#violet stanhope

[historyhermann]

Beauty, dress codes, and fashion: Examining twenty fictional White female librarians [Part 1]

In her 2018 In the Library with the Lead Pipe article, "Vocational Awe and Librarianship: The Lies We Tell Ourselves," Fobazi Ettarh rightly points out that "librarianship is dominated by white women," noting the history of White women in the profession due to their characteristics, the fact that libraries have been “complicit in the production and maintenance of white privilege,” how these librarians participated in "selective immigrant assimilation and Americanization programs," and that librarianship "plays a role in creating and sustaining hegemonic values," while contributing to a culture of white supremacy like other institutions. She further asserts that depictions of libraries as "places of freedoms" like intellectual freedom, freedom of access, education, and more "do not elide libraries’ white supremacy culture with its built-in disparity and oppression," adding that values that librarianship builds itself upon is "inequitably distributed amongst society." She gives the example of segregation of public libraries in the U.S. South, desegregation efforts of those libraries,with access to materials "often implicated in larger societal systems of (in)equality." She also pointed to libraries gathering "large amounts of patron data in order to demonstrate worth" or can "operate as an arm of the state" by working with library vendors which work with government entities.

Reprinted from my Pop Culture Library Review WordPress, where this post was published on Nov. 29, 2022.

I could easily build off every single one of her points in a long and drawn out post. Instead, in this post, I will examine over 20 White female librarians across various animated series and how these fictional depictions are emblematic of the overwhelming Whiteness in librarianship. More directly I'll look at what this means when it comes to appearance, fashion, and standards imposed on librarians by Whiteness itself. Simply put, Whiteness is a socially constructed classification which conveys certain privileges, comforts, and advantages that those who not White do not enjoy automatically. It ends up setting the standard for reality and normality itself. Any deviations are seen as subversions, offenses, disruptions, or disturbances, policing its borders in a literal and figurative way. It can sometimes operate in hidden ways at different strata within library profession, while remaining multidimensional. [1]

I'll start with Kaisa, who is one of the most prominent librarians in animation to date, in the series Hilda. [2] As librarian and library instructor Gina Schlesselman-Tarango put it, library professionals often navigate White grooming and beauty standards, while people of color are policed within library spaces. Librarian Jessica Macias added that librarians often face dress and grooming codes. It is something which women of color doesn't always fit into, feeling alienated and different. Macias argued that these unwritten codes ban so-called "distracting" and "unnatural" hairstyles, unkempt clothing, hygiene, and hair. She, along with April Hathcock and Stephanie Sendaula adds that this is restrictive for people of color, facing implicit barriers, claims of unprofessionalism, and the idea that librarians of color are not librarians, as perceived by fellow patrons and librarians. [3]

Four screenshots spliced together in order to show Kaisa's librarian outfit during the course of the first two seasons of the series

Her unique appearance fits within White beauty standards, even though she is casually gothic and witchy. In the series, she wears a gray sweater, grey leggings, black skirt, black cloak, and white blouse. She often wears black-grey headphones attached to a media player. Librarians are often shown wearing skirts, cardigans, while others have been more stylish with dresses, cardigans, sweaters, tights, and coats. [4] While Kaisa has her own unique style it fits within those standards. It fits with her calm personality, although she can be strict at enforcing rules, or even stern. At other times, she can be secretive and soft-spoken, but has an ability to know what people are looking for. Undoubtedly, this leads to certain insecurities, and feeling like an outcast, despite the fact she can be nice, supporting Hilda, Frida or David in their tasks throughout the series.

Although Kaisa is perhaps the prominent librarian character in an animated series in recent years, there are other librarians which fit the White standards of appearance. These same standards, of course, exclude and restrict librarians of color, as Macias pointed out. [5] Other fictional librarians dress even more conservatively, even if their style is not as distinctive as the one that Kaisa has in Hilda. This includes the curmudgeon librarian in the DC Super Hero Girls episode "#SoulSisters Part 2." She wears horn-rimmed glasses, a hair bun, a whitish high collar, cuffed sleeves, and a bluish dress of some kind, I believe. She fully fits the spinster librarian stereotype as outlined by Jennifer Snoek-Brown on her blog, Reel Librarians.

The same can be said for the Violet Stanhope, the librarian ghost in an episode of Archie’s Weird Mysteries ("The Haunting of Riverdale"), Francis Clara Censorsdoll in multiple episodes of the mature animated series Moral Orel, Mrs. Higgins in a Sofia the First episode ("The Princess Test"), and Rita Book in a Timon & Pumbaa episode ("Library Brouhaha"). All of these librarians are dressed in a "proper" way and well-groomed, even if not all of them conduct themselves professionally. What I mean is that Francis burns books she doesn't like and Rita demands total quiet, while Violet and Mr. Higgins are more helpful. The latter two characters fulfill what the UMW Libraries called "quality service, positive attitude, good patron relations, and pleasing personal appearance." The clothing of the characters, is in line with existing library dress codes that ban shorts, halter tops / tank tops, flip flops, backless shoes, ill-fitting clothing, or t-shirts with writing / slogans, no bare shoulders, no or few face piercings, no denim pants, and no torn jeans. It often goes beyond what could be called "business casual" ins some contexts. [6]

Continued in part 2

© 2022 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Notes

[1] Todd Honma, "Forward" in Topographies of Whiteness: Mapping Whiteness in Library and Information Science (ed. Gina Schlesselman-Tarango, Library Juice Press: Sacramento, CA: 2017), p. ix; Gina Schlesselman-Tarango, "Introduction" in Topographies of Whiteness: Mapping Whiteness in Library and Information Science (ed. Gina Schlesselman-Tarango, Library Juice Press: Sacramento, CA: 2017), p. 2; Ian Beilin,"The Academic Research Library's White Past and Present" in Topographies of Whiteness: Mapping Whiteness in Library and Information Science (ed. Gina Schlesselman-Tarango, Library Juice Press: Sacramento, CA: 2017), p. 83.

[2] I am putting aside the librarian in Futurama episode ("The Day the Earth Stood Stupid"), Librarian in Zevo-3 episode ("Zevo-3"), Librarian in Martin Mystery episode ("Return of the Dark Druid"), Librarian in Martin Mystery episode ("The Warlock Returns"), Librarian in Martin Mystery episode ("Return of the Dark Druid"), Librarian in Amphibia episode ("True Colors"), Librarian in Beavis and Butt-Head episode ("Cyber-Butt"), Librarian in Bob's Burgers episode ("Y Tu Ga-Ga Tina Tambien"), Arlene in Phineas & Ferb episode ("Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo"), Librarian in Phineas & Ferb episode ("The Doonkelberry Imperative"), Librarian in The Flintstones episode ("The Hit Songwriter"), Librarian in The Owl House episode ("Lost in Language"), Unnamed librarian in Sofia the First episode ("Forever Royal"?), Librarian in Sarah and Duck episode ("Lost Librarian"), Librarian in Boyfriends, Lara in Action Comics, The Librarian in Detective Comics, Rupert Giles in Giles: Girl Blue, Skeezix in Guillotine Public Library, Barbara Gordon in Huntress: Year One, Ghost in Library Ghost, Crawley in Library of Ruins, Librarian in Meau!, Rabbi Rava in Monolith, Marten Reed in Questionable Content, Claire in Questionable Content, Rex Libris in Rex Libris, Suzie in Sex Criminals, Prysia in Smitty and Majesty, Lazurus Luca in Sword & Sphere, Daniel in The Library, Jane Case / Wonder Woman in Wonder Woman, as they either have minor roles or I haven't read the comics enough to cover them here.

[3] Jessica Macias, "Looking the Part" in Topographies of Whiteness: Mapping Whiteness in Library and Information Science (ed. Gina Schlesselman-Tarango, Library Juice Press: Sacramento, CA: 2017), p. 113-5; Gina Schlesselman-Tarango, "Introduction" in Topographies of Whiteness: Mapping Whiteness in Library and Information Science (ed. Gina Schlesselman-Tarango, Library Juice Press: Sacramento, CA: 2017), p. 5; April M. Hathcock and Stephanie Sendaula, "Mapping Whiteness at the Reference Desk" in Topographies of Whiteness: Mapping Whiteness in Library and Information Science (ed. Gina Schlesselman-Tarango, Library Juice Press: Sacramento, CA: 2017), p. 254-5.

[4] See Jennifer Snoek-Brown's "Librarian action figure," "Christmas with a reel librarian in ‘My Side of the Mountain’," and "Stylish female reel librarians" for instance.

[5] Macias, "Looking the Part," 118.

[6] "Dress Code," UMW Libraries Public Services, accessed Mar. 15 2022; "Dress Code Policy...," Adventures of a Misfit Librarian, Oct. 26, 2010; Comments on "Dress Codes" discussion on /r/librarians in May 2014; Comments on "Does your library have a dress code for librarians, aides, etc.?" discussion on /r/librarians in September 2014.

