressive higher power.” There is also an endless information void in prisons. In addition, grim prison life can eclipse the potential of prison library, and the service provided is not even. Some prison libraries are better than others. Furthermore, the case of Lisa, she is in a prison, rather than a jail, as a prison is operated at the state or federal level, housing inmates with long-term convictions while jails are run by a county or city, housing inmates who are awaiting trial or with short-term convictions. It makes sense there are library services in the prison she is in, because longer conviction terms of prisoners means that it is more likely there would be a library, while in jails, such libraries are less common. [2]

Lisa reacts in terror when she realizes that the prison librarian doesn’t have the book she wanted to read.

There are three other librarians I’d like to mention. The first two, an unnamed librarian voiced by Pamela Hayden and another named Martha voiced by Tress MacNeille are in the episode “The Color Yellow” and are hinted as lesbians, working at the Old Springfield Library. Martha tells Lisa that there are no books about Eliza Simpson, but she did find a cookbook by Eliza’s mother.

She calls Martha “the best” for finding this as Lisa and Marge read the book with a story about one of Lisa’s ancestors. Later, Lisa returns to the library and tells her about the film vault, giving her the key to it. The unnamed librarian asks Martha about the film vault and says that they hooked up there during the Christmas Party. Lisa then watched a documentary which interviews Eliza Simpson and continues to be disappointed. The unnamed librarian appears in the episode “Grift of the Magi” as well. In that episode, she is teaching a class in which they are trying to come with a name for a toy and Lisa gets in trouble for doing math in class, having to write on a chalkboard.

Then there’s Ms. Norton (voiced by Maggie Roswell), a librarian at Springfield Public Library, who “is on friendly terms with Lisa.” In the episode “Dead Putting Society”, Lisa says hello to her, as does a man named Ralph and a group of old men and women reading books. She helps Bart by showing him the card catalogs, finding him a book on golf putting. Bart is shown next carrying a stack of books, including a book by Lao-Tzu, The Tao-Te Ching. She even tells Bart they are borrowing the books, after he wonders if they can afford them.

Homer and the unnamed librarian in the Springfield University Library

Then in “Lisa the Greek”, Lisa goes to the very quiet public library, which has some new signs and banners up. Ms. Norton claims it has been a “madhouse” after Lisa says the signs are working, with Lisa then checking the card catalog, looking for books on football. Following this, in the episode “Homer Goes to College”, presumably the same librarian is shown with dark skin and hair. Homer, in one scene, wheels a stack of books out of the Springfield University Library, as she looks in, part of his cramming for a college test. Even in that episode, Maggie Roswell appears, although the librarian has no lines. [3]

Other than this, there is a brief scene in “Sideshow Bob Roberts” where Lisa and Bart go into the Old Springfield Library and bats come flying out of the card catalog. Then, in “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge”, Marge sneaks into the public library to find out about who Becky really is, and comes across a stories, while looking through the microfilm, which she thinks prove Becky as a bad person, but believes she has been unfair to Becky.

Then, in “Margical History Tour”, Lisa talks to an elderly librarian who says they don’t have books, but they are a multimedia learning center for those of all ages, but mostly bums. Lisa complains that there are hardly any books at all. Marge agrees to help them, saying she knows a little about history. Nelson later trips Milhouse and takes his book, hilariously declaring “the library, really is a great resource!,” adding that he only came in to trip nerds. Lisa later complains she can’t find anything on Sacagawea, beginning another story from Marge. She later tells Bart another story, this one about Mozart. Liza later criticizes Marge’s story, saying it sounds a lot like the movie Amadeus.

In many ways, this episode connects with technocratic themes which I wrote about this past August, noting an article about the technocratic library “of the future.” Such a library is possible with all the data collection today, even with datasets of certain people not collected at all, a date divide between those who are data-rich and data-poor. Some have argued that libraries need to encourage and help library patrons analyze and contribute knowledge which is created with this data, and called on libraries to create an inclusive climate so patrons can engage with this data. However, there continue to be data quality issues which plague researchers, even as there is push for open data, data literacy, critical skills by librarians despite the limits of data. [4]

An unnamed librarian dressed formally in a blazer and tie shown in the episode “Sweets and Sour Marge”, shown here operating a cash register

The main library in Springfield is more than than the one-story building which comprises the Springfield Public Library. [5] This library make an appearance in the episode “Like Father, Like Clown” when Lisa looks through the card catalog, looking for books on Judaism and takes notes on what she found. Bart comes with her and looks at pop-up books. He attempts to convince Krusty’s father to make up with him, using the knowledge that Lisa is finding. His attempts fail and Lisa gives him one last paper, hoping it will work, even though she calls it a long-shot to convince him, apart from learning Ancient Hebrew. At long last, they get through to him after Bart quotes from a book by Sammy Davis, Jr.

Then in the episode in “HOMЯ”, after the crayon is taken out of Homer’s brain, he becomes smart, and reading lots of books, just like Lisa. This also ends up changing his personality too. This is followed by a flashback in the episode “The Kids Are All Fight” in which six years prior, after a librarian read a book during storytime, Bart and Lisa fought, hitting each other with books, while Marge looks on, worried. Following this, A security guard then escorts them out, telling them in a quiet voice to leave, shouting as he opens the door to let them outside, not wanting such violence in the library. Finally, in “Looking for Mr. Goodbart”, Bart goes to the library to ask the librarian, possibly voiced by Valerie Harper who has voiced various characters over the years, how he looks up a word. He hands her his phone and asks how much he owes her. At first she hesitates, then asks him for five dollars, and pockets the money. BOO! Bad librarian!

On the whole, the librarians in The Simpsons episodes all have different styles. Some have a more relaxed style, while others are more formal. The episodes themselves consistently show libraries as places of information, learning, and knowledge, used especially by Lisa. The episodes also highlight information deficits. This includes silverfish causing a library to be closed certain hours, or another when a library is extremely scaled back (having no books on the shelves), justified by turning it into a multimedia center. The latter could almost be considered a criticism of efforts to undermine librarians and libraries across the U.S. It is equivalent to Philip J. Fry’s speech at the end of a Futurama episode which talks about the value of local libraries.

At the same time, some of the librarians can fall into existing stereotypes with spinster librarians, although others easily buck that, like the two lesbian librarians in “The Color Yellow.” Sadly, the librarians in the series are not very diverse. They are almost all White except for the one in “Homer Goes to College” and she is only shown briefly. Other series, like We Bare Bears, Welcome to the Wayne, What If…?, Elena of Avalor, and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, to name a few, have done better than The Simpsons when it comes to showing librarians who are not White. Hopefully, this changes in future episodes as the show goes forward, but I’m not going to hold my breath for that, as the show has become a bit of a zombie series.

The two lesbian librarians making eyes at one another at one point during the episode “The Color Yellow”

© 2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

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Notes

[1] I’m talking about “Bart the General,” and “Cape Feare,” or the library jokes in “Marge the Lam” and “Last Tap Dance in Springfield” or the mentions in “Much Apu About Nothing,” “Bart After Dark,” “I Love Lisa,” “Lisa’s Substitute,” “Lady Bouvier’s Lover,” “Homerpalooza,” “One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish,” “Homer vs. Patty and Selma,” “You Only Move Twice,” “Treehouse of Horror VI,” “Krusty Gets Busted,” and “Some Enchanted Evening.”

[2] Jeff Hirschy, “Social Justice and Birmingham Collecting Institutions: Education, Research, and Reference Librarianship” in Reference Librarianship & Justice: History, Practice & Praxis (ed. Kate Adler, Ian Beilin, & Eamon Tewell, Library Juice Press: Sacramento, CA: 2018), p. 90 and also discussed briefly on page 91; Kate Adler, “Towards a Critical (Affective) Reference Practice: Emotional, Intellectual and Social Justice” in Reference Librarianship & Justice: History, Practice & Praxis (ed. Kate Adler, Ian Beilin, & Eamon Tewell, Library Juice Press: Sacramento, CA: 2018), p. 107; Emily Jacobson, “Reference by Mail to Incarcerated People” in Reference Librarianship & Justice: History, Practice & Praxis (ed. Kate Adler, Ian Beilin, & Eamon Tewell, Library Juice Press: Sacramento, CA: 2018), p. 157; Erin Rivero, Marisa Hernandez, Stephanie Osorio, and Vanessa Villareal,  “Dispatches from the Field of Prison Librarianship” in Reference Librarianship & Justice: History, Practice & Praxis (ed. Kate Adler, Ian Beilin, & Eamon Tewell, Library Juice Press: Sacramento, CA: 2018), p. 165, 167; Joshua Finnell, “2596 Girl School Road: The Indiana Women’s Prison Far-Away Reference Desk” in Reference Librarianship & Justice: History, Practice & Praxis (ed. Kate Adler, Ian Beilin, & Eamon Tewell, Library Juice Press: Sacramento, CA: 2018), p. 114.

[3] She also appears in “Marge On The Lam” with brown hair, at the very beginning of the episode, sitting at a table, as part of a pledge drive, by a phone. She is not shown in a library during the episode.

[4] Julia Marden, “The Case for Critical Data Reference in Public Libraries” in Reference Librarianship & Justice: History, Practice & Praxis (ed. Kate Adler, Ian Beilin, & Eamon Tewell, Library Juice Press: Sacramento, CA: 2018), p. 189-193, 195-7.

[5] The Springfield Public Library is also mentioned in the episode “Much Apu About Nothing”. It also apparently appears in The Simpsons Movie, the comic book “A Chair of One’s Own” and the video games Virtual Springfield, and The Simpsons: Hit and Run. The library is also shown briefly in the beginning of the episode “Lost Verizon” when Nelson is holding Martin Prince. As for the Old Springfield Library  also appears in The Simpsons: Tapped Out and is pictured in “Separate Vocations”. I believe the same is the case in the episodes “Dog of Death”, and “In Marge We Trust”.

School idol or librarian?: Examining Hanamaru Kunikida in “Love Live! Sunshine!!”

Hanamaru behind the library desk, smiling after the school idol group comes to the library to drop off some books. Ruby stands behind her.

When I began watching Love Live! Sunshine!!, an anime about girls who try to become school idols and is filled with music, I didn’t expect to come across a character who is a librarian, who is relatively popular among fans of the show. For this post, and on my blog in general, I use librarian broadly to mean anyone who works in a library, specifically those who care for the contents of the library, selecting and processing materials, engaging in information delivery, library instruction, or loaning out materials to meet user needs. Librarians may have a MLIS or MLS, but not having a professional degree does not disqualify someone from being a librarian despite what some snobbish people in the library field say. [1] This definition is apt for Hanamaru Kunikida, whose journey from being a librarian to a school idol fits into existing stereotypes in some ways, as I’ll explain.

Hanamaru is a first-year student who lives in a temple with her her family, as noted on the Wikipedia page for the series, voiced by Kanako Takatsuki in Japanese and Megan Shipman voices her in the English dub. She refers to herself as “ora” or “Mura” and ends many sentences with “Zur” due to her specific dialect. She is more than an “avid reader” at the library at Uranohoshi Girls’ Academy or a person who “loves to read” as a press release for the series put it. [2] Instead, she is a student assistant who volunteers at the school library as she is shown behind the information desk during the fourth episode, “Their Feelings”. In that episode, in a narration, she describes that the library has become her quiet place, her retreat, and that Ruby Kurosawa is her dear friend, who she says she will marry one day, [3] coming to the library with her often to read idol magazines.

