Re: librarians in advertising

["Reid, Carolyn" <CReid@CAMPBELL.K12.KY.US>]

I would like to add that ALL educators, and "authority figures", for that
matter, have for some time suffered under such negative portrayal, and for
much the same reason.  We are, as librarians, educators, and (in my case, as
well as many others') parents, the people who say "no", "wait", "that's not
good for you", etc., because we are trying to instill values that are NOT
related to the almighty dollar.  How many Saturday morning commercials have
you seen that show the student eating the wonderful candy or chewing the
tempting but forbidden gum while being unsuccessfully intimidated by the
stodgy old hag of a teacher who is pointing a ruler and frowning?  The kid
is glorified for continuing the consumption right under her glare!

I may have gone off on a tangent, but the point is that we all need to keep
up the good fight.  Ray Bradbury, in Fahrenheit 451, is dangerously close to
reality, and it is our jobs as librarians and educators (and parents, if
applicable!)to keep that from happening.

Enough pressure?

Carolyn Reid, LMS
Campbell County High School
Alexandria, Kentucky

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Williams
To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Sent: 6/10/00 12:08 PM

This is not a hoot, but a serious comment on a subject that (obviously)
is
close to my heart.  For some time I have been bothered by advertising in
general; its effect on young people; and the image of libraries and
librarians.  This rant comes from a listserv I monitor and I have Mr.
Jim
Walsh's (the author's) permission to forward it.  Please read and
reflect.

Context:  yet another commercial depicting librarians as tight-butted
control freaks:

>What really alarms me is the subtext of these commercials. Who cares if
>people think we are stodgy or anal obsessive? The underlying scary
message
>is the same one delivered by nearly every advertisment around. "Only
you
>count, sharing (e.g. books)is for losers who like to wait in long
lines,
>whatever you desire should be yours immediately without delay, anyone
who
>inhibits your immediate gratification is an oppressor, only buying the
right
>products gurantees your happiness and freedom." The entire advertising
>culture is designed (deliberately) to foster infantile dependency on a
>handful of mega-suppliers of supposedly gratifying products, while
>cultivating the widespread delusion of choice and freedom. Read "No
Logo" by
>Naomi Klein to see how some people are fighting back.

> No wonder the
>advertisers so often portray librarians negatively. We stand for
everything
>that opposes their greedy dreams: self-knowledge, real autonomy,
resource
>sharing vs. resource selling, and true liberation. They must fear us
>terribly to mount some of the vicious attacks I have seen recently. I
forget
>which computer or Internet company recently protrayed the library as a
vast,
>grey, prison overseen by a Big Brother-like character bent on limiting
and
>controlling the information supplicants. Only buying the advertisers
product
>(again I forget which)could liberate the oppressed. See the agenda?
Whatever
>your sins, they can be projected on a demonized enemy, who is then
vilified
>and cast out. In this case, the library becomes the scapegoat. It is
the
>corporate sector that now calls the shots and limits both freedom and
>choice, yet here the humble library is portrayed as the enemy of
freedom.
>Wow! Who knew we had such evil power?

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