[eleonorasimoncini]

…I love flowers I’d love to have the whole place swimming in roses God of heaven there’s nothing like nature the wild mountains then the sea and the waves rushing then the beautiful country with fields of oats and wheat and all kinds of things and all the fine cattle going about that would do your heart good to see rivers and lakes and flowers all sorts of shapes and smells and colours springing up even out of the ditches primroses and violets nature it is as for them saying there’s no God I wouldn’t give a snap of my two fingers for all their learning why don’t they go and create something I often asked him atheists or whatever they call themselves go and wash the cobbles off themselves first then they go howling for the priest and they dying and why why because they’re afraid of hell on account of their bad conscience ah yes I know them well who was the first person in the universe before there was anybody that made it all who ah that they don’t know neither do I so there you are they might as well try to stop the sun from rising tomorrow the sun shines for you he said the day we were lying among the rhododendrons on Howth head in the grey tweed suit and his straw hat the day I got him to propose to me yes first I gave him the bit of seedcake out of my mouth and it was leapyear like now yes 16 years ago my God after that long kiss I near lost my breath yes he said was a flower of the mountain yes so we are flowers all a woman’s body yes that was one true thing he said in his life and the sun shines for you today yes that was why I liked him because I saw he understood or felt what a woman is and I knew I could always get round him and I gave him all the pleasure I could leading him on till he asked me to say yes and I wouldn’t answer first only looked out over the sea and the sky I was thinking of so many things he didn’t know of Mulvey and Mr Stanhope and Hester and father and old captain Groves and the sailors playing all birds fly and I say stoop and washing up dishes they called it on the pier and the sentry in front of the governors house with the thing round his white helmet poor devil half roasted and the Spanish girls laughing in their shawls and their tall combs and the auctions in the morning the Greeks and the Jews and the Arabs and the devil knows who else from all the ends of Europe and Duke street and the fowl market all clucking outside Larby Sharans and the poor donkeys slipping half asleep and the vague fellows in the cloaks asleep in the shade on the steps and the big wheels of the carts of the bulls and the old castle thousands of years old yes and those handsome Moors all in white and turbans like kings asking you to sit down in their little bit of a shop and Ronda with the old windows of the posadas glancing eyes a lattice hid for her lover to kiss the iron and the wineshops half open at night and the castanets and the night we missed the boat at Algeciras the watchman going about serene with his lamp and O that awful deepdown torrent O and the sea the sea crimson sometimes like fire and the glorious sunsets and the figtrees in the Alameda gardens yes and all the queer little streets and pink and blue and yellow houses and the rosegardens and the jessamine and geraniums and cactuses and Gibraltar as a girl where I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down Jo me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.

James Joyce

[serendipnpipity]

I love flowers I’d love to have the whole place swimming in roses God of heaven there’s nothing like nature the wild mountains then the sea and the waves rushing then the beautiful country with fields of oats and wheat and all kinds of things and all the fine cattle going about that would do your heart good to see rivers and lakes and flowers all sorts of shapes and smells and colours springing up even out of the ditches primroses and violets nature it is as for them saying there’s no God I wouldn’t give a snap of my two fingers for all their learning why don’t they go and create something I often asked him atheists or whatever they call themselves go and wash the cobbles off themselves first then they go howling for the priest and they dying and why why because they’re afraid of hell on account of their bad conscience ah yes I know them well who was the first person in the universe before there was anybody that made it all who ah that they don’t know neither do I so there you are they might as well try to stop the sun from rising tomorrow the sun shines for you he said the day we were lying among the rhododendrons on Howth head in the grey tweed suit and his straw hat the day I got him to propose to me yes first I gave him the bit of seedcake out of my mouth and it was leapyear like now yes 16 years ago my God after that long kiss I near lost my breath yes he said was a flower of the mountain yes so we are flowers all a woman’s body yes that was one true thing he said in his life and the sun shines for you today yes that was why I liked him because I saw he understood or felt what a woman is and I knew I could always get round him and I gave him all the pleasure I could leading him on till he asked me to say yes and I wouldn’t answer first only looked out over the sea and the sky I was thinking of so many things he didn’t know of Mulvey and Mr Stanhope and Hester and father and old captain Groves and the sailors playing all birds fly and I say stoop and washing up dishes they called it on the pier and the sentry in front of the governors house with the thing round his white helmet poor devil half roasted and the Spanish girls laughing in their shawls and their tall combs and the auctions in the morning the Greeks and the Jews and the Arabs and the devil knows who else from all the ends of Europe and Duke street and the fowl market all clucking outside Larby Sharans and the poor donkeys slipping half asleep and the vague fellows in the cloaks asleep in the shade on the steps and the big wheels of the carts of the bulls and the old castle thousands of years old yes and those handsome Moors all in white and turbans like kings asking you to sit down in their little bit of a shop and Ronda with the old windows of the posadas glancing eyes a lattice hid for her lover to kiss the iron and the wineshops half open at night and the castanets and the night we missed the boat at Algeciras the watchman going about serene with his lamp and O that awful deepdown torrent O and the sea the sea crimson sometimes like fire and the glorious sunsets and the figtrees in the Alameda gardens yes and all the queer little streets and pink and blue and yellow houses and the rosegardens and the jessamine and geraniums and cactuses and Gibraltar as a girl where I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down Jo me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.