In that episode, she returns to her world of books, as a librarian, rather than become a school idol, after she feels that her “trial” as a school idol was a “failure.” Later Ruby and the other school idol members, Chika Takami (who created the group), You Watanabe, and Riko Sakurauchi (a transfer student), convince her to join a group they call Aqours. She becomes a liberated female librarian in some ways as a result. Even though she is not a trapped or naïve woman who discovers who she is and what she is capable of with the help of a man, as Jennifer Snoek-Brown defines as a “liberated librarian” on her Reel Librarians blog, she is pushed by her friend Ruby and the other members of the school idol club to realize her passion to become a school idol. This “liberation” is a net positive for her as she is no longer suppressing a part of herself. On the other hand, this “liberation” is not part of the plot.

Like other “liberated” librarians she is young but isn’t wearing conservative or reserved clothing. When she practices as an idol her appearance does change but into clothes that are more casual. As such she doesn’t become attractive or more feminine but not less attractive. She is just as attractive as before. She is undoubtedly intelligent and seems committed to libraries in terms of it being an escape for her, and seems to stop volunteering as a librarian. She also has a lack of exposure to modern technology, whether it comes to laptops, hair dryers, or motion-activated water fountains. [4] In some ways she is similar to Swampy in Phineas and Ferb as I’ll explain later.

Hanamaru bucks the librarian stereotype, as she is on screen more than a “short period of time” in order to advance the story, and is not a stock character in the slightest. Although librarians may not need to take these stereotypes completely “to heart,” such stereotypes can be damaging if it is the main plot of an episode, as is the case in many animated series. Her fashion goes against the “common” style of librarians which cab be shown in “dowdy suits in muted tones,” and is completely blown out of the water as the series continues.

As the series goes forward, her talent for singing, as a member of the local choir, shines through. This is especially the case when she works alongside Chika Takami and many other friends as part of a school idol group called Aqours which tries to prevent her school from shutting down. Basically, she goes from “a shy and un-athletic bookworm” [5] to a school idol after Ruby tells her of Rin’s journey to self-confidence. In becoming a school idol, she is not a librarian as failure, nor a spinster, spirited young girl, naughty librarian, comic relief, or information provider. In later episodes of the series, as now a school idol, she remains “fascinated by the modernity” in a larger city, comes dressed in a silly outfit, id distracted by candy and sweets, works on songs with her fellow school idols, and puts together a fortune-telling booth with another group member. [6]

Hanamaru looking sad, while she looks up, taking a break before she reads more in the school library during the episode “Their Feelings”

Unlike Swampy, Hanamaru is not a failure and her presence in the library is not “suggestive of flaws in library” although she can be “uncomfortable in social/outside world situations.” Like him, she does not return to the library and her portrayal is not completely stereotypical as she never shushes anyone. Rather, the library is an escape of sorts for her, a refuge. It is a safe place for her, a places of calmness which seems removed from the pressures of the outside world, although she isn’t escaping any evil spirits like those in other series who flee to libraries for safety. In this way, the school library is doing exactly what physical library spaces often do, according to librarian Fobazi Ettarh, serving as sacred spaces, while being treated as sanctuaries by keeping people and sacred things, and becoming places of refuge or shelter. [7] This is true even though, apart from her saying that books dropped off by the school idol club will be shelved, she is never shown engaging in any typical librarian tasks.

While becoming a school idol allowed Hanamaru to not suppress a part of herself which and to not remove herself from everything else, quietly reading, and staying in her own world of sorts, the series series seems to be saying that you shouldn’t hold back yourself and that you can do anything. In the process, it gives the perception that quietly reading, and being a librarian who oversees a librarian by extension, is “bad” while becoming a school idol is “good.” This is just as problematic as Phineas and Ferb basically saying that libraries are outdated and outmoded, especially through Swampy going being a rockstar to a librarian, then back to a rockstar again, when pushed by the show’s two persistent protagonists. It is never answered what happens to the library after she leaves. The series portrays her time in the library as depressing and drab, apart from her interactions with her friend Ruby. However, after she becomes a school idol she is shown as happy and joyful. Does this mean that libraries can’t be joyful or happy places? I sure hope not, because that is definitely not true.

It is a big change for Hanamaru, a Brazilian-raised do-gooder and classic country girl, to go from being a librarian in her quiet place, the seaside Uranohoshi Girls’ Academy, to Tokyo and the back to Uchiura, Numazu, Shizuoka when they are not successful the first time when entering the Love Live! competition. [8] This setting has reportedly led tourists to come to Numazu, while various things in the city have special Love Live! designs. Currently, Uchiura is a village within Numazu. According to official websites, there are libraries in the area, like the Heda, Numazu City, and Shiritsu (Municipal) libraries. [9] In that way, while it could be a loss for students for her no longer to be a librarian, there would likely be someone who would take her place, perhaps another student, and anyone at the school could still go to local libraries as well, if they needed additional information.

The idol industry in Japan has horrific working conditions. There are strict rules imposed on Japanese and South Korean pop stars known as “idols” including bans on dating and getting married requiring permission, with such idols having little control over their personal lives. Some have described them as “corporate slaves” who cannot disobey their employers, with the industry pulling in 60 billion yen annually. Even those as young as two are billed as “junior idols,” with people interested in underage girls, with the innocence they have being sold as a “major commodity.” At the same time, there is a trend of preteen girls “striking provocative poses in slinky bathing suits” which has become big business. All the while idols are assaulted, bullied, intimidated, and harassed, even as they have the legal right to “happiness” and dates not under the control of managers, although it is not known how much this is enforced, as there have been strict measure imposed on idols in the past. After all, as one critic put it, “idols are universally acknowledged as manufactured—even by their fans,” meant to provide a “vision of accessible femininity to girls” and a celebrity girlfriend for boys. Another person argued that in Japan, an idol is in “the business of selling dreams…[an] illusion of a cute, slightly idealized person who is there for…the fan” while music is secondary since many idols can barely sing, with producers not putting in work to making them look or sound perfect. At the same time, idols have been popular in Japanese anime, including franchises like Love Live! of which Love Live! Sunshine!! is a part of, as has their fictional music. [10]

Hanamaru (left) performing as a school idol, with her friend Ruby (right)

As for this anime, Hanamaru is a school idol. While there are idol anime about male idols, like Starmyu, Uta no Prince Sama, and B-Project, with a focus on the idea of performance, Love Live! is unique in that it seems to exist in a world without men, even though it is, like other idol shows, targeted at men. The idea is to “emphasize the female characters’ relationships and moe appeal,” with everyone on screen seen as a “potential object of desire” whether through romantic yearning, a yearning for that character to have romance with their friends, or anything in-between. There is some evidence of the school idol trope, as TV Tropes calls it, in reality, with some idols who are high school classmates, and variations of these schools existing, but not many of them, with such schools having strict dating, personal presentation, and uniform rules. This is bolstered by the fact that some idols wear school uniforms during their performances. [11]

Despite all their efforts, Aquors is unsuccessful in saving their school, as shown in the season 2 episode “The Time Left.” In that episode, in fact, we see Hanamaru in the library, working as a library assistant. This is short lived se agrees with the leader of Aquors, Chika, and the other group members that they can perform and win at the Love Live! contest in order to immortalize the school’s name. All the while, she tries to make sure the group stays inspired. This is significant for her because she reveals on another episode, “Awaken the power”, that she doesn’t like to be other people (i.e. she is socially awkward) and before she joined Aquors she enjoyed her time in the library with her friend Ruby, something which their fellow school idol, Leah, sympathizes with. In episodes that follow, she works together with her friends Yohane, Ruby, and Leah on a song, and participates in a closing ceremony for the Uranohoshi Girls’ High School, in the episode of the same name, even helping Yohane draw a summoning circle.

In the show’s final episode, “Our Own Shine,” she works with Ruby to pack up everything in the library, with the books read at a new school. She admits that she is afraid of going to a new school, something which Ruby agrees with. She, Yohane and Ruby, touch the library door together and close it, symbolically closing a chapter of their lives. Later in the episode, Chika visits the empty library in the now-abandoned school building. As one reviewer put it, it is hard watching these girls say goodbye to their school, especially affected by the scene when Hanamaru, Ruby, and Yohane closed the door to the library. [12]

By the end of the series, there are open questions about the future of Aquors with the departure of Kanan, Dia, and Mari, and whether their efforts were worthwhile since the school would be closed anyway. In some ways, Hanamaru somewhat addresses that in the episode “Sea of Light. She notes that while reading books in the library with her friend Ruby was “always enough” to make her happy, that her time in Aquors allowed her to venture into the world outside of the library, and realize things about herself. Basically, she gained self-confidence from the experience and became a better person.

In the series proper she is clearly identifiable, but is not stereotypical, nor does she wear frumpy clothes. She does not have her hair in a bun, and she does not have glasses in a chain around her neck. She is, arguably, a regular person who happens to be a librarian, specifically a student library assistant who is likely volunteering at the school library. She is arguably “sexy” but likely not in the way that straight men tend to see librarians as noted by David Austin who notes the stereotype of librarians as “sexually repressed.” At the same time, she is not, in any way, a person whose primary job is to keep “order and quiet.” Rather, the library itself is a sanctuary for her, a place away from the outside world, a place where she can access its “storehouse of knowledge.”

Hanamaru packing up the library’s books in boxes in the show’s final episode, asssited by her friend, Ruby

This is self-confidence is further bolstered in the Love Live! Sunshine!! The School Idol Movie: Over the Rainbow film, which serves as the series capstone. She sings and dances in the film and trains for live shows, but also comforts her friends. She even travels to Italy with them to find Kanan, Dia, and Mari, the former three members of Aquors. She later assists Mari in her desire to have independence from her seemingly strict mother and cajoles Yohane to connect with the members of their new school. During the film, she also assists Ruby in choosing outfits for their performance, and is part of a performance win a mock Love Live! competition meant to buoy the spirits of one member of Saint Snow, a fellow school idol group.

Unlike in the series, she is shown wearing glasses multiple times in the film, alluding to a “shy bookworm” stereotype often associated with librarians, who are shown wearing glasses. Famously this was used for the alternative Mary Bailey in the film It’s a Wonderful Life. As Marie wrote, people who wear corrective glasses are “often stereotyped as bookish, intelligent, and socially inept” with those glasses as a barrier or shield, but can also be removed to “let a dormant attractiveness and sensuality shine through.” And there is no doubt that many librarians are well-educated and smart, and many undoubtedly wear eyeglasses. It is a symbol, a stereotype, that Marie says should would fully embody, while rejecting the trope that librarians are smart, but weird and unapproachable. For Hanamaru, she is similar in some ways to Kanon Shibuya, the protagonist of Love Live! Superstar who ties up her hair and wears glasses at home but in public does not wear glasses. Kanon fulfills what Marie wrote about librarians. Unlike her, Hanamaru doesn’t mind wearing glasses in public. It fits with her warm personality, including a love of chocolate and eating a lot, and support for her friends. She could care less whether she is “attractive.”

Toward the end of the film she performs a song and dance number together as a part of Aquors. The school library is also shown, in a short scene, empty in the still-standing school, which Chika declares will stay. This is despite the fact that is seems strange that a school building would be left abandoned with no apparent use and not be torn down a la the Gama Gama Aquarium in The Aquatope on the White Sand. Perhaps they wanted to keep the show upbeat so a similar scene was not included in the film.

The film serves as an end to Hanamaru’s story within the franchise. However, her future beyond the film is uncertain. Will her future include her pushing her friend Ruby on a book cart, working in a library, study Japanese language, operate a library, and be a writer as some fan art and fans have guessed? [13] Or will it be a combination of all of the above or none of these? Its hard to know. It is likely she will continue to be a school idol, which puts into question if she would still work within the library as she might be too busy.

No matter whether she returns to the library or not, there is no doubt that her experience in the library shaped her as a person. If she does return to being a library assistant, or pursues being a librarian, the self-confidence she gained from being a school idol could bolster her ability to help patrons and be a great person. She could even put on shows either by herself or with her friends to promote the library. The possibilities ahead for her are endless. She is not someone who neatly falls into a librarian character type, but is a fully-fledged character who is unique in her own way, with her own hopes and desires.

Hanamaru perks up in the film when Chika mentions that the library of their former school will still be there.

© 2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

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Notes

[1] For this I am using definitions from Merriam-Webster, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the now-defunct LISWiki, and Librarian Avengers. More specific terms include reference librarian, bibliographers, reader’s advisors, interns, library technicians (formerly a BLS category), and those with a practicum. It is different from other roles  such as, archivists, scribes (defunct profession), and superintendents of documents. Some of these librarians may be what some call “paraprofessionals“. Another example of a librarian like Hanamaru, who is a school assistant, is Rin Shima in Laid-Back Camp, who appears to work in the library. Like Hanamaru, she appears to be a student assistant, and is also not shown doing any actual library tasks (although Hanamaru does accept books), and is shown reading in the library. However, the number of scenes and times in the library are so short, and the library is just another place she hangs out, reading, relaxing as she camps during the winter, sometimes with Nadeshiko. In another episode, however, she kicks Nadeshiko, to wake her up when she is sleeping on the floor of the library, and shelves books in the library.

[2] Crystalyn Hodgkins, “Love Live! Sunshine!! Idol Group’s Name, 1st Single Date Revealed,” Anime News Network, Jun. 27, 2015. A fandom page also describes her as a “fan of reading” who has “a deep fondness for Japanese literature” or another image which describes her as lover of books.

[3] Apart from RubyMaru (a ship of Ruby and Hanamaru), there is YoshiMaru (a ship of Yoshiko Tsushima and Hanamaru), ChikaMaru (Chika Takami and Hanamaru), DiaMaru (Dia Kurosawa and Hanamaru), LeahMaru (Leah Kazuno and Hanamaru), RinMaru (Rin Hoshizora and Hanamaru), YouMaru (You Watanabe and Hanamaru), AZALEA  (Kanan Matsuura, Dia Kurosawa, and Hanamaru), and ChikaMariMaru (Chika Takami, Mari Ohara, and Hanamaru). The same page also notes Chika Takami, You Watanabe, Riko Sakurauchi, Ruby Kurosawa, Yoshiko Tsushima, Hanamura, Mari Ohara, Kanan Matsuura, and Dia Kurosawa as Aqours [friends]. There is a lot of wonderful yuri fan art of Hanamuru on /r/wholesomeyuri and a few on /r/lovelivefanart, along with fan art, fan videos, cosplays, news, and more about Hanamaru on /r/lovelive, along with other posts on /r/SIFallstars.

[4] “Kunikida Hanamaru,” Fandom of Pretty Cure Wiki, Feb. 11, 2020. As one reviewer put it, she somehow has “never seen a computer before” which seems strange, leading to a “couple of great scenes” like seeing windows for the first time, accidentally turning off a laptop, and recognizing Yoshiko’s chuuni tendencies in order to “distinguish herself” so she isn’t just “normal.” One post on /r/lovelive pointed out that in “Their Feelings” she is “seated at the librarian’s desk and there was a very clear computer monitor on the desk.” Some commenters responded that the library computer doesn’t have internet access or is “locked to some library system,” said the computer is small and “made specifically for a library management system,” common for rural Japan. Others theorized that the “librarian taught Hanamaru how to use the computer and how to do her work” and since Hanamaru doesn’t know about the internet, she “doesn’t venture far and only goes on whatever program the librarian told her to” or that she was confused when she saw the laptop in the next episode. Some said the scene in that next episode is “explaining Hanamaru’s fascination with technology” more than anything else, said that the computer in the library could be “strictly for books,” that the writing might be sloppy, or that there are “tiny plotholes and inconsistencies” in the series.

[5] Bamboo Dong, “Love Live! Sunshine!!: Episode 4 [Review],” Anime News Network, Jul. 23, 2016. Another WordPress site also noted that she “helps out at the school library, and her ambition is to become a writer some day,” one of the first places calling her a librarian. A page for the doll of her calls her a “daughter of a temple and a freshman of the library committee.”

[6] Bamboo Dong, “Love Live! Sunshine!!: Episode 6 [Review],” Anime News Network, Aug. 7, 2016; Bamboo Dong, “Love Live! Sunshine!!: Episode 7 [Review],” Anime News Network, Aug. 14, 2016; Bamboo Dong, “Love Live! Sunshine!!: Episode 15 [Review],” Anime News Network, Oct. 15, 2017; Bamboo Dong, “Love Live! Sunshine!!: Episode 22 [Review],” Anime News Network, Dec. 3, 2017; Bamboo Dong, “Love Live! Sunshine!!: Episode 24 [Review],” Anime News Network, Dec. 18, 2017.

[7] Fobazi Ettarh, “Vocational Awe and Librarianship: The Lies We Tell Ourselves,” In the Library with the Lead Pipe, Jan. 20, 2018. This similar to one of the one of the seven reasons that libraries are essential according to freelance writer and book reviewer Sadie Trombetta: “Libraries are safe refuges for the homeless and underserved populations.” Her other other reasons are self-explanatory and seem like non-brainers, although they can have political implications: “[Libraries] offer free educational resources to everyone…help boost local economies…play an important role in English language learning…make communities healthier…preserve history, and more importantly, truth…[and] help connect communities.”

[8] “ABOUT Love Live! Project,” PROJECT Lovelive! Sunshine!!, 2017; “Hanamaru Kunikida,” Bleach: The King of Fighters Wiki, 2022; “Hanamaru Kunikida,” Heroes Wiki, 2021; “Hanamaru Kunikida,” Love Live! School Festival Wiki, Aug. 10, 2020;

[9] “Temporary Closure of Libraries,” Numazu Newsletter [English Edition], Koho Numazu, Mar. 2018, p. 1; “City Library’s Summer Program,” Numazu Newsletter [English Edition], No. 330, Koho Numazu, Jul. 15, 2016, p. 2-3; Various articles, Numazu Newsletter [English Edition], No. 319, Koho Numazu, Feb. 1, 2016, p. 2;“Japanese Classes for Foreign Residents,” Numazu City Official Website, Apr. 1, 2020; Various articles, Numazu Newsletter [English Edition], No. 335, Koho Numazu, Oct. 1, 2016, p. 1-3.

[10] Mariko Oi, “The dark side of Asia’s pop music industry,” BBC News, Jan. 26, 2016; Patrick W. Galbraith, “Innocence lost: the dark side of Akihabara,” Japan Today, Jul. 8, 2009; Jun Hongo, “Photos of preteen girls in thongs now big business,” Japan Times, May 3, 2007; Emiko Jozuka and Yoko Wakatsuki, “Why a pop idol’s stand against her assault sparked outrage in Japan,” CNN, Jan. 16, 2019; “Court rules pop idol has right to pursue happiness, can date,” Japan Times, Jan. 19, 2016; Eric Stimson, “Idol Fined 650,000 Yen for Dating Contract Violation,” Anime News Network, Sept. 20, 2015; Catherine Komuro, “Sacrificial idols: In J-pop, Teen Dreams Become Nightmares,” Bitch media, Jan. 9, 2018; Patrick St. Michael, “Rino Sashihara: Can one ‘idol’ beat the system?,” Japan Times, May 30, 2019; Patrick St. Michael, “For Japan’s Justin Biebers, No Selena Gomezes Allowed,” The Atlantic, Aug. 15, 2012; “Japanese pop star sacked over sex scandal,” AsiaOne, Aug. 9, 2011; “Ex-Morning Musume star Ai Kago blazing a trail back to top (using a cigarette lighter),” Mainchi Daily News, 2008; Jason Sevakis, “Why Can’t Idol Singers Have Lives Of Their Own?,” Anime News Network, Jul. 24, 2015; Rafael Antonio Pineda, “pixiv Representative Director Resigns From Company Amidst Lawsuits,” Anime News Network, Jun. 6, 2018; Karen Ressler, “Former Niji No Conquistador Idol Sues pixiv Representative Director for Sexual Harassment,” Anime News Network, Jun. 1, 2018; Brian Ashcraft, “After Idol’s Death, Bullying And Intimidation Allegations Surface,” Kotaku, Oct. 15, 2018; “Suicide of teen draws attention to poor working conditions, harassment of idols,” The Mainichi, Nov. 18, 2018; Misa Hirabayashi, “The dark side of Japan’s underground idols: Little pay, long hours and unbreakable contracts,” Japan Times, Dec. 21, 2018; Mari Yamamoto and Jake Adelstein, “Inside the Weird, Dangerous World of Japan’s Girl ‘Idols’,” The Daily Beast, Jan. 21, 2019; Satetsu Takeda, “No More Objectification of Me!” [in Japanese], GQ Japan, Mar. 5, 2019; “AKB48 member’s ‘penance’ shows flaws in idol culture,” Japan Times, Mar. 1, 2013; Fraser McAlpine, “The Japanese obsession with girl bands – explained,” BBC News, Jun. 30, 2017; Kara Dennison, “Creamy Mami Character Goods Prove Showa Idols Are Forever,” Crunchyroll, Jul. 11, 2019; Richard Eisenbeis, “The Fictional (Yet Amazingly Popular) Singers of Japan,” Kotaku, Sept. 7, 2012; “Animated pop star Hatsune Miku is only 10, but she has had a huge impact on music,” Japan Times, Aug. 24, 2017; “New Market Scale Estimation for Otaku: Population of 1.72 Million with Market Scale of ¥411 Billion— NRI classifies 5 types of otaku group, proposing a “New 3Cs” marketing frame —,” Nomura Research Institute, Ltd., Oct. 6, 2005. The latter article says “The archetype for the “takes it seriously otaku” is the “single male in his 20s and 30s with an interest in mechanical and idol fields.”

[11] Lauren Orsini, “What is a Fujoshi?,” Anime News Network, Dec. 21, 2016; Jordan, “The Idol Phenomenon in Japan and Anime,” The Artifice, Dec. 30, 2015; Guest mihsayam, “Horikoshi High School (a Real-life High School For Idols),” soompi, Feb. 20, 2009; “So “school idols” do they actually exist?,” Gamefaqs, Jan. 2000, also see page 2;     “アイドルの衣装のスタンダード“制服ふう”衣装、いつから始まった！?” [Translation: When did the standard “uniform fuu” costumes for idols begin! ??], VIP Times, Aug. 8, 2017; “AKB48 (pictured 2010) popularized stylized school uniforms as costumes,” Wikimedia, 2010. This is also the case in South Korea, per an article entitled “Idols who were high school classmates.” In Catherine Komuro’s article, “Sacrificial idols: In J-pop, Teen Dreams Become Nightmares” in Bitch media, she says that “due to the manufactured nature of idols, their image of accessibility may do more harm than good” with fans often unable to “respect boundaries between an idol’s public character and private life.” This is manifested in the 2020 anime series If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die, where the protagonist in some ways did not respect the boundaries between the idol’s public and private life.

