You'd Never Know It, But...

I have many tattoos. In fact, I have six of them, and two of them are brand-new. So, you may be wondering what tattoos I have. I won’t go into specific, boring detail about each of them, but I’ll at least explain the new ones. Here’s the list.

• Heart
• Sunflower
• Parrot
• Sun with a beach scene inside
• Open book
• My aunt’s initials (SLC)

I got both the open book and the initials yesterday. The open book commemorates my MLIS degree, which I received in May. An open book tattoo may seem kind of silly to some people, but I am a librarian, after all. I got my aunt’s initials because she passed away last month after suffering a massive stroke. She was only 54, and I wanted to honor her in my own way. I think she would expect something a little out of the ordinary from me.
I am proud to call myself a tattooed librarian. The tattooed librarians of TLA have been all over the news lately. Maybe ALA or another state library association will do a similar calendar. I would love to be a part of it. The media coverage these librarians have gotten is definitely breaking down the stereotype of the old school librarian, and I think that’s a really good thing.
I did a Google search on tattooed librarians, and discovered many results on the topic. There are many links to stories about the TLA calendar,  a Ning site for tattooed librarians, and a tattooed librarians Facebook group. Long ago tattoos hit the mainstream. Many people that you would never picture having a tattoo, in fact, have them. I am one of those people.
So take a closer look at your friendly neighborhood librarian. Maybe they’re one of the people that are helping to break down the old school librarian stereotype. I know I am.