I have no idea who you are, anon, who chose to send me Molly Bloom's soliloquy by James Joyce at this hour. Yes, I read it all, thinking surely this is a joke and somewhere in the middle it will devolve into something awful. Or possibly this was the flower-laden work of a press-in-the-middle-of-the-word-predictor-buttons-on-your-phone kind of post. But imagine my pleasant surprise when I finished and looked it up to find that you felt prompted to gift me actual poetry, right into my inbox like a real letter-sender would in days of old.

Thank you anon. Have a lovely day, wherever and whenever you are!

[lforlimbo]

Bloomsday, June 16

…I love flowers I’d love to have the whole place swimming in roses God of heaven there’s nothing like nature the wild mountains then the sea and the waves rushing then the beautiful country with fields of oats and wheat and all kinds of things and all the fine cattle going about that would do your heart good to see rivers and lakes and flowers all sorts of shapes and smells and colours springing up even out of the ditches primroses and violets nature it is as for them saying there’s no God I wouldn’t give a snap of my two fingers for all their learning why don’t they go and create something I often asked him atheists or whatever they call themselves go and wash the cobbles off themselves first then they go howling for the priest and they dying and why why because they’re afraid of hell on account of their bad conscience ah yes I know them well who was the first person in the universe before there was anybody that made it all who ah that they don’t know neither do I so there you are they might as well try to stop the sun from rising tomorrow the sun shines for you he said the day we were lying among the rhododendrons on Howth head in the grey tweed suit and his straw hat the day I got him to propose to me yes first I gave him the bit of seedcake out of my mouth and it was leapyear like now yes 16 years ago my God after that long kiss I near lost my breath yes he said was a flower of the mountain yes so we are flowers all a woman’s body yes that was one true thing he said in his life and the sun shines for you today yes that was why I liked him because I saw he understood or felt what a woman is and I knew I could always get round him and I gave him all the pleasure I could leading him on till he asked me to say yes and I wouldn’t answer first only looked out over the sea and the sky I was thinking of so many things he didn’t know of Mulvey and Mr Stanhope and Hester and father and old captain Groves and the sailors playing all birds fly and I say stoop and washing up dishes they called it on the pier and the sentry in front of the governors house with the thing round his white helmet poor devil half roasted and the Spanish girls laughing in their shawls and their tall combs and the auctions in the morning the Greeks and the Jews and the Arabs and the devil knows who else from all the ends of Europe and Duke street and the fowl market all clucking outside Larby Sharans and the poor donkeys slipping half asleep and the vague fellows in the cloaks asleep in the shade on the steps and the big wheels of the carts of the bulls and the old castle thousands of years old yes and those handsome Moors all in white and turbans like kings asking you to sit down in their little bit of a shop and Ronda with the old windows of the posadas glancing eyes a lattice hid for her lover to kiss the iron and the wineshops half open at night and the castanets and the night we missed the boat at Algeciras the watchman going about serene with his lamp and O that awful deepdown torrent O and the sea the sea crimson sometimes like fire and the glorious sunsets and the figtrees in the Alameda gardens yes and all the queer little streets and pink and blue and yellow houses and the rosegardens and the jessamine and geraniums and cactuses and Gibraltar as a girl where I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down Jo me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.

[conradscrime]

Who was Kaspar Hauser? Mysterious Boy Died in a Mysterious Way

April 1, 2021

On May 26, 1828 a strange teenage boy showed up in the streets of Nuremberg, Germany with a letter addressed to the Captain von Wessenig, captain of the 4th squadron of the 6th cavalry regiment. The writer of this letter was anonymous but they claimed they had been the caretaker of this teenage boy who went by the name of Kaspar Hauser. 

The anonymous letter writing claimed Kaspar had been brought into their custody on October 7, 1812 as an infant and that this caretaker had taught the boy how to read and write. The letter also went on to say that Kaspar was not allowed to step foot outside of the caretaker’s home, and that he had been raised in a darkened cell with no sunlight and only bread and water to eat and drink. 

