Getting your first 90 day layoff notice bites. There are so many things that run through your head, and sitting at the reference desk you certainly have enough time to think about them. It was during one of these self pitying “what do I do now” reference desk hours that I created the image. It was my way of saying we won’t be shushed, you can’t shut us up, we won’t stop protesting until all of our branches stay open. Then the whole thing went a little nuts, and all of a sudden I’d taught myself to screenprint, broken my mom’s dryer, andcovered the trees in my mom’s yard with tshirts. The We Will Not Be Shushed attitude and image hit a nerve with us at Queens Library, and we fought like crazy. We had 400 people show up at city hall, we stayed up all night reading in protest and we got most of our funding restored.

Now we’re facing it all again. The proposed cuts this year will bring us up to a 40% cut since 2009. Libraries in New York just can’t function with that kind of cut. But that’s ok, because our librarians are a scrappy bunch of punk ass book jockeys. We’re planning more and bigger advocacy events than last year, and we’ll get our damn funding back.

The process of getting said tattoo was kind of weird and very librariany. The artist who did it was into comics and had a passion for bad post-apocalyptic fiction, so I found myself doing readers advisory while in the chair. “You might like S.M. Stirling, ouch, Dies the Fire is really good in a sort of awful way, ouch.” A librarian’s job is never over.

Clearly, when I say we should be in a permanent state of advocacy I really mean it. I was lucky enough to create an image last year that people could be inspired by and rally around, and at least part of the reason I got the tattoo was to try to inspire myself again. To remind myself to fight for the people in our communities who can’t. To remember why we do all this. And because being a librarian has become part of who I am, and it’s going to stay that way.

Check us out at www.savenyclibraries.org. If you’re in New York on June 11th and 12th, check out the read-in. Sign all three petitions!
I’ll appreciate it, and I know that my coworkers and patrons will as well.

Thanks for the post Lauren!  FYI, Lauren originally accompanied the original Project Brand Yourself a Librarian group to Jinx Proof Tattoos in Washington, DC during ALA 2010 and was there for the initial branding!      -Justin

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)

THE TIME HAS COME.

BRAND YOURSELF A LIBRARIAN TODAY!

The 8BitLibrary team and YOU (well, if you want to) will be going to Jinx Proof Tattoos in Washington DC on SATURDAY JUNE 26TH at 4:30PM.

The bummer?  They don’t take appointments.  JP and myself will be getting tattoos and we’d love for you to be there to support us (one of us will cry, but who?) or get your own tattoo.  Of course, there will be lots of pictures and video.  Which leads me to this:

TAGS: Twitter: #librarytat8bit   Flickr, Etc: librarytat8bit

AFTERPARTY!

CLICK HERE FOR THE DETAILS

Saturday, June 26, 2010 at 9:30pm
WHERE: RFD Washington
ADDRESS: 810 7th Street

If you support the project, please add this to your blog/wiki/facebook/myