Proofs That Librarians Are Cooler Than Many of Us Thought

I don’t know about you, but I did spend hours after hours in the library during college, trying to score a good enough GPA so I wouldn’t be disowned by my own family. Despite the long hours I spent there, I seldom interact with the librarians - which proved to be a great mistake, as years go by I found out that they are actually great fun. Here are the proofs.

Gift for a librarian 

Okay. This one is not exactly from the librarians themselves - but rather, a gift from a kid of one. Reddit user u/itallchecksout99 made this for his/her mother for Christmas, who is a librarian. I don’t know about you, but this warms me up. And if you have not been to a library for a while - go and borrow a book.

Dedication...Dedication Man

Reddit user u/Bl00dorange3000 said that due to a system down in the library, he/she decided to sort out all the books on the shelf. It might not last - but this is gorgeous.

Honesty, Part One

Truth in advertising is important. We could make the joke that "maybe you're getting a book about fixing your heater" but we'll refrain since that is kind of played out. Instead, we'll wonder if the heat in the library was working when they put this sign up.

Kind Of...

Blue is a pretty common color, and we can't fault this librarian for getting sick of hearing about the color of a book jacket. At least they were constructive and creative about it. We'd have probably just sent them over to the section on colors or something.

Once upon a time in America

This is a poster from the early 20th century - though it might not be created by a librarian, it was created by the American Library Association, so I would say close enough. It is interesting to look at a piece of history like this - after all, before TVs and the internet, books are the medium of knowledge. Fun fact: WWI Armistice took place on that very day listed on the poster. Guess no expected the war to end when they made it?

The Blind Side

Apparently, this librarian has been on so many blind dates that it gave them an idea for work. It's a pretty good one too! Each one of these books has a "mystery" book on the inside that is described on the outside. If they had made the covers look a lot nicer, and the books a lot worse, it would be just like Tinder!

Batman

This one will go down as a swing and a miss in the annals of "cool librarian" history. It's great to try and tie Batman into a book return drive. They even managed to skirt any possible legal ramifications by changing the logo. Unfortunately, the tie-in is one of the very worst movies of the series. They should have said "The Dark Knight Returns His Books To The Library"

Nicholas Sparks

If you know any name in current romance novels, it's Nicholas Sparks. If you know anything about Nicholas Sparks, you know that every single one of his books ends with one of the star-crossed protagonists dying, usually due to cancer. Knowing this, we like to think that the tissue box is for the librarian because they are sad when someone checks out one of these cliched novels.

Celebrity Carts

I believe that if there is anyone who is good at making puns, it would be the librarians - and I am not disappointed. What’s more - apart from naming the carts after celebrities with gag names, they even put photos on. A lot of effort has been put into it.

Beyond three dimensions...through time and space

Even watched Interstellar directed by Christopher Nolan? If you haven’t, you should. For those who have seen it (no spoilers here) - you might remember the scene with the bookshelves. I am not sure if the librarian is making the same reference here, but it sure looks amazing. A bit of a metaphor as well - books and knowledge do transcend through time and space.

Promotion with modern art

Do you remember the banana ‘art’ that was sold for $150,000? Honestly, sometimes I don’t understand how art works. I am not sure if the librarian is making a reference here, or if he/she is really trying to sell the membership by mimicking the famous/ infamous art piece. If it is, this is a stroke of genius.

A Red Christmas tree

It is sort of an unspoken tradition in libraries to have a book tree for Christmas - that is, to stack up books and pretend it is a Christmas tree. But if you think about it...papers come from trees...so it is a tree after all. However, this librarian stacked up books as usual but also spent some time and effort matching the colors, which is tinted towards red. I gotta say, this is actually beautiful.

The times they’re a-changin'

For a lot of people and places, visiting libraries is a dying culture - with the advance of technology and especially internet, a lot of things are just a click away...and a trip to the library, picking up a book seems too much of a hassle - so perhaps the librarians here are trying to attract patrons by having a wider selection of things people can borrow. We all have to adapt to changes, I guess.

The Zine Machine

Ever heard of a zine? It is usually a small magazine, created by a person/a small group as a creative form of media. Unlike books or normal magazines that are published by big publishers, zines are of a more indie nature. We are so glad to see a dedicated section on zines in a library - thanks, librarian! Wherever you are.