The letter also said that Kaspar was now here to become a “cavalryman like his father” and the Captain von Wessenig could either take the offer or kill the boy by hanging if he was of no use to him. 

The boy known as Kaspar was also carrying another short letter with him that was supposedly written by his mother. The letter contained personal information about the boy such as his date of birth which was April 30, 1812 and that his father was a cavalryman of the 6th regiment but was now dead. The two letters (the one from this boys supposed caretaker and the one from his mother) were written by the same hand which people later suggested was because Kaspar had written both of these letters himself. 

Kaspar Hauser was taken to the captain but they could not seem to get much information out of him so he was then taken to the police station where he wrote down his name. The strange boy was able to say a few prayers and could read a little bit but his vocabulary seemed limited and he wouldn’t answer very many questions. He was then imprisoned as a vagabond because no one knew what to do with him. 

For the next two months Kaspar stayed in Luginsland Tower in Nuremberg Castle and was taken care of by a jailer named Andreas Hiltel. The boy was apparently in pretty good physical condition and could walk quite well, as well as having a pretty healthy facial complexion. This does not make much sense however if the boy was locked up in a darkened cell his whole life receiving no sunlight and eating very little. 

According to Kaspar himself he had been in solitary confinement his whole life and appeared to be 16 years old. He said he had a straw bed to sleep on and only had a few wooded toys to play with. Kaspar also claimed each morning he awoke to bread and water next to his bed though he said sometimes the water would taste bitter and when he would drink this bitter water he would always have deeper sleeps. Is it possible someone was trying to drug him? 

Kaspar also claimed occasionally he would wake up and his straw would be changed and replaced and his hair and nails would also be cut. Is it possible whoever was taking care of him was giving him drugs while they cut his hair and nails to keep their identity a secret? 

Kaspar said the first time he met another individual was a man who had come to visit him right before he was released. The man apparently hid his face from Kaspar quite well and taught him how to write his own name. After learning how to stand and walk Kaspar was taken to Nuremberg. 

This story became quite the talk of the town and Kaspar Hauser received a lot of attention for being this mysterious boy with a mysterious origin story. Rumours began to spread with some believing he was an imposter who had made the whole story up and others believing he was royalty, perhaps the prince of Baden. 

Here’s where things start to become even stranger. Kaspar was given to a man named Friedrich Daumer who was a schoolmaster and philosopher. He taugh Kaspar various subjects. On October 17, 1829 Kaspar did not show up to lunch and was found in the cellar of Daumer’s house with a wound on his forehead. 

Kaspar claimed he had been attacked by a hooded man who threatened him. Kaspar said he recognized the man’s voice as being the man who had visited him in his cell and brought him to Nuremberg. Some believe that Kaspar had self-inflicted this wound himself to either get pity or to escape Daumer who he had recently gotten in a fight with other Daumer thinking Kaspar had a tendency to lie.

Kaspar was then sent to live with a man named Johann Biberbach. On April 3, 1830 Kaspar was found in his room at Biberbach’s house with a pistol wound to the right side of his head. Kaspar claimed he was standing a chair in order to reach some books and the chair fell, leading him to try to grab something to catch on to. The item he had grabbed onto was the pistol hanging on the wall and this fall caused it to go off. Again, some believe this was Kaspar’s way of getting out of repercussions from Johann Biberbach about lying. 

In May of 1830 Kaspar was transferred to live at the house of Baron von Tucher. Kaspar was also known to lie while living here. Then Lord Stanhope, a British nobleman who took an interest in Kaspar and gained custody of him in late 1831. Lord Stanhope spent quite a lot of money trying to find Kaspar’s origin, he even took him to Hungary twice hoping that the boy would recognize something from his past as Kaspar apparently knew a few Hungarian words and once claimed his mother to be the Hungarian Countess Maytheny. 

Lord Stanhope later said that he started to doubt Kaspar when he couldn’t seem to recognize anything about his past in Hungary. In December 1831 Lord Stanhope transferred Kaspar to live in Ansbach with a schoolmaster named Johann Georg Meyer and in January 1832 Stanhope left Kaspar for good. At one point Lord Stanhope had promised Kaspar he would take him to England, but never did, though he continued to pay for Kaspar’s living expenses. 

Johann Meyer was a strict man and soon became tired of Kaspar’s excuses and supposed lies. Kaspar soon became unhappy with his situation while still hoping that Lord Stanhope was going to take him to England. On December 9, 1833 Kaspar had gotten into a pretty serious argument with Meyer. 