[12] Bamboo Dong, “Love Live! Sunshine!!: Episode 26 [Review],” Anime News Network, Dec. 31, 2017. . Closing doors happens a lot in episode, equivalent of closing chapters in their life and moving on. She later stands with her fellow students as they say one last goodbye to the school, then closing the school gate with them. Hanamaru is part of those who greet Chika for one last song together. Chika realizes she has been searching for her own shine the whole time.

[13] Baserdc, “What jobs do you think μ’s is doing and the future jobs the girls of Aqours would go for?,” /r/LoveLive, Dec. 27, 2017; isaactanyien1234, “Happy Birthday Hanamaru,” /r/LoveLive, Mar. 4, 2020; Offlinelol, “Librarian Hanamaru ~,” /r/LoveLive, Dec. 6, 2017. There are also a few fan fics which seem to have Hanamaru as a librarian. There is even a cargo ship, in which fans jokily ship a character with an inanimate object, or crack! ship of Hanamaru×Books, i.e. “the ship between Hanamaru Kunikida and books” as this page explains.

Recently added titles (February 2023)

The Beyonder shapeshifts into the librarian and surprises Lunella who is trying to divide her project into pieces, so Eduardo doesn’t mess it up. His appearance embodies the stereotypical depiction of librarians.

Building upon the titles listed for July/August, September, October,  November, and December 2021, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2022, and January of this year this post notes recent titles with libraries or librarians in popular culture which I’ve come across in the past month. Each of these has been watched or read during the past month. Not as many animated series or anime with libraries this past month, but I did come across a good deal in comics, and hopefully there will be more that I find in the days, weeks, and months to come. That’s my hope at least.

Animated series recently added to this page

• Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, “The Beyonder”

Anime series recently added to this page

• The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady aka Tensei Oujo to Tensai Reijou no Mahou Kakumei, “The Magic Lecture of the Founder and the Assistant”

Comics recently added to this page

• Daybreak, “Episode 46”
• Ice Cold, “Bonus Episode: Hard questions”
• I Seduced the Hero’s Mother, “Episode 10”
• The Vampire Librarian, “Part 36”
• Vixen: NYC, “Episode 40”
• Vixen: NYC, “Episode 40”
• WBM: Black Joy Anthology, “Bakery Man – 2”

Films recently added to this page

None of this month

Other entries recently added to this page

None of this month

 

© 2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

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Thank you to all the people that regularly read my blog. As always, if you have any titles you’d like to suggest, let me know. Thanks!

Revisiting Clara Rhone: A fictional Black librarian who heads “The Stanza”

Clara talks to Ansi in a friendly manner in the first episode of Welcome to the Wayne, giving off a lasting impression.

In April 2021, I gushed about my guest post reviewing Welcome to the Wayne for the ALA’s side publication, I Love Libraries, to the then-Content Strategy Manager at the ALA, Lindsey Simon, saying it was amazing “how many times libraries appear in this series” and described the article as “really exciting and fun to write about.” Simon called the series “awesome.” It would be the last post I would ever write while she was there. And while I did, later, publish posts about Milo Murphy’s Law and The Owl House, it would not be the same. Since that time, I considered that I had closed a chapter after finishing Welcome to the Wayne and didn’t consider re-watching it, especially with all the anime I began watching. However, for this last post of Black History Month in 2023, I took a deep dive into the series once more. This post will connect Clara Rhone (voiced by Harriet D. Foy), the chief librarian of the secret (and magical) library, The Stanza, in the series, to issues that Black people, especially Black women, experience as librarians.

In my post earlier this month, I described her as an “oft supporting character who runs the Stanza,” which is hidden within the Wayne apartment building. I further noted that she doesn’t do the library work all by herself but is helped by non-human library workers and that she becomes a central part of the story. There’s a lot more going on than that. She is fundamentally different from the other Black librarians I have highlighted on this blog. She is not a historian like George and Lance in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Nor is she a sorcerer like Cagliostro in an episode of What If…?

All in all, there is no doubt that her character, as I described it in July of last year, steals the show. This is amazing considering that Clara’s voice actor, Foy, is well-known for film, TV, Broadway, and musical roles, but this is her first animated role! She does a great job in that respect. However, her character is likely “drawn and conceptualized by White people” as I theorized in a previous post. Even so, the library she manages is a place of knowledge, and is meticulously organized. She is more than a librarian too, meaning that her portrayal passes the Librarian Portrayal Test or LPT, and has a daughter, Goodness, who helps her, while she remains the chief librarian. She gets plaudits from me for not being a scary woman, which is too common in Western animation, sad to say. Her role gives me “hope yet for Western animation series” as I put it in March 2021.

This brings me to what I wrote about in April 2021. I noted that Clara is shown shelving books, encouraging the protagonist, Ansi, to become a member of the library, and giving them vital information for their adventures, all in the first episode! Then, in a later episode, episode 12, she even sends a library ninja, Goodness, to try and drive the protagonists from the library, with the role of role of librarians as gatekeepers is emphasized when she warns them that if the leave with the vampire they can never return. This threat is never fulfilled because in a later episode, episode 19, Goodness and Saraline break into the library, catch a creature, and spot Clara shelving books. Then, in the finale of season one, she offers her help to the protagonists.

She reappears in the seventh episode of the show’s second season, shushing her granddaughter, Goodness, telling her to use her “Stanza voice.” Although this corresponds to the stereotype of librarians shushing patrons, she makes up for it by showing the a book that shows them all that ever happened in the Wayne. Later, in the show’s final episode, she is briefly possessed by a weird gas and is shown, in the episode’s ending, doing exercises on her room’s balcony. She has all the time in the world, because the library is outside of time.

Clara motions to John Keats, a squidjit, while she holds Ansi there with her cane

Her fandom page, of a fandom site for the show that is barely updated, doesn’t provide much more information. It notes her appearance, wearing a pearl necklace, a brown blouse, and light red scarf, and describes her as “gentle and soothing, and is very kind to those who stumble upon the Stanza.” She only appears in one fan fic, where she doesn’t even appear to be mentioned by name! Even worse is the fact that in the reviews, apart from my own, she isn’t even mentioned, despite the fact that some mention the Stanza or just call her “the librarian”. [1] These reviewers and others erased her from existence, deeming her non-important. It is disgusting and disturbing, although not surprising considering that the show remains a bit obscure, despite the fact that it aired on Nickeloedon from 2017 to 2019 and was nominated for two Daytime Emmys in 2018 and 2019.

This erasure is nothing new. There has been a long-standing erasure of Black history, including art history, and culture, in favor of White narratives. It is something, as Brittany Spranos, now a staff writer for Rolling Stone, described as something which oppression and systemic racism feed off, saying it is everywhere from the (in)justice system to “art and popular culture” where being a Black creator has meant you are “only valuable if appetizing to a white consumer market, and…able to be reimagined as a form of art without non-white origins.” [2]

When it comes to Black librarians, they face more challenges than just erasure. Across work environments, Black people engage in code-switching, meaning that they can’t be “themselves or express themselves freely without suffering severe repercussions,” keeping their personal and work lives separate.  They further have to deal with  the norm of the white dominant culture with silly questions about people’s weekends, not sharing anything too personal, and with the idea that any time a Black woman objects they are manifesting the angry Black woman stereotype, with their thoughts ignored. [3] Clara does not experience any of this in Welcome to the Wayne, as she is the head librarian and manager of the library. She doesn’t have to experience discrimination, microaggressions (either microassaults, microinsults, or microinvalidations), or stereotypical thoughts directed toward her. She just can do her job without being disturbed. All the show’s characters respect her for that, even if they have their own ideas for how librarians are “supposed” to behave. Sadly, due to the characters who come into the library, she doesn’t have the opportunity to connect to other Black people. That is something real-life Black librarians experience, even if they are not valued for their work and contributions, despite the fact they should be, but continue to keep trying no matter what. [4]

Due to the fact that she is the head of the Stanza, she likely has the power to collecting materials for and by Black people, like many other librarians out there. But, how many of her patrons are Black? If we base it on the characters in the show, very few of them would be Black, with Ansi Molina as mixed-race or the Arcsine. This is reflected in Ansi’s voice actor, Alanna Ubach, who is part Mexican and Puerto Rican, while Katie DiCicco, who voices the Arcsine appears to be a person of color and this is one of her only roles over the years. Even so, for Clara the job may be a “calling” to her, a form of vocational awe, like with some librarians, or realize what a vital role she plays as a librarian, like other Black people in the library profession. Clara may even know about other Black librarians in the past, who have paved the way for her to be in her role. [5] That’s all up to speculation at this point, unfortunately, due to a lack of reviews of the show.

Beyond this, I’d hope that Clara has used her clear dedication and persistence to make contributions to her library, and librarianship as a whole. If she did so, she would be following in the footsteps of many Black librarians before her. This includes those like librarian Dorothy B. Porter who smashes the racist and sexist Dewey Decimal System (DDC) to pieces and built her own cataloging system which actually helped people find what they were looking for rather than maintaining the White status quo that DDC keeps in place. She may even have the time to create research collections documenting people in the Wayne itself, like Miriam Matthews in Los Angeles where she began as a librarian in 1927, or the first Black librarian employed by New York City, Nella Larson Imes, among many others. [6]

In the beginning of the second episode of this series, Clara talks to Tony Stanza, keeper of the Stanza Archives, while she holds an information file on Ansi, saying she will try to retrieve him.

Much of what I am saying is supposition, however. In the series itself,  Clara only appears in eight episodes, seven of which she is voiced by Foy, who lists Clara in her resume along with other characters, and elsewhere as “Miss Clara.” [7] Some day, I’d love to interview her about the role, and if that comes to pass, then I’ll be sure to post about it here. That’s all for this post. Until next week!

© 2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

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Notes

[1] See, for example, Walden, Jennifer. “Audio: Nick.com’s ‘Welcome to the Wayne’.” Post Magazine, Apr. 1, 2015; Ashby, Emily. “Welcome to the Wayne TV Review.” Common Sense Media, Apr. 1, 2022; Damon Cap. “Welcome To The Wayne Review.” BSCKids, Jun. 30, 2017; “Show of the week: Welcome to the Wayne.” Television Business International, accessed May 29, 2022; Jurado, Peter. “Why We Love Welcome To The Wayne.” ComicsVerse, Aug. 7, 2017.

[2] Wabi-Sabi, Mirna and Fabio Teixeira, “Erasure of Black History in Favor of White Narratives Isn’t Limited to the US.” Truthout, Aug. 23, 2020; Eye Candy. “addressing black erasure in the arts: artists fight back.” AfroPunk, Aug. 16, 2018; Enamorado, Gabriella. “Taking a Look at the Erasure of Black History.” PantherNow, Feb. 16, 2021; Saulson, Sumiko. “Diversity talk highlights anti-Blackness and Black erasure within the LGBTQIA+ community.” San Francisco Bay View, Nov. 7, 2019; Kelly, Kayla. “Black allyship or Black erasure?” The Eagle, Feb. 9, 2022; Sehgal, Parul. “Fighting ‘Erasure’.” New York Times Magazine, Feb. 7, 2016; Spanos, Brittney. “The Year in Black Erasure.” Pitchfork, Dec. 22, 2014.