Sir Reads-A-Lot

This amazing display proves that librarians in Virginia Beach have way too much time on their hands. We guess that a lot of people don't walk into libraries there. Well, it's been good for the library, because it went viral and people came in just to see it. Unfortunately, they still didn't take out any books, but it's still a great display!

Igloo

Full credit to the creator here: Brittany Ash, who also created the "Baby Got Books" display, created this one too. It's also at the Virginia Beach Public Library. Is there a better place to read about snow than an igloo? She built it from milk jugs and a bit of creativity. Who knew that there were so many people drinking milk in Virginia?

Holidays Are Coming Up

You know, everyone loves the holidays. Check that...most people love the holidays. If you have ever thought that your holidays needed a little "social lubricant", this librarian got you covered. Seems like they may be projecting a little bit, but at least we can all benefit!

The Flow Chart

This is a 100% accurate flowchart. The only problem we see is that most libraries will have some sort of limit on the number of books you can borrow at one time. The flowchart doesn't really help you with that. Maybe you can borrow a book about making effective flowcharts.

A Moment Of Silence Is More Than Appropriate

There are some odd choices here. Doctor Who? The Doctor always has another regeneration. Dinosaurs? It seems like a cheap shot. Harry Potter? We don't think Fred Weasley is anyone's favorite character, but whatever. Really, this display should just be filled with piles of books from Game Of Thrones. (And, yes, we know that the books are called A Song Of Fire And Ice, pedants.)

Honesty, Part Two

We kind of just want to caption this photograph with the word "yup" and move on, but since we are an internet site, we can't really do that. Not everything in the library is true either, but the difference is that they label the untrue stuff as "fiction".

Honesty, Part 3

This is true. There are some books out there that might spread idiocy, but at least they are no longer uninformed idiots. Or is that actually more dangerous? We can't say for sure...

Another Batman Tie-In

This one is much better than the other Batman tie-in that we showed you earlier. It's MUCH funnier, for one thing. It ties into a better iteration of Batman too. We're happy to show you this picture because now the song will be in your head all day long. Pow! Zam!

Dungeons and Dragons! Nuff said 

What’s geekier than spending 10 hours a day in the library? Voila! Playing D&D in the library! If you have never played it before, please do - it is fantastic, I can assure you. And playing Dungeons and Dragons can also be cool - look at James Franco playing Dungeons and Dragons. And whoever decided this is a good idea - props to you my friend.

Here's Johnny!

Danish libraries are usually pretty fun places, and this one is no exception. Imagine walking past this display and hearing the librarian yell "Her er Johnny!" loudly. Yes, they even shout in Danish libraries sometimes. 

The Jelly Bean Jar

We really like this one. It's so simple and straightforward, and we'll bet that it gets people to read different genres of books that they might normally avoid. We only question the similarity of colors between the non-fiction and science fiction categories. Aren't those two getting a little too close anyway?

Primitive iPad

This is actually a brilliant way to market books to people who don't think books are cool anymore. We have to wonder why the second sign was added though. Was someone offended? Did they seriously not get the joke? Did someone complain to a manager? 

Happy Hannukah!

This is fantastic and inclusive. Notice that the little sign next to the cookies says they're for Santa Claus and there's a menorah right in the middle too. We only have one question...what happens when someone actually wants to check out one of the books on this display?

Truth In Labeling

If you stepped into a bookshop or library in the early 2000s, you know what this sign is all about. Lots of books about glimmery, shiny vampires were dominating the shelves. It looks like one librarian just took it one step further. We wonder if they changed the sign to say "magical teenagers" in the 2010s.

Speaking Of The Young Adult Section...

It's a little sad that anyone has to put up this kind of sign. After all, if you have a book in your hand, it means you're reading. Who cares if it's a young adult book? People might think you are a bit juvenile, but at least you're reading. If you had Shakespeare in your hand, they'd probably think you're a snob.  If you have a Nicholas Sparks book, they might think you have bad taste, but it's better than nothing.