On December 14, 1833 Kaspar had returned home with a deep wound in his left breast. He claimed he had been lured into the Ansbach Court Garden where a stranger stabbed him while giving him a bag. The police found a small violet purse at the scene which had a note that said, 

“Hauser will be able to tell you quite precisely how I look and from where I am. To save Hauser the effort, I want to tell you myself from where I come _ _ . I come from from _ _ _ the Bavarian border _ _ On the river _ _ _ _ _ I will even tell you the name: M. L. Ö.”

Kaspar died from the wound three days later on December 17, 1833. A lot of people speculate that Kaspar Hauser had attacked himself and made up the story about a stranger stabbing him. Many believe this because the note contained a lot of spelling mistakes which was typical for Kaspar. He also was very eager for the police to find this bag containing the note at the scene but had never asked what was in the bag. The note was folded in a specific way which Mrs. Meyer said was how Kaspar always folded his notes. Many believe that Kaspar stabbed himself in an attempt to gain more attention from the public and to convince Lord Stanhope to take him to England. It is thought that Kaspar did not mean to injury himself as deeply as he had. 

Kaspar Hauser was buried in the Stadtfriedhof cemetery in Ansbach where his headstone reads in Latin, 

“Here lies Kaspar Hauser, riddle of his time. His birth was unknown, his death mysterious. 1833.” 

A lot of people speculated as mentioned before that Kaspar Hauser could have been the hereditary prince of Baden who had been born on September 29th, 1812, 5 months after Kaspar’s supposed birth date. According to history the prince had died on October 16, 1812, not even being a month old and it was alleged that he had been switched with a dying infant who turned out to be Kaspar Hauser. Some believe Hauser had been murdered to hide his true identity as the prince as he would of been kidnapped by Countess Hochberg whose motive would have been to secure the succession for her sons. 

To this day, no one knows the true origin of Kaspar Hauser or whether he was murdered or stabbed himself. 

[anacaoris]

Heroes of Olympus characters as (    mostly pre raphaelite    ) paintings I like

Percy : Perseus and the Sea Nymphs (    The Arming of Perseus    ), Edward Burne-Jones / Annabeth : Adoration of Athena Pallas, Louis Hector Leroux / Hazel : Circe Invidiosa, John William Waterhouse / Piper : Proserpine, Dante Gabriel Rosetti / Nico : The Waters of Lethe by the Plains of Elysium, John Roddam Spencer Stanhope / Jason : Hercules and the Hydra, the Second Labour, Violet Brunton / Frank : Perseus Victorious Over Medusa, Eugène Romain Thirion / Reyna : Head Of A Girl (    or “The Priestess”    ), John William Godward / Octavian : The Favourites of the Emperor Honorius, John William Waterhouse / Leo : Three Women Plucking Mandrakes, Robert Bateman

[asecondglassofcinnamonwine]

Scandalous Women: The Lives and Loves of History’s Most Notorious Women by Elizabeth Kerri Mahon

A small list of women I would like to find out more about: Emilie due Chatelet, Jane Digby, Violet Trefusis, Anne Hutchinson, Mary Wollstonecraft, Carry Nation, Mary Ellen Pleasant, Sarah Winnemucca, Elizabeth Tabor, Josephine Baker, Billie Holiday, Lady Hester Stanhope

[historyhermann]

"Against the hair of your professions": Fictional librarians and hair buns [Part 2]

Continued from part 2

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. [5] 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. [6] 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.

Originally posted on Pop Culture Library Review on March 21, 2023.

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. [7] 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. [8]

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. [9] (note in part 3)

Continued in part 3

© 2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

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Notes

[5] 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.

[6] 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.

[7] 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;

[8] "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.

[historyhermann]

Applying the "Librarian Portrayal Test" to librarian depictions

A quote from her January 2020 article, "The History and Debunking of Librarian Stereotypes"

As I noted in my post on August 10, I proposed the Librarian Portrayal Test (LPT), as I'm calling it now. If anyone has a better name for it, I'm willing to consider that. The name of it isn't set in stone. Again, here's the criteria for the test, which focuses on portrayal of librarians in pop culture:

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 character is not only, or primarily, defined by their role as a librarian.

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.

I know that fulfilling all of these criteria for pop cultural depictions won't be easy, but some characters do meet all these criteria, but others, despite the fact they may be positive depictions of librarians, as I'll explain in this post. This test is not a be-all-end-all either. Even if a librarian only appears in one episode of a series and it is a good depiction of a librarian, I'll still write about it, even if it doesn't fall under this criteria. I see this test as just one more tool that I can use to analyze representation of librarians in pop culture. And it isn't a perfect test either, as I'm totally willing to revise and change it in the future as is necessary. What is above is not set in stone.

