JustinLibrarian

We came, we ALA’ed, and we got branded as librarians…

Since I had already branded myself a librarian back in January of this year, I decided to go another route for the ALA 2010 Project Brand Yourself A Librarian.  As an 8Bit Librarian, it goes without saying that video games have a special place in my heart.  I can remember getting my Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986 along with the games Super Mario Brothers, Duckhunt, Trojan, and Mighty Bomb Jack.  I was in love instantly, not with just the experience itself, but the characters as well.  Old Nintendo games have a reputation for not having the most well developed story lines but I found out that worked to my advantage. Instead of books, it was video games that unlocked my curiosity and imagination.  They challenged me to create stories, think, and create.

When it came time to get another tattoo, picking my homage to video games was easy.  The Legend of Zelda was the first video game that captured me completely.  I was so into the world of Hyrule and the main character Link that it was all I thought about.  I would spend hours playing in the woods, envisioning my own Hyrule.  I would draw maps based on what I discovered while playing the game.  Point being, The Legend of Zelda unlocked something in me that had been locked up before.  I became curious.  Instead of just sitting back and having the world fed to me, I decided to seek it out on my own.  I don’t know exactly why I became a librarian, but I’m thinking that had something to do with it.  That eternal curious feeling.

One of the reasons why 8BitLibrary was started by JP and I was not only to advocate for video gaming in libraries but also to reach out to the people that are  just like the six year old version of myself I described above.  In my youth, video games in libraries were not something that went together at all.  Because of that, I sort of backed away from my library as I got older.  I felt like they didn’t get me.  I now look back on those years as a time where I lost a valuable resource that could’ve changed my life.  Who know what I would be like if I had the library to guide me during those teenage year.  My point is simple…if I can reach out to those teens with games and show them just what else we have to offer, I might be able to make a positive impact on their life.

So, here’s where I explain my tattoo.

Here’s the history behind the game and the Triforce, the relic which Link holds in my tattoo.  I got it simply because I love 8Bit art and I love what the triforce stands for:  WISDOM.  POWER.  COURAGE

I feel like that should be the new logo and slogan for libraries.

(much love to Peter Bromberg for the photo)