[3] Konata, La Loria. “Looking Through a Colored Lens: A Black Librarian’s Narrative,” Georgia State University, 2017, pp. 116-121

[4] Ibid, 123-4, 126.

[5] Patrick, Diane. “Developing Collections ‘By Any Means Necessary’“. Publisher’s Weekly, Jun. 30, 2013; Parker, Haillie and Allie Barton. “Invisible Chapters: Writing Tucson’s Black community into the stories of libraries, bookstores and publishing.” Tuscon Weekly, Dec. 14, 2020, Keeton, kYmberly. “A Personal Assessment: The African-American Librarian in the 21st Century“. University of Houston African American Studies, accessed May 29, 2022; Cooke, Nicole A. “Black Librarians Project.” LHRT News and Notes, accessed May 29, 2022; “Augusta Baker, Librarian, and Educator born,” AAREG, 1993.

[6] Dawson, Alma. “Celebrating African-Americans and Librarianship.” Library Trends Vol. 49, No. 1, Summer 2000, pp. 49-87; Hunt, Rebecca D. “African American Leaders in the Library Profession: Little Known History.” Black History Bulletin Vol. 76, No. 1, pp. 14-19; Helton, Laura. “On Decimals, Catalogs, and Racial Imaginaries of Reading.” Humanities Commons, 2019; Kindig, Jessie. “Miriam Matthews (1905–2003).” BlackPast, Dec. 16, 2007; “Minnie Fisher (1896-1990), Mound Bayou, Mississippi. Interviewed by: Dorothy R. Robinson, December 29, 1979.” HOLLIS for Archival Discovery, Harvard University. Dec. 29, 1979; Johnson, Doris Richardson. “Nella Larsen (1891-1963).” BlackPast, Jan. 19, 2007; “Black Women Oral History Project Interviews, 1976–1981,” Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, accessed May 29, 2022; Reft, Ryan. “Fighting for Leisure: African Americans, Beaches, and Civil Rights in Early 20th Century L.A.” KCET, May 16, 2014; Hochman, Rebecca. “Investing in Literature: Ernestine Rose and the Harlem Branch Public Library of the 1920s“. Legacy, Vol. 31, No. 1 (2014), pp. 93.

[7] Foy, Harriet D. “Resume.” Accessed May 29, 2022; Foy, Harriet D. “Bio.” Accessed May 29, 2022. Foy’s IMDB page lists her as voicing Rhone in seven episodes: “Rise and Shine Sleepyhead” (s1ep1); “Like a Happy, Happy Bird” (s1ep2); “Wall-to-Wall Ping-Pong Ball” (s1ep12), “Keep an Eye on the Nose” (s1ep19), “So This is Glamsterdam” (s1ep20), “Wiles Styles Your Over” (s2ep7); “Some Sort of Bad Luck Curse” (s2ep9). She also appears briefly in  “Whoever Controls the Wayne, Controls the World” (s2ep10) but is not voiced.

Bellissime librerie!: Library tourism from Venezia to Burano

Buongiorno! After getting my degree from library school in December 2019, I’ve been occasionally going to libraries, sometimes as a patron, and other times as a tourist. The latter was the case in Italy, where I went on a vacation with my parents, in September 2022. I traveled there, in part, to visit a town called Casola, in the mountains above Parma, where my cousins own a trattoria. It’s also where my great-grandfather and his siblings were born, and lived, some of whom immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century. In this post, I won’t focus on my expanded albero genealogico (family tree), but rather on my library tourism, as it could be called, during my trip in Italy.

For the first part of my trip, I stayed in an agritourismo in the suburbs of Firenze, often known as Florence, a beautiful city in Northern Italy. Multiple times I attempted to enter a biblioteca (library) in the center of the city, known as the Laurentian Medici Library. The first time I tried, I was told by the attendant that the library was only open to students. The second time, I was informed that the library was “permanently closed.” Whether that is still the case, I’m not sure, but I believe it probably is. Later on in the trip, I attempted to enter the Galileo Museum library, in downtown Firenze. Unfortunately, I was turned away, by a nice middle-aged Italian librarian who was working there, and told that the library was only for researchers. Through all of this, I somehow overlooked the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze. That library, also known as the National Central Library of Florence, is located on the Arno River.

Image of one of the library rooms at the Correr Museum. Sorry for the blurriness. (Photograph by me)

It wasn’t until September 18 that I visited my first library of sorts, in Venezia (Venice), Italy. It was within the Correr Museum on St. Mark’s Square. There were various library rooms filled with books and collections for tourists to examine. Some were rooms filled with artifacts collected by Francesco Morosini, Bessarion, and Venezia itself, like globes, manuscripts, and other items.

The next day, with my mom and dad, I visited the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, also known as the Marciana Library or Library of Saint Mark, which is inside the Correr Museum. Run by the Italian Ministry of Culture, it holds thousands of manuscripts, about one million post-16th century books, and many other artifacts, like globes, maps, and sculptures. While it is more of a museum than a library, it still has many library features. This includes pamphlets on a table which were labeled “for reference only” and beautiful paintings on the ceilings, in-keeping with Italian art. Some rooms were built by Joseph Sansovino, a famous Venetian architect.

A mangy library cat and the Venetian isle of Burano

On September 20, my next-to-last day in Italy, I traveled to Burano, an island near Venezia known for its colorful houses. It is a very tourist-centered island geared towards those who want to buy clothing, especially clothing with handmade lace, something the island is known for. A mangy, black cat guided me to a public library! It was almost like a dream. The library’s official website says the library, which is accessible to people with disabilities, has a “total of 5 rooms, 3 of which are reserved as reading rooms with 50 seats.” It is part of the Venice Library system.

Pamphlets on display inside the Burano library. (Photograph by me)

Not long after entering, my mom, dad, and I met an elderly Italian woman who was helpful, even though she knew very little English. She seemed to be the librarian on duty, helped by another Italian woman who was about the same age, sitting behind an information desk. On the wall in another room was an Italian-language version of the Dewey Decimal System. Both library workers were friendly and embodied an attitude of Italians I experienced throughout my vacation in Northern Italy: Italians want you to understand what they are saying, even if you speak very little Italian.

The librarian showed us around the small library, noting their collections, and what services they had to offer, such as a children’s corner. This even included a bathroom. While that might seem strange, elsewhere in Italy, you had to pay one Euro to use the bathroom, equivalent to about one U.S. dollar. In this library, the bathroom was open and could be used free-of-charge.

The library seemed like a place that Lady Elianna Bernstein or Myne, protagonists of Bibliophile Princess and Ascendance of a Bookworm respectfully, would be at home. However, both would probably complain that there weren’t enough books, even if they were enthralled with books about town’s history, teen fiction, or even children’s picture books. Myne would likely be overjoyed by the latter, since she tasked kids at a local orphanage with creating such books, in the anime series, in an attempt to make free books available. She did so despite pushback from her sponsor-of-sorts, a city merchant named Benno, who wanted to sell books rather than giving them out for free.

My parents and I were likely some of the only – or maybe even the first – tourists to enter the library in Burano. Many probably walk past it, as they’d rather shop or see the recommended sites. They might be thrown off by the mangy cat or the library itself. After all, black cats are, unfortunately, seen as bad luck, as witches in disguise, or many other silly superstitions. For me, the black cat was, in a sense, a form of good luck, as I wouldn’t have found the library if I hadn’t followed the cat! In order to respect the privacy of the librarians, I decided to not take their photographs. Instead, I only took photos of the library itself. In fact, I took all the photos displayed in this post.

Library entrance (left) and close-up of library sign (right). (Photographs by me)

There were no witchy librarians like Kaisa in Hilda, nor any like Clara Rhone in Welcome to the Wayne. That didn’t matter. What was important is the fact that the library was there with services to help the community. I remain optimistic that those in the community use the library to learn more about the island they live on, the world in-large, and themselves, becoming more informed citizens in the process.

Bibliotourism + its benefits

While visiting libraries in Italy did not give me culture shock, it gave me a glimpse into how libraries in Italy function and serve patrons. That is something I believe is valuable. Some have praised library tourism, also known as bibliotourism, or argued that “public libraries should be a tourist destination the way museums are” since libraries are a reflection of the community they serve. Others even created blogs about this form of tourism, like The Library Tourist, considered integrating libraries in “the tourism sector” ,or called bibliotourism the “next big trend”.

Whether any of that is the case, the fact is that library tourism must be done respectfully without imposing one’s culture and beliefs onto another. Although this doesn’t always happen, as the trend continues, as libraries become tourist attractions, and some tourists are downright snobbish. Ultimately, library tourism is inevitable since libraries play an important role in tourism. Some even believe that since libraries interconnect with tourism, they can promote sustainable development in countries such as China. In any case, visiting a library as a tourist, and even better, as a patron, can allow you to experience the space, the architecture, and understand the library’s role in the society in which it resides.

While I was a tourist in Italy, along with my parents, I was also a patron, as I used available library services. It is possible for someone to be a patron and a tourist. Doing so is more respectful than coming into a library on a whim, taking some photos and leaving, then going on your merry way, without a care in the world. Library tourism is possible despite the continually raging COVID-19 pandemic, causing library practices to change. The latter includes renewed efforts to serve those coming to a library as tourists, in addition to serving patrons from the local community.

In the end, as I continue through my career, I plan to visit libraries, not just as a tourist, but as a patron, understanding the role that the libraries I’m entering play in the local community, while respecting those who work at the libraries, and fellow patrons.

© 2022-2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

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This is post is reprinted from my guest post on January 25 on Reel Librarians.