New Sections

Yes, this is real. It's from a local bookshop and not a library, but we still think it's cool that the employees didn't take down the sections either. This is the work of a Redditor named "obviousplant" who apparently has a lot of time on his hands. He's done this to his local shop a bunch of times, but we thought this was the funniest since he actually brought in his own take-out menus to supplement the books.

Cart Labels

Even librarians need to be able to tell which cart is which sometimes, and "cart A" and "cart B" just seemed dull for this librarian. We'll just say it because we know you're thinking it...yes, that is probably the first time Cardi B has ever been seen in a library. Haha.

Wait, what?

The University of Surrey had a serious problem with people eating in its library, we guess.  What better way to get a college student's attention than offering them free food? Or seeming to offer them free food. It's probably for the best that they didn't have problems with drinking up there too.

More Food Problems

Apparently, eating is a big problem in libraries. For some reason, a lot of universities put their cafeterias right next to the library, and this leads to all kinds of odd shenanigans. If you have to eat in a library though, it seems like pasta would be the worst thing to eat. Maybe barbecue ribs would be worse, but only marginally.

Poor Cathy

Cathy must be a sad, lonely woman...Actually, this is yet another work by obviousplant.  We have to wonder though, what did poor Cathy think when she saw this sign? And again, why did she leave it up? Is there a grain of truth to it?

Book of the month...what’s the title again? 

Normally when you visit a library, there is this section called Books of the Month, where the librarians will handpick a selection of books that are good. But this time, Reddit user u/Ratherdisappointing decided to have a little fun with it… and I am sure others will remember this title. The irony, eh?

What’s the name of the book again?

Apparently, a lot of people do walk into a library and ask the library for help, searching for specific books - however, their descriptions are often...not so specific. I mean, seriously, a book with a green cover? And the librarians here certainly nailed it. That's cute, huh? 

More Food Issues

Why do people want to eat in the library? There's a certain smell to a library...it smells like fresh paper combined with printer ink. So why would you want to ruin that potpourri-like scent by bringing your fries in there? This particular librarian had enough and printed up this sign. We love that they took the picture of the French fry and cleaned it up afterward.

Do you want to build a snowman?

Do you want to build a snowman? Well, this librarian certainly did. But how are you going to build a snowman if you work in the library? Well, it’s simple - with books! Not sure if the librarian who built this is also called Anna...wait...the song from Frozen is playing in my head again...

Another Young Adult Section

We talked a little bit before about the early-2000s vampire craze, and it's nice that a library figured out where to put all of those excess copies of Twilight. It's perfect, but it probably came about a decade or two late. (Just kidding. This is also the work of obviousplant. It's still funny though.)

Halloween

There are a lot of variations on this joke, but this one is probably our favorite. The books probably only appear when you turn your back on them or something, and we wonder what kind of late fee you get if you don't return them on time. How would they know?

Panda! 

While I would love to see someone dressing as a panda in a library, this is probably not going to happen soon. However, Reddit user djhalfacookie did something similar - with a catch. Working as a librarian, sometimes she would wear a panda hat, where due to the height of the table, only her face is visible. Good troll, djhalfacookie.

Secret Tip

Wanna start your library? These librarians got some tips for you - if you do check out all the books there, you can technically start your own library. If you live long enough that is. The note was also pasted discreetly - guess it really was a secret then...but not anymore.

Credible Hulk

Following credible Hulk’s advice, I am also going to cite my sources. A user from Imgur claimed that he/she found this note in a library, so we can assume that it was pasted there by a librarian… or a professor, potentially.

Staff Anti-Picks

Now, rather than books that the staff recommended, which they normally do in libraries, here’s a list of not recommended books by the librarians. Reddit user Stephendelg claims that it was found in his local library, and honestly, I think this is a good idea. Reading is good, but not just any books will do. I am also surprised Ayn Rand’s books are not on that list.

In The Air Tonight 

Love is in the air...what a romantic thing to say in a library. But so are other things, as the librarians from Reddit user The_Rare_Canadian’s library pointed out (and we assume it is a Canadian library). For example - Coronavirus. So if you are reading this - it might be a good idea to go wash your hand now as well.

Procrastination

What should you do if you are unable to get something done? Well, put up a sign and do it another time, but let everyone know that you're going to do it... someday. I will finish this paragraph tomorrow, so don't worry.

