Tuesday, July 27, 2010

My Fun Research Project

Guess what? There's a program-wide Research Symposium this Friday, and I'm speaking in it! The really fun part? I learned about that this morning, before I had a definite research topic nailed down.
I do have my topic put together now, though: a cultural analysis of Libraries, looking at them through literature and film. As you can tell, I'm still working on a title--if you have a good idea, let me know.
It should be a fun topic to research--I already know of several things to look into. I'm looking at both libraries and their librarians, so that includes some of the stuff I was looking at in my previous topic, as well as such wonderful treats as the Music Man's Marian the Librarian, Monty Python's Gorilla Librarian, and the more recent classic, Librarians Do Gaga (a library-themed spoof of "Poker Face"). If you're curious about the image shown here, it's the official Librarian Action Figure.
I'm considering making a timeline of cultural associations of libraries and their librarians, beginning with the age-old stereotypes of dull repositories haunted by ancient bun-wearing glasses-toting spinsters who shush (Ghostbusters, anyone?), and ending with a recently published idea that libraries are the next big pop-culture trend (at least, according to NPR). How did such a big transition occur? I'm not quite sure--I'd add that question to my Research Questions, but I don't expect to actually find the answer.
Know of any more movies, books, quotes, or pretty much anything to do with libraries and their librarians? Send it my way!

No comments:

Post a Comment