Now, let me go through librarians who are portrayed in popular culture that I've written on this blog up to this point. For one, there are unnamed librarians in Futurama, Steven Universe, Sofia the First, Diamond Dive, and Cardcaptor Sakura. The same can be said about the elderly librarian who is arrested by the authorities in the first episode of Zevo-3, and librarians in episodes of The Simpsons, the male librarian in an episode of The Owl House. There are many librarians who are shown as strict and/or as shushers. This is evidently clearly from the shushers in episodes of Big City Greens, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Kick Buttowski, We Bare Bears, and Boyfriends, along with strict librarians, who often shushed as well. The latter includes librarians in animated series ranging from Rugrats to Martin Mystery, Teen Titans Go! to Carl Squared. [1] The same could be said for curmudgeon librarians in episodes of two other animated series: DC Super Hero Girls and Mysticons. All of these librarians would clearly fail the LPT, as would the librarian in the Steven Universe comic which I wrote about on August 17.

Some librarians are what I'd call one-note wonders in the sense that they do little outside their jobs as librarians or only in one episode, like the librarian in Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Mr. Scott in Tamberlane, or Mrs. Higgins in Sofia the First. Both are well-meaning, but only appear in the library and nowhere else. This can even be the case for librarians like Violet Stanhope or the new librarian supervisor Ms. Herrera in Archie's Weird Mysteries. They are positive portrayals of librarians, for sure, but neither is shown outside the library, although for Violet, she gets a bit of a pass, since she is a ghost after all. You could say the same about the British wrestler-librarian in Totally Spies, as although I like her character in some respects, her role beyond being a librarian isn't that well explored, the unnamed librarian who appears in a Steven Universe comic, or the librarian who helps Candace Flynn in an episode of Phineas and Ferb, "The Doonkelberry Imperative." At the same time, librarians are only background characters in episodes of various series, including Revolutionary Girl Utena, Little Witch Academia, and Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters. Again, sadly, all these characters can't fully fulfill all the aspects of the LPT.

The librarian shown as unable to shelve books correctly.

More specifically, the spinister librarian in the Futurama episode "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid," is there literally for laughs, being so "dumb" that she can't even shelve a book correctly in the city's library. Furthermore, the unnamed librarian of the Buddy Buddwick Library in Steven Universe episode "Buddy's Book," shushes the protagonists, Steven and Connie, not once...but twice! Additionally, there is a character named "The Librarian" in She-Ra: Princess of Power episode, "Three Courageous Hearts," who helps the protagonists, but he is White, and male, fulfilling so many stereotypes often associated with librarians, especially in animation. Unfortunately, even the character played by Emilio Estevez, Stuart Goodson, in the film The Public, does not succeed at fulfilling this test, as he is not shown much beyond being...a librarian, albeit an atypical one. Even so, the film is definitely worth seeing. These are, again, more portrayals which do not fulfill all the aspects of the LPT, as explained earlier.

There are some characters which go past stereotypes and fulfill the LPT. [2] Some arguably do this, like Lydia Lovely in Horrid Henry or even, to some extent, Turtle Princess in Adventure Time. In the latter case, she undoubtedly shushes the protagonists, but she is more than just a librarian, having a major role in two episodes, and a minor role in 19 episodes, according to her fandom page. The latter describes her as "a princess who is also the head of a library in the Land of Ooo. She is considered a registered princess." More significantly is Doctor Oldham in Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, George and Lance in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and the protagonist of Ascendance of A Bookworm, Myne, who is becoming a librarian! In the case of Oldham, he is much more than a librarian, as he is a doctor, a sage, and such. He is a bit like Jocasta Nu in Star Wars, the Jedi Archivist, but does not believe he has all the information there is, unlike her. George and Lance, on the other hand, are the fathers of one of the protagonists, Bow, and are historical researchers, historians to be exact, clearly having a life outside of curating their library. As for Myne, she has wide interests and desires in this medieval society, whether it is re-organizing books while using a Japanese version of the Dewey Decimal System, helping her friends, or making books, she is very industrious.

Kaisa, the librarian in the Trolberg City Library, is another excellent example of a character who has a life outside the library. While this wasn't clear from her appearance in the first season of Hilda, in the second season she got a name and was shown to be a witch, even helping the protagonists track down tide mice which took over a local company. She is never shown shushing people, only telling the protagonist and her friends to keep it down because the library is closed, and is clearly atypical in comparison to most librarian portrayals, fights in the bowels of the beautiful library alongside the protagonists. She also, likely, has a professional degree in library science, although it is never specifically mentioned. Her character undoubtedly fulfills the LPT.