Sources used

• “Biblioteche,” Città di Venezia, 2022.
• “Biblioteca Burano,”Città di Venezia, 2022.
• “Bibliotourism: 7 reasons why tourists should visit the library.” Princh, 2022.
• Chin, Chester. “Library tourism: World’s most beautiful libraries to visit in your lifetime.” The Star, 5 Feb. 2022
• Criscione, Candice. “Bathrooms in Italy – Everything You Need to Know,” Moms in Italy, 13 May , 2022
• Donnelly, Christina. “5 Pawsitively Fascinating Facts About Black Cats.” The Spruce Pets, 4 Feb., 2022
• Hermann, Burkely. “Archivists on the Issues: Popular Culture and the Presence of Archival Limits.” Issues & Advocacy, 6 Dec. 2022
• Hermann, Burkely. “Behind the Screen: Black voice actors who bring fictional librarians to life!” Pop Culture Library Review, 26 Jul. 2022.
• Hermann, Burkely. “Guest post: Analyzing the witchy librarian in ‘Hilda’ TV series + new movie.” Reel Librarians, 9 Mar. 2022
• Hermann, Burkely. “Guest post: BIPOC librarians in animated series: ‘She-Ra’ to ‘Yamibou’.” Reel Librarians, 24 Mar. 2021
• “Home page,” Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, 2022
• “Home page.” The Library Tourist, 2022.
• “Jacopo Sansovino,” Venice Travel Guide, 2022
• Krueger, Alyson. “Where Libraries are the Tourist Attractions.” New York Times, 10 Aug. 2019
• “La Biblioteca,” Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, 4 Oct. 2022
• Li, Yang and Xiaodong Liu. “‘Library + Tourism’： A New Direction for the Sustainable Development of Libraries.” 2019 IFLA WLIC, 13 Sept. 2019
• “Library Tourism Could Be The Next Big Travel Trend,” Turismo Global, 27 Jul. 2022
• “Mission and activities,” Museo Galileo, 2022
• Misra, Seema. “Library Tourism – An Unlikely Travel Trend Of Visiting Libraries In Today’s Digital World.” Banani Vista, 11 Sept. 2018
• Prokopenko, Liliia. “Library Tourism: To Define The Essence Of Concept.” ResearchGate, Jul. 2020
• “Risorse Online,” Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze, 2022
• “Research Services: The Museo Correr Library,” Correr Museum, 2022
• Sherman, Jan. “Some Observations From Library Tourism.” Book Riot, 17 Oct. 2019
• Syufy, Franny. “Myths and Superstitions About Black Cats.” The Spruce Pets, 7 Mar. 2022
• “The Museo Correr Library: Information,” Correr Museum, 2022
• Tyna, Faustyna. “Communication Crisis for Librarians on Library Tourism: The Communication Crisis for Librarians on Library Tourism: The Effects of the Crisis Pandemic Covid-19Effects of the Crisis Pandemic Covid-19.” Library Philosophy and Practice, 4 Jul. 2022
• Waterman, Sue. “Library Tourism.” The Sheridan Libraries & University Museums Blog, 12 Jun. 2017

Black History Month special: Examining ten Black fictional librarians

Clara doing exercises on the balcony of her apartment at the end of the final episode of Welcome to the Wayne

On this blog, I’ve occasionally written about Black librarians in fiction and am trying to write about it more, as long as I can find characters to write about. In fact, in The Public, a film by Emilio Estevez, which I reviewed in one of this blog’s first posts, appears a Black man named Mr. Anderson. Voiced by Jeffrey Wright, he is unique as he is a Black library administrator, something which is sadly seen too little in pop culture. In this first post for Black History Month, I’d like to highlight librarians I’ve written about on this blog and beyond.

With White librarians as the norm, so-called “diverse librarians”, which is code for non-white, are said to be “in demand”. Some have even said in response that their librarianship is not for White people and they are not the folks they are trying to reach or center in their work. [1] However, fictional Black librarians often can’t choose which patrons they are serving. In fact, the unnamed Black male librarian in a We Bare Bears episode (“Our Stuff”) and a Black woman named Lydia Lovely in Horrid Henry episode (“Horrid Henry: Computer Whizz”) serve multiracial and multiethnic patrons.

Furthermore, in keeping with past practices in animation, which have seemingly been retired, for the most part, some Black fictional librarians were voiced by White people. One example of this is Ms. Lovely, voiced by Joanna Ruiz, a White woman. Kimberly Brooks turned this paradigm around, however, when she voiced a strict White female librarian in an episode of DC Super Hero Girls.

There are a few Black fictional librarians who shine through, however. Most prominent is Clara Rhone in Welcome to the Wayne. She is a Black woman and is voiced by Harriet B. Foy. Although she is not a main character, she is an oft supporting character who runs the Stanza, a magical library hidden within the Wayne apartment building. She does not do all the work on her own, but is, instead, helped by non-human library workers who fetch books for her, and help her to ensure that the library remains organized for anyone who can use it. She becomes a central part of the story as Ansi Molina, Olly, and Saraline Timbers work together uncover the Wayne’s mysteries before it is too late.

Just as prominent is O’Bengh / Cagliostro in an episode of What If…? (“What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?”). He is a Nigerian man and is voiced by Ike Amadi. He tries to help Doctor Strange harness his powers and attempts to tell him to not go to the side of evil. Although he is unsuccessful, he remains an important part of the episode. Unfortunately, his character carries with it the implication that librarians are magicians and that what they do is “magic.” This can’t be further from the truth. In some ways, however, this is inevitable as his character is a sorcerer, so there was no way they could have gotten around this when depicting him in the episode. It is further disappointing that he will likely never appear again in the series, meaning this episode is his one and only episode, becoming one-episode-wonder, nothing more, nothing less.

Then there’s George and Lance in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. They are gay Black men who are voiced by Regi Davis and Chris Jai Alex respectfully. Although both are technically historians, they are de facto librarians as they run, and live-in, a library in the Whispering Woods. Although they only appear very infrequently in the series, the episodes they do appear in they have an impact. They help the protagonists solve a riddle which leads them to a barren desert, and uncover the clues needed to uncover the biggest mystery of all about the planet of Etheria. On top of all of that, they are supportive of their son, Bow, who reveals he is a fighter for the rebellion. Even though they are opposed to joining in as part of the fight by themselves, which led him to come up with an elaborate story that he was going to a boarding school, they don’t want to hold Bow back.

Marienne Bellamy (left) and Amarie Treadeau (right)

Now, there are many other Black fictional librarians out there, with those in major film roles described by Jennifer Snoek-Brown on her Reel Librarians blog. I haven’t seen the psychological thriller series, You, but there is a smart, non-nonsense librarian named Marienne Bellamy (played by Tati Gabrielle) who observes the citizens of the neighborhood but does not get taken in by the entitlement and privilege of the patrons. While she holds in her own personal struggles, she is helped by another librarian, Dante Ferguson, a White male family man with damaged eyesight who wants to expand his family. [2]

Then, there’s Amarie Treadeau, otherwise known as “Amma”, who is voiced by Viola Davis, in Beautiful Creatures, a 2013 romantic fantasy film. She is the combination of two characters from the 2009 novel of the same name by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. She is wicked smart, skilled with magic, brave, and well-read. Davis described her character as more than what is on the surface, a person with “different secrets to be discovered,” including a tribal scarification on her back, channeling spirits, and serving as a “keeper of a library that’s the gateway to different worlds.” Davis further said she liked that, saying she likes “when there are different layers to peel away,” adding that “it was just subtle enough to play and to craft” and saying that this is what appealed to her about the role.” [3]

These are not the only Black librarians in fiction, however. One of the most prominent is Valerie the Librarian, who appears in multiple issues of Spidey Super Stories. She also appears in episodes of The Electric Company, where she is voiced by Hattie Winston. In her role, she often bucks stereotypes of Black women and of librarians, sometimes at the same time! She is clearly a groundbreaking character, even though she doesn’t appear as much in the comics as she should.

As for this blog, it has come a long way from August 2020, when I said that George and Lance where “the only non-white (and Black) librarians in animation” I could think of off hand. Then in March 2021, I wrote about them in a guest post for Reel Librarians. Since then, I’ve written about Clara Rhone in Welcome to the Wayne, Black librarians in stock footage and GIFs, Black voice actors, depictions of librarians of color (including Black characters) and the micoaggressions they face, and more. Although I hope to come across more Black librarians in fiction, I have a sinking suspicion that come next year and I’ll have the same number of Black librarians listed on this blog as before. Here’s to hoping that I come across Black librarians in the future!

© 2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

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Notes

[1] David James Hudson, “The Whiteness of Practicality” in Topographies of Whiteness: Mapping Whiteness in Library and Information Science (ed. Gina Schlesselman-Tarango, Library Juice Press: Sacramento, CA: 2017), p. 218, 220; Jorge R. Lopez-McKnight, “My Librarianship is Not For You” in Topographies of Whiteness: Mapping Whiteness in Library and Information Science (ed. Gina Schlesselman-Tarango, Library Juice Press: Sacramento, CA: 2017), p. 268.

[2] Petski, Denise. “‘You’ Season 3: Saffron Burrows Upped To Series Regular, Dylan Arnold, Tati Gabrielle Among 12 Cast In Netflix Series.” Deadline, Nov. 18, 2020. Also see the You (TV series) Wikipedia page. Bellamy appears in multiple episodes and becomes the titular deuteragonist in the second half of the show’s third season.

[3] Snoek-Brown, Jennifer. “A reel librarian’s multi-faceted role in ‘Beautiful Creatures’ (2013).” Reel Librarians, Feb. 10, 2021; Wood, Rachel Noelle. “The Best Fictional Librarians from Popular Culture.” KQED, Apr. 11, 2017; The Caster Chronicles Wiki. “Marian Ashcroft.” Last modified Jan. 16, 2020, see “Appearance and Personality” section; Kroll, Justin. “Viola Davis books two feature roles.” Variety, Feb. 2, 2012; Anderton, “Viola Davis Lands Roles in ‘Ender’s Game’ and ‘Beautiful Creatures’,” FirstShowing.Net, Feb. 3, 2012; “Viola Davis: The Beautiful Creatures Interview,” aalbc.com, Sept. 18, 2017

Recently added titles (January 2023)

Yumi, in episode 6 of Maria Watches Over Us, tells Yoshina she came to the library to get a book on Rosa catina, but does not know the student librarian she talked to was actually Rosa Catina herself, the “enemy” of the student council!

Building upon the titles listed for July/August, September, October,  November, and and December 2021, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2022, this post notes recent titles with libraries or librarians in popular culture which I’ve come across in the past month. Each of these has been watched or read during the past month. Not as many animated series or anime with libraries this past month, but I did come across a good deal in comics, whether in graphic novels or webcomics, and hopefully there will be more that I find in the days, weeks, and months to come. That’s my hope at least.

Animated series recently added to this page

None for this month.

Anime series recently added to this page

• Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro, “Senpai, don’t you ever get angry?”
• Maria Watches Over Us, “Rosa Canina”
• Maria Watches Over Us, “White Pedals”
• Maria Watches Over Us, “The Yellow Rose at Full Tilt”
• Maria Watches Over Us, “Codename Operation OK”
• Maria Watches Over Us, “Crisscross”
• Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka, “The Magical Girl Comes Back”
• Ouran High School Host Club, “Starting Today You Are A Host”
• Ouran High School Host Club, “The Job of a High School Host!”

Comics recently added to this page

• Anemone in Heat, “Chapter 8”
• Can’t Defy The Lonely Girl, “Chapter 3”
• Diamond Dive, “Winter Special Part 2”
  
• Daybreak, “Episode 39”
• Fuwafuwa Futashika Yume Mitai
• Glass Case, “Aires”
• Glass Case, “Circinus”
• Glass Case, “Sagitta”
• Glass Case, “Fornax”
• Glass Case, “Caelum”
• Glass Case, “Mensa”
• Glass Case, “Apus”
• Glass Case, “Pisces”
• Glass Case, “Virgo”
• Glass Case, “Capricornus”
• Glass Case, “Cancer”
• Glass Case, “Cetus”
• Glass Case, “Chamaeleon”
• Glass Case, “Aquarius”
• Glass Case, “Corvus”
• Glass Case, “Equuleus”
• Glass Case, “Triangulum”
• Glass Case, “Microscopium”
• Glass Case, “Canes Venatici”
• Glass Case, “Grus”
• Himawari-San
• I Kissed a Succubus aka Watashi wa Succubus to Kiss o Shita 
• Kuchibiru Tameiki Sakurairo
• Kimi to Tsuzuru Utakata
• My Masochistic Boss, “[S2] 8 – Different Worlds”
• Nuku Nuku Toshoiin aka Snuggly Librarian 
• Shitsurakuen aka Lost Paradise 
• The Caged Bird Sings Themes of Love aka Kago no Shoujo wa Koi wo suru 
• The Girlfriend Project
• Vampire-chan x Junior-chan aka Kyuuketsuki-chan to Kouhai-chan 
• Yuri Hime Collection 
• Yuri Shimai

Films recently added to this page

• x

Other entries recently added to this page

• Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk [Video game]
• Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea [Video game]
• BanG Dream! [Music media franchise]
• Conflict Girl [Visual novel]
• ~Daydream Reconstruct~ [Visual novel]
• Flowers [Visual novel]
• Hanidebi! Honey & Devil [Visual novel]
• Kamitsure [Visual novel]
• Kohonya [Visual novel]
• Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Strikers [Anime TV series]
• Man’in Chijo Densha 2 [Visual novel]
• Once on a Windswept Night [Visual novel]
• Please Be Happy [Visual novel]
• Sakura Sadist [Visual novel]
• Sono Hanabira ni Kuchizuke wo [Visual novel]
• Touhou Project [Video game]

© 2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

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Thank you to all the people that regularly read my blog. As always, if you have any titles you’d like to suggest, let me know. Thanks!

