The Role of the

Librarian in the

Sci Fi

Fantasy Genreand

The Positive Image•Female•Married•Attractive•High status •Customer service oriented

The Negative Image•Hair in bun•Glasses•Sensible shoes•Antisocial•Rude to patrons

Role of the Librarian

The Role of the Librarian A major role is positive 44% of the time

A minor role is negative 37% of the time

An in passing role is neutral 19% of the time

Henry from The Time Traveler’s Wife•Is afraid of being unaccepted•His coworkers support him throughout his life•Keeps returning to the library since it’s important to him•Finds love at the library when he meets his wife there

Lirael from The Old Kingdom

•The 2nd Assistant Librarian•Intelligent •Adventurous•Knowledge is dangerous•Librarians have swords

Charmain from House of Many Ways

• Examples of cataloging•Different material types•Knows nothing practical•Not passive in personality

•Stick thin•Hair in bun

•Wears glasses•Great lover of books

Positive Traits Negative Traits

Resources

Background images from http://www.sxc.hu/

Movie and Book Images from Google Images: 1, 2, 3.

Jones, D. W. (2009). House of Many Ways. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Myers, M. J. (1998). Images of Librarians in Science Fiction and Fantasy: Including an Annotated List. Retrieved October 19, 2009, from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED420314

Niffenegger, A. (2004). The Time Traveler's Wife. Boston: Mariner Books.

Nix, G. (2002). Lirael. New York: HarperTrophy.

Amanda Goodman 2009