Hisa in various episodes of R.O.D. the TV, one of the librarians in the series and classmate of one of the protagonists.

Apart from Oldham, George, Lance, and Kaisa are the librarians in Read or Die and R.O.D. the TV. They are much more than librarians, but can wield paper, using their papermaster skills to fight off those trying to restrict the flow of knowledge. The same is the case for the librarian-soldiers in Library War and it contrasts Francis Clara Censordoll in Moral Orel, who is dedicated toward censorship by any means possible, including book burning. While there are other examples of characters who are protagonists or recurring characters which are more than their jobs as librarians, especially in anime series, [3] there are a few wonderful examples. One of these is Sara and Jeffrey in Too Loud, who are librarians which are clearly too loud, but they make it their place of work, and they help other people around the town, not chained to the library. While there are also older librarians, even they arguably may not be totally stereotypical. Another example is Clara Rhone in Welcome to the Wayne. While she is first and foremost shown as a librarian, she is much more than that, helping the protagonists fight the villains, gather information, and access it, that is held in the library of The Wayne, known as The Stanza. She is also a Black woman, unique for portrayal of librarians, especially in Western animation, which are generally shown as White women. She has a daughter, Goodness, who helps her with the library, while she remains the chief librarian, as do many other helpers, so she isn't doing all the work alone.

Other well-developed characters, who happen to be librarians, also appear in animation, especially, from time to time. This includes Twilight Sparkle in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, who has her own personal beautiful library. Like Myne, she wants to, in one of the Equestria Girls specials, reorganize the library using a cataloging machine. The same can be said, you could argue, about the Wizard librarian in episodes of Prisoner Zero, as he starts as a librarian, who runs a beautiful and amazing library in the bowels of the ship. He later becomes one of the protagonists and helps the heroes fight evil and win the day in whatever way he can. Best of all is Sophie Twilight in Ms. Vampire who lives in my neighborhood, who is shown weeding her own library, getting rid of books she doesn't want anymore and is willing to give away, one of the first times I've seen weeding of materials shown in an animated series.

Most recently, Amity Blight in The Owl House has been confirmed as a librarian. While she was shown as doing storytime at the Bonesborough Public Library before, and she fought alongside Luz Noceda, her love interest, in the stacks against books which had come to life, a recent episode expanded this. As I noted in my July 11th newsletter, in the episode "Through the Looking Glass Ruins," Amity and Luz travel to the “Forbidden Stacks” to find a book by a human who came to Boiling Isles before Luz ended up there by accident. By the end, Amity and Luz strengthen their bond as friends, and companions, after Luz gets Amity’s job as a librarian back. Amazing to have a LGBTQ librarian (Amity is a lesbian) be in such a prominent show. That's cool.

Luz and Amity shush each other in hopes of being quiet enough so they can hide from Amity's boss…

Another librarian who undoubtedly passes the LPT is Blinky. He appears across the Tales of Arcadia trilogy, but his role is a librarian is mostly emphasized in Trollhunters. As I noted in a recent post, his character, voiced by Kelsey Grammer, is an information provider, and atypical when it comes to portrayal libraries. This is because he is a well-rounded character, intelligent, well-read, and for most of the scenes he appears in, he is NOT in a library. However, he has no professional training and his library is mainly filled with books, making it a book depository in a sense. Unfortunately, we never see what classification or organization system he uses, although he undoubtedly has one. On the other hand, his library is shown as a place of knowledge, with characters using it often, and he is so vital to the show that if he was removed from the story, then it would unravel. On the whole, he is one of the best depictions of librarians I have seen in popular culture and in animated series, in some time, and he should be praised for that.

© 2021 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Notes

[1] Other examples include 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, as noted in my post back in April.

[2] While the life of Swampy in Phineas and Ferb is shown outside the library, he is never shown in the library again after his debut episode, meaning he has become a rock star, and clearly fulfills the stereotype of a librarian who is a failure. Otherwise, Khensu in Cleopatra in Space, if he is considered a librarian, would fulfill this test, easily. The same can, obviously, be said about Mateo in Elena of Avalor, Ah-Mah in The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, and Kaeloo in Kaeloo, if all of this characters are counted as librarians.

[3] I'm specifically referring to Lilith in Yamibou, Azusa Aoi in Whispered Words, Yamada in B Gata H Kei, Fumi Manjome in Aoi Hana / Sweet Blue Flowers, Chiyo Tsukudate in Strawberry Panic!, and Anne and Grea in Manaria Friends.Additionally, in some episodes of Mira, Royal Detective, Mira and her father act as librarians in regard to the mobile library.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Library Review and Wayback Machine