Procrastination: Reality

In reality, this is probably how we can actually relate to procrastination as a whole. I am not sure whether this is the work of the librarians or a mere prank from fellow visitors. But yes, people do slack in libraries, and viewing through the glass looks as if it is a big display case. Like a zoo or something, with students of all habitats.

Christmas Movie Selection

Die Hard is the best Christmas movie. End of story. If you need more evidence, it was even chosen as the number one pick from Empire's 30 Best Christmas Movies in 2010. Still not convinced? The librarians left it there on the Christmas section - if the library says so, it must be true.

Get Off My Cloud

Librarians are often subtle and gentle beings, something that is reflected in their sense of humor, and here is a fine example of that. While librarians have a liberal use of puns, this one is done subtly. Now, this could be a reference to various things, for example, this Rolling Stones classic.

Sneaky

Well, promotions are always a good way to boost your business. But I am not sure how that applies to libraries - since technically you don’t buy books there (that’s the point). But apparently, Reddit user FuzzyLojik’s local library decided to go along with the Black Friday Craze and have a bit of fun with it.

Books vs Dragons...Your Pick.

Libraries are really a declining phenomenon...people seldom visit libraries these days, therefore librarians really have to come up with ways to get people to come. Putting up signs is one thing, but a simple sign is not enough - and here you have it, dragons, suspense...probably enough to get someone to come. 

Book Drop

While we are not entirely sure what the backstory to this was, our theory is that someone drove into the wall at the parking lot at the local library. And the librarians, who made the best out of the situation, left a Book Drop sign there, hinting that someone dropped a book so hard that it broke the wall.

He Who Must Not Be Named

I don’t know about you, but I always picture librarians to be huge Harry Potter fans, so Harry Potter references in a library should be a common sight. However, this one here is… I would give the librarians 6 out of 10. How can you call He Who Must Not Be Named by his name?

No Entry For Max

Here in this library, no entry for Max. Max is a cat, and no one wants Max into the library except Max; his owner doesn’t want him in; neither do the librarians. So if you see Max, and he wants in, say no to Max. I don’t know what I wrote just now.

A Paradox

I don’t get it. I really don’t. How does a free coffee cost $1? Like...if it costs money, how is it free? If it is free, why would it cost $1? Or maybe the library got it for free and they are selling it for $1? We are confused, librarians.

Basement Closed

Harry Potter reference strikes again. As Imgur user Chrigod pointed out, his/her university library was closed for a while, likely due to maintenance - however, to make the sign more interesting, they claim that they closed it down due to the presence of a Basilisk instead.

Important Events

Having your president visit the library is a very big thing. What's even bigger? Having your president stuck in the elevator in the same library. To commemorate the event, the staff here at the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library made a special sign about it, to remind every visitor that President Gerald R. Ford once got stuck in the elevator there - if it happens to you as well, that’s an honor.

Late Fees

It is a good trait to return books duly after borrowing them from the library - sharing is caring, and keeping the book to yourself is selfish. However, there are people who just wouldn’t return the book for a long time, and the late fees simply accumulate. Here the librarians finally got one returned - after 34 years. So if the person was 18 when he/she borrowed it, they would be like 52 now. And if you are 52...I guess you would have enough money to pay for the fees?

Christmas Tree

We love seeing Christmas trees in libraries - sort of an unspoken and unofficial tradition in every library really. We appreciate the effort of the librarians put into here, who probably spent hours looking for the green books. Well, it might come in handy as well if someone walks in and says “I am looking for that book...I think it is green”.

The Adventure of Cathy: Finale

We appreciate the sense of humor here - so we will have a trilogy of the notes left outside the library for the Book Drop. Last on our list - items you should put inside the Book Drop. Apart from books, pictures of cute boys are also welcome - just make sure they are not underaged.

Here it is - you see, librarians are actually very cool people. When was the last time you went to a library? If you haven't, maybe you can consider making a visit to your local library and take up a book, even saying hi to the librarian there perhaps. If you have some friends who work in the library, why not share this with them? Until next time - have a great day!

Source: Reddit, Art & Object, Geeks & Sundry, Book Bub, Go Social, Daily Mail