And Now We All Go a Little Bit Crazy

This is kind of an inside joke going public, but whatever . . . Summer Fridays are the best time for slightly off-kilter, questionably entertaining posts. About librarians.

It all started a few weeks ago, when I was at the American Library Association conference and texted my friend Ali about the Book Cart Drill Team World Championships taking place the following day. I’ve posted about this a few times, but in case you’re not familiar with this nerdtastic phenomenon, check it out:

Yeah. Yeah.

And check the team names: “Gett Down with Your Funky Shelf,” “Texas Arrangers,” “Night of the Living Librarians,” “Dewey Decimators,” on so and forth.

But I don’t want to make fun of librarians . . . I heart libraries and librarians. Growing up in ~~Bay City~~ ~~Essexville~~ Hampton Township, I would’ve totally lost my shit way earlier in life if it weren’t for the local library. Glenda was the head librarian who got me to read any number of interesting books, who really shaped my literary development for years and years. And even now, when books flow like water into my office on a near-daily basis, I still have a special fondness for going to Rush Rhees to pick up something specific or just wander the “P“s. And I think librarians are interesting people. They think different than the rest of us. They see information sourcing in surprising, fun ways. They are resource ninjas.

And a seemingly large number of them have no self-consciousness whatsoever when it comes to doing crazy shit on camera. Which is adorable. Or something.

So after the ALA, I started noticing librarian video after librarian video, each a tad bit more absurd than the last. Like, let’s start here:

I’m not entirely sure what that’s all about, except maybe that libraries need more music? And pimping?

Regardless, that’s nothing compared to this insane rapper who’s probably not the best representative of lip-synching, the beauty of the Dewey Decimal system, or librarians in general:

What’s most perplexing is the fact that this kid decided to do a remix version of the Dewey Decimal Rap in his bedroom. YouTube! Cognitive surplus at its finest!

But the real winner is this video from the University of Washington information school:

Still blown away that this video goes on and on FOR OVER FOUR MINUTES. It’s one thing to come up with a cute :45 Lady Gaga meets librarian bit, but to do the whole song? . . . Wow.

Theme running through all of these? Libraries are cooler when they include dancing. And librarians half-embrace the whole “sexy librarian” stereotype. So, to reinforce that—just a little bit—and to cleanse your viewing palate, I’ll finish this off with My Morning Jacket’s somewhat sentimental librarian love song (which, admittedly, is one of my summertime crush songs):