Revisiting the librarians of “Archie’s Weird Mysteries”

In the past, I’ve argued that the two librarians in “The Haunting of Riverdale” episode of Archie’s Weird Mysteries, Violet Stanhope and Ms. Herrera respectfully, are positive fictional portrayals of libraries, even though neither is shown outside the library. This means that neither fulfills the Librarian Portrayal Test, failing the second tenet. [1] I’ve also said that Violet, a librarian ghost also known as Quiet Violet, stands against existing shushing librarian stereotypes and further noted that she, and possibly Ms. Herrera, dresses conservatively, having style in a way that could be seen as more “traditional.” In rewatching the episode, I came to the similar conclusions as to the ones I outlined back in April 2021 and new ones which I want to share in this post. Similar as I did with my post about the buff librarian in Totally Spies!, I am trying to rewatch episodes that I’ve covered on this blog in the past in hopes of getting a new perspective on the librarians or libraries. Warning that this post will have spoilers for that episode.

First, a summary. The episode begins a typical mystery/horror fashion, asking if Archie can stop the ghostly menace or not. As the episode goes on, we hear Archie complaining to his friend that his columns aren’t interesting and say that if something weird doesn’t happen soon, his next column will be even more boring than his last one. His wish of sorts comes true when those in the town are spooked by a ghost, with his friend Reggie even getting white hair from it, similar to how Doctor Zoidberg grows hair when he is terrified, declaring that “Quiet Violet” has come back for revenge all the years that they made fun of her behind her back. Archie isn’t sure why his friend and various others in Riverdale are experiencing the same issues, but suspiciously his friend Jughead runs away when he asks him to look up something in the Riverdale History Archives in the library. That leaves him to figure out the mystery and go inside the local library. This library looks a bit grand and formidable with its classic architecture, including two Grecian Doric columns in front. [2] While there, he talks to the head librarian, Ms. Herrera. He asks her if his usual research table is available and tells her he has another weird mystery to solve. He hopes that he can read more and figure out who is haunting the town.

None of the huge stacks of books help, so he leaves, disappointed, declaring that the answer to the mystery “isn’t here at the library.” This is clearly shown to be incorrect, as books magically re-shelve themselves when he isn’t looking! Eventually, he puts the pieces together and realizes that the library has something to do with the haunting of the citizens, learning that two of them clutched an overdue library notice and muttered “Quiet Violet.” When he returns to the library, Ms. Herrera pulls him aside, not wanting to alarm the library patrons, saying that a lot of “unusual occurrences” have been happening since she took over as head librarian, like a strange presence behind her, books shelving themselves, and sudden changes in temperature. She even states, perceptively, that something is trying to help the library but doesn’t realize how spooky they are being. Archie, after going through the stacks for hours, comes upon Quiet Violet, who is haunting the library. She chases and shushes him, telling him to be quiet, respect the library, and to behave himself, saying she hopes he learned his lesson. Not surprisingly, this scares away the other library patrons, who are noticeably terrified. It is then that he realizes that the ghost is none other than the former head librarian, Violet Stanhope.

We then get the library horror story from Jughead, saying that when he was six-years-old, Violet kept telling him what to do and where to go, even telling him to be quiet after he was laughing a lot. He vowed after that to never come back to the library every again. Archie’s friend Betty counters his story by saying that Violet helped her get her first library card. They later return to the library, with Ms. Herrera convinced that Violet didn’t mean to scare people away, because the library was her life. This is reinforced when they examine Violet’s memoir, showing that her unfinished business on Earth is her interaction with Jughead all those years ago. She then explains it all from her perspective, saying that she was trying to warn him to be careful, took a book from him because it was being repaired and pages were falling out, and shushed him because people were studying in the library and needed quiet. Clearly, he had misinterpreted the situation entirely. She added that she felt horrible after she saw Jughead’s face and “chased” after him because he wanted to give him a library card and to show him how enjoyable the library is. She then says that people, like books, should never be judged by their covers, that she never meant to frighten anyone, and agrees with Betty’s suggestion that she move on, as Ms. Herrera is in charge now, with the condition that Jughead get a library card and visit the library often. Before she leaves, she tells him to enjoy reading. The episode concludes with Jughead saying he will miss Violet, and Archie saying that everything is going back to normal, with people returning to the library, with Violet’s good influence on Riverdale remaining. All he while, Jughead has rediscovers the library after years of avoiding it, reading cookbooks, adventure stories, local history, and his favorite book, Violet’s autobiography.

Violet shushes Jughead for laughing too loud

Violet is more than a character who subverts the scary librarian trope which is manifested famously by the librarian ghost in Ghostbusters. She helpful, and sometimes stern, elderly woman with gray hair who wore a purple dress with puffy, long sleeves, including a purple skirt, and two purple shoes, along with a golden locket rested around her neck, according to her fandom page. Although she saw herself as sweet and kind, she sometimes had a scary demeanor, enforcing the rules of the library or trying to keep out library patrons, with her heart in the right place. She also took pride in the library’s organization, even becoming hostile at rule breakers as a ghost. Thanks to Jughead understanding her, and she understanding Jughead, she is now able to rest in peace and pass onto the afterlife, never again to haunt the land of the living.

The episode, which aired on November 6, 1999 on the PAX Network, written by Michael Patrick Dobkins, based on characters appearing in Archie comics, expertly smashes the scary librarian trope in one fell swoop, showing that librarians can have reasons for being stern and wanting quiet. Violet is by no means as terrifying as Sarah, Sara, and Desiree breaking into a house to seize a library book in Too Loud, the bun-wearing librarian in the Boyfriends webcomic, the socially conservative book-burning librarian in Moral Orel, Francis Clara Censordoll, or the harsh curmudgeon unnamed librarian in an episode of DC Super Hero Girls. [3] In fact, she is tame by those standards. She is as much of a full character as the one time librarian in Merlin’s Story.

While the person who voiced Violet is not known, if we use the IMDB listing, it has to be a number of different voice actresses. She could be voiced by Tina Dixon who hasn’t had many roles, or Sheila Rochas. But, that doesn’t matter, because however did voice her did a great job of conveying the character to those who are watching.

Then there’s Ms. Herrera. She is a character who may be of Latine descent, as noted on the fandom page about her, and is the head librarian of the Riverdale Library after Violet dies. She has slightly tanned skin, a slender physique, golden hoop earrings, and neck-length brown and curly hair. She also has red lipstick like Violet. But, her dress is different, like a short-sleeved green shirt, a white pencil skirt, and short green heels, while she usually has a moody expression on her face. As the fandom page notes, she comes off as stern and no-nonsense, taking the rules seriously, and is a skeptic of the supernatural until convinced otherwise. She is prideful as a librarian and knows Archie well as he often goes to the library so he can do research for his Weird Mystery column for the school newspaper.

Ms. Herrera behind the information desk, with Violets portrait looming behind her, a reminder of her influence on the library

In comparing her voice to that of Midge, a recurring side character, in another episode, it is possible that Herrera she is voiced by Julie Anderson. According to Anderson’s IMDB page, she has only voiced characters for their Archie’s Weird Mysteries, Liberty’s Kids: Est. 1776, The Archies in Jug Man. There is a possibility she is voiced by Susan “Susie” Baer Collins as well, who was also credited in the episode, as her voice may have some similarities, per this video. Like with Violet, her voice actress, however that is, really shines through. [4]

This all makes it possible that if we say that Herrera is presumably Latine, as the fandom page for her asserts, then she likely is not voiced by Latine person, unless Anderson, Collins, Dixon, or Rochas are Latine themselves. It is definitely a possibility, but considering that the episode came out in 1999, it is unlikely that a high priority was put on making sure Latine people voice Latine characters, Black people voice Black characters, and so on, as a way to make those forms of representation more genuine to the viewers.

I liked her character even more than Violet, as she never loses her cool and keeps her composure, even when everyone leaves the library because they think the library is haunted. I wish we could have seen her outside the library as well, but, alas, that did not happen, unfortunately. Her style is much more chic and appealing than the traditional style which is embodied by Violet and many other librarians.

In the end, this episode, which can either be watched on the YouTube link at the beginning of this post, on Tubi, Paramount+, Roku TV, Apple TV, or Pluto TV, definitely smashes a lot of stereotypes when it comes to librarians in fiction and I wish more animated (and live-action) series would do that in the future. And you don’t even need the TV Tropes page to prove that this is the case.

© 2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

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Notes

[1] That tenet is “The character is not only, or primarily, defined by their role as a librarian.” In contrast, the first tenet is: “The animated series, anime, comic, film, or other pop culture media, has a character that is clearly a librarian, whether they work in a public library, corporate library, have a personal library, or some other circumstance where they work in a library.” The third tenet is “the librarian has to integral to the plot to such an extent that their removal from the story of a said episode, or episodes, would significantly impact the plot. As such, the librarian cannot just be there for laughs, be a foil, shush patrons, or otherwise fall into existing stereotypes, but should matter in and of themselves.”

[2] As The Architect says “the traditional Greek Doric columns come without a base…Types of columns in roman architecture…include Doric Ionic and Corinthian…Roman columns were purely for decoration unlike Greek columns that were used to support their buildings and temples” and eHow states that “there are three main types of Roman columns used throughout much of ancient architecture…Doric, Ionic and Corinthian.” ThoughtCo outlines the types and styles of columns, posts, and pillars.

[3] Other examples of harsh librarians include Mr. Snellson in an episode of Mysticons, Ms. Hatchet in an episode of Kim Possible, Mrs. Shusher in The Replacements, Libro Shushman in Teamo Supremo, Rita Loud in Timon & Pumbaa, Bat Librarian in Rose of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Mrs. L in Dexter’s Laboratory, to name a few.

[4] Neither is likely voiced by Michele Phillips who is only credited for voicing characters in this series, but noted by Behind the Voice Actors as voicing Ethel and Scarlet. The same site also notes that Julie Anderson voices Midge as well.

