sunday morning infographic

I've mentioned in a previous post how much I love DIY culture, and even though I am not necessarily crafty, I believe that there is a strong correlation between it and librarianship.

Recently, I saw this post that made me think about this intersection again: 10 Things You Already Own to Wrangle and Label Cords. The post shares some pretty awesome ways to keep the multiple cords (that seem unfortunately necessary in this day and age) manageable, using common objects - from toilet paper tubes to action figures.

I'm always thinking of creative ways to organize information online, it's great to see creative ways to organize objects in real life.

Because it's Sunday morning, and I don't want to start my homework, and I'm a super dork, I processed my thoughts about librarianship and DIY culture into a Venn Diagram (which you should click on to get a better look at):


Putting together this infographic was a really interesting process. I found it way easier to think of common elements rather than unique elements. Granted, the fact that librarianship is a profession and DIY culture is (mostly) a hobby is a major difference. But once I started to really think about it - I was surprised at how much these two concepts overlap. For example:

Misunderstood: Most people think that libraries only deal with books and that crafters are crazy ladies who scrapbook. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Fetishized: The general public loves the concept of the sexy librarian. DIY culture is being co-opted as a marketing strategy to sell products.

Sustainable: reusing and recycling and self-reliance are major tenants of DIY culture. Libraries are at the heart of communities and community centeredness leads to stronger ecological values.

This post was a lot of fun. I have a recent obsession with infographics, and I'm always looking for an excuse to make my own. Writing this post makes me think if there are any other hobbies/professions/concepts that would be fun to fit into a Venn Diagram...

A big thanks to Serenity (and the magic of Gchat) for letting me bounce some ridiculous ideas off of her...

I'm a crafty bitch, baby

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm traveling back east right now (writing this post in the Boston area), mostly to visit my nephew (who is a whopping three weeks old and the most amazing baby ever), but also to spend time with friends and family.

It was really great to catch up with my sister-in-law who, with one of her close friends, just started the blog Yankee Crafty Bitch. Go ahead, click the link, take a few minutes to check it out, and then hurry back.

Amazing, right?

Although I have never really finished a project myself, I'm kind of obsessed with the crafty, do-it-yourself (DIY) culture, which goes hand-in-hand with librarianship pretty seamlessly (pun intended).

Among the crafters and DIYers there is a pretty defiant attitude towards the general social acceptance (and apathy) of relying on an expert to: change your oil, clean your gutters, landscape your yard, decorate your house, etc. etc. etc. Why buy it in a store when you can make it/grow it/build it/fix it yourself?

Crafters and DIYers really embrace independence and are legit creative problem solvers. They celebrate thinking outside the box and are fearless in the face of a challenge. To them, there is nothing a little elbow grease can't fix.

I think these are all very important traits when it comes to being a librarian. There are quite a few challenges facing the library industry, and we will tackle them with the same perseverance and tenacity that a crafter will approach putting together a pair hand stitched reconstructed organic yoga pants.

Back to the blog....

I was impressed when a few weeks back it quietly appeared on Facebook. I knew my sister in law and her friends were a creative group of folks, but I was impressed as their projects (and their fans) started to pile up.

As we were hanging out in my Mom's house, cooing over the baby and enjoying some home cooked curry, we started talking about our respective blogs. We found ourselves sitting at a computer, bouncing between various websites, sharing tips and strategies. We discussed at great length the anxiety that the process of blogging creates; mostly due to the overwhelming information that is floating around out there and the self induced pressure to keep current with the myriad of social networking opportunities offered by the world wide web.

As I'm learning in library school, some of the most trusted sources of information will be the people that you already know, and it was great to discuss with someone else the process of creating a blog and the online community that goes with it.

I know that there are a ton of craft blogs out there and Yankee Crafty Bitch is still pretty new, but I guarantee that it is going to be one of the best, because I know that it has some amazing energy and talent backing it up. This is a blog that you are certainly going to want to keep an eye on.....