Librarians of Color on “Pop Culture Library Review”: A 2022 Assessment

Left to right for top row: Mateo in Elena of Avalor, Myne in Ascendance of A Bookworm, Valerie the Librarian in Spidey Super Stories, Kokoro and Aru in Kokoro Library, Lilith and the woman she loves (Hazuki) in Yamibou, Fumi Manjōme in Aoi Hana / Sweet Blue Flowers, and Chiyo Tsukudate in Strawberry Panic!. Left to right for bottom row: Fumio Murakumi in Girl Friend Beta, Azusa Aoi in Whispered Words, George and Lance in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Anne and Grea in Manaria Friends, Sophie Twilight in Ms. Vampire who lives in my neighborhood, unnamed librarians in We Bare Bears, and Mr. Anderson in The Public. I also wrote about Clara Rhone in Welcome to the Wayne, Cagliostro in What If…?, and Mira and Sahil in Mira, Royal Detective this year. All are librarians of color. Another possible candidate is Isomura in Let’s Make a Mug Too!, a librarian-curator.

Since the early days of this blog, I’ve written about librarians of color, whether those in anime like Revolutionary Girl Utena and Gargantia, in animation such as She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (de facto librarians) or Mira, Royal Detective. Currently, there are over 40 posts with the “Librarians of Color” tag, along with various other posts under the “Latine librarians”, “Japanese librarians”, “Mexican librarians”, “Thai librarians”, “Vietnamese librarians”, “Cuban librarians”, “Indian librarians”, and corresponding terms for patrons of color. [1] Recently, I have also penned posts about Black, Asian, Latin American, Indian, and Japanese voice actors who voice librarians I have listed on this blog, along with other Japanese and English voices..

There is more to say about librarians of color beyond those I wrote about back in September 2021. Currently, I have 92 librarians of color listed on my “List of fictional librarians”. They break down into:

• 67 Japanese people (at least 41 are Japanese women)
• 12 Black people
• 4 Asian people
• 3 Latine people
• 6 other people of color

And this isn’t counting the 27 non-human librarians. This compares to the 84 White people on the list, who are primarily White women. I’ll focus on this topic later in the year. I added the appropriate tags after reading posts from Jennifer Snoek-Brown about portrayals of librarians of color, noting it is a sensitive issue considering the racist history and present of U.S. society, and addressing the “lack of diversity in librarianship”. She also noted that are very few “cinematic representations of librarians of color,” and even fewer who are protagonists. [2] In highlighting librarians of color, I tend to agree with the argument by Snoek-Brown about exposing stereotypes and single stories which echo “throughout every part of our lives” since stories matter. The same is the case for the argument by Chris Bourg that there is continued lack of diversity in the library field, or the fact that poor representation of some ethnic or racial groups among libraries might lead to speculation that something about librarianship is “inherently unwelcoming or unattractive” to such groups. [3]

I plan to expand this further in the coming year with posts about ten fictional Black librarians, two Black reel librarians, real-life Black librarians who should be in fiction, Hanamaru Kunikida in Love Live! Sunshine!!, Arab and Muslim librarians in fiction, six fictional librarians of Asian descent, and fictional librarians of color and their counterstories. I hope that in the future I come across more Black librarians in fiction, especially Black women like those in Lovecraft Country, except ones that are credited, and connect this to the historical role of Black librarians. Alma Dawson of Louisiana State University wrote about this in a Summer 2000 issue of Library Trends:

Throughout their history, African-American librarians have been pioneers, visionaries, risk-takers, hard-workers, innovators, organizers, and achievers. Through dedication and persistence, they have developed library collections and archives in spite of limited resources. They have provided reference and information services, and their libraries have served as cultural centers for many blacks in all types of communities…They have served as mentors and role models for many individuals and have contributed to the scholarly record of librarianship. These achievements are an inspiration worthy of continued emulation and cause for celebration.” [4]

The article also notes documentation of the Black library experience, general studies and monographs such as the Handbook of Black Librarianship in 1977, What Black Librarians are Saying in 1972, in Black Librarian in American Revisited in 1994, Untold Stories: Civil Rights, Libraries, and Black Librarianship in 1998, and various dissertations on related topics. Furthermore, key Black librarians in the 20th century are noted, such as: Regina M. Anderson, Augusta Baker, Hannah Diggs Atkin, Thomas Fountain Blue, Virgia Brocks-Shedd, Doris Hargett Clack, and Jean Ellen Coleman. There is additional information about roles of Black librarians in professional organizations, like the Black Caucus of the ALA (BCALA), and many others, along with information about library development and services, library education, recurring themes, and other resources. [5]

I would add that highlighting librarians of color on this blog helps ensure, in some way that people of color need to be represented in the profession, inspiring people of color to become librarians, to be part of initiatives (either started by them or by others), and engage in related tasks to counter the unbearable Whiteness of the profession. That’s my hope at least. I further believe that the focus on librarians of color on this blog can provide inspiration or even support, in some way, to break down institutionalized inequity, either in academic librarianship or elsewhere, where librarians of color are given hidden workloads. The latter manifests itself when such librarians are told to take on or lead diversity special projects, even if they don’t necessarily have experience in area, leading to a vicious cycle. [6]

A focus on Japanese librarians can also help to counter Whiteness within pop culture depictions of librarians and even within the profession. It could even be used to support changes within librarianship for more librarians of Asian descent, especially within the U.S., where there is a myth of the Asian community as “model citizens”, which leads to social and psychological costs. At the same time, this blog’s focus on librarians of color may support existing progress for an increased number of real-life librarians of color, and hint at the role of institutions in diversifying the workforce. [7]

However, this could all be hogwash. I’m not sure how influential, or not influential this blog is to make those changes. In any case, I remain committed to continuing to write about and list librarians of color on this site, as I continue to learn more about the library field every day.

© 2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

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Notes

[1] This includes tags such as “Japanese patrons”, “Black patrons”, “Indian patrons”, “Afro-Latine patrons”, “Mexican patrons”, “Korean patrons”, “Egyptian patrons”, “Taiwanese patrons”, and “Argentinian patrons”.

[2] Snoek-Brown, Jennifer. “Revisiting reel librarian totals,” Reel Librarians, Aug. 2, 2017; Snoek-Brown, Jennifer. “Reel librarians of color, 2021 update,” Reel Librarians, Jan. 27, 2021. In the first post, for those who are Black or or African decent, she lists Jaye Loft-Lyn as Microfilm Library Clerk in Pickup on South Street (1953), Jaye Stewart as Male Librarian in All the President’s Men (1976), Paul Benjamin as English in Escape from Alcatraz (1979), Tim Reid as Michael Hanlon in Stephen King’s It (TV, 1990), C. Francis Blackchild as Wanda & L. B. Williams as Howard in Party Girl (1995), Aunjanue Ellis as Jo & Demene E. Hall as Mrs. Biddle in Men of Honor (2000), Orlando Jones as Vox in The Time Machine (2002), Merrina Millsapp as Hall of Records Attendant in Ella Enchanted (2004), Zarrin Darnell-Martin as Intern Wanda in Oscar-winning Spotlight (2015), Ronald William Lawrence as Library Clerk in The Ring (2002), Octavia Spencer as Hildy in Follow the Stars Home (TV, 2001), Noreen Walker as Librarian in Somewhere in Time (1980), Jeff Feringa as Librarian #1 in Dangerous Minds (1995), Mary Alice as Alice, a children’s librarian, in Bed of Roses (1996), Lynette DuPree as Librarian in Back When We Were Grownups (TV, 2004), Delores Mitchell as Librarian in Autumn in New York (2000), and an uncredited book cart shelver in City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold (1994). For those who are Asian or South Asian, lists Shakti as Kala in The Golden Child (1986), Alfred Ono as Mr. Fong in Elephant (2003), Sophia Wu as Librarian as Finding Forrester (2000), Anjali Jay and Hiro Kanagawa in Age of Adaline (2015), Tony Azito as Librarian and Juan Fernández as Attendant in Necronomicon: Book of the Dead (1993). Also four are listed as Latine: Liz Torres as Delores Rodriguez in Just Cause (1995), Javier Bardem as Reinaldo Arenas in Before Night Falls (2000), Damian Chapa as Miklo in Bound by Honor (aka Blood In, Blood Out… Bound by Honor, 1993), and Rose Bianco as Bella in The Ultimate Gift (2006). Additionally, one is listed as Arab + Middle Eastern (1): Erick Avari as Dr. Terrence Bey in The Mummy (1999), and one as indigenous: Jane Lind as Noayak in Salmonberries (1991). These racial designations apply to the characters NOT those who voice them. Elsewhere, she notes, Duana Butler who plays the “Library Clerk” role in The Manchurian Candidate (2004), unnamed Black male law librarian in Fatal Attraction, along with other librarians of color like the unnamed librarian in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018) (also see here), Wong in Doctor Strange (also see here, and here) and Avengers: Infinity War,

[3] Snoek-Brown, Jennifer. “‘The danger of a single story’ for reel librarians,” Reel Librarians, Nov. 2, 2016; Bourg, Chris. “The Unbearable Whiteness of Librarianship,” Mar. 3, 2014; Lance, Keith Curry (May 2005). “Racial and Ethnic Diversity of U.S. Library Workers,” American Libraries, p. 42.

[4] Dawson, Alma (Summer 2000). “Celebrating African-American Librarians and Librarianship,” Library Trends 49(1): 49-50. On page 77, Dawson adds: “there is still ample evidence from the literature to indicate that civil rights, discrimination, and racism are still concerns of African-American librarians”.

[5] Ibid, 52-78. Others include Gwendolyn Cruzat, Sadie Peterson Delaney, Virginia Proctor Florence, George W. Forbes, Nicholas Edward Gaymon, Eliza Gleason, Vivian Harsh, Jean Blackwell Huston, Mollie Lee Huston, Althea Jenkins, Clara Stanton Jones, Virginia Lacy Jones, Casper Leroy Jordan, E. J. Josey, Catherine A. Latimer, Mary F. Lenox, Ruby Stutts Lyles, Albert P. Marshall, Emily Moble, Daniel Murray, Major R. Owens, Annette L. Phinazee, Joseph Harry Reason, Charlemae Rollins, Henrietta M. Smith, Jessie Carney Smith, Lucille C. Thomas, Robert E. Wedgeworth, Dorothy Porter Wesley, John F. N. Wilkerson, Edward Christopher Williams, and Monroe Nathan Work.

[6] Agnes K. Bradshaw, “Strengthening the Pipeline-Talent Management for Libraries: A Human Resources Perspective” in Where Are All The Librarians of Color?: The Experiences of People of Color (ed. Rebecca Hankins and Miguel Juarez, Library Juice Press: Sacramento, CA, 2015), 123-4; Shaundra Walker, “Critical Race Theory and the Recruitment, Retention and Promotion of a Librarian of Color: A Counterstory” in Where Are All The Librarians of Color?: The Experiences of People of Color (ed. Rebecca Hankins and Miguel Juarez, Library Juice Press: Sacramento, CA, 2015), 146-7.

[7] Vince Lee, “Like a Fish Out of Water, But Forging My Own Path” in Where Are All The Librarians of Color?: The Experiences of People of Color (ed. Rebecca Hankins and Miguel Juarez, Library Juice Press: Sacramento, CA, 2015), 187-189; Roland Barksdale-Hall, “Building Dialogic Bridges to Diversity: Are We There Yet?” in Where Are All The Librarians of Color?: The Experiences of People of Color (ed. Rebecca Hankins and Miguel Juarez, Library Juice Press: Sacramento, CA, 2015), 267; Miguel Juarez, “Making Diversity Work in Academic Libraries” in Where Are All The Librarians of Color?: The Experiences of People of Color (ed. Rebecca Hankins and Miguel Juarez, Library Juice Press: Sacramento, CA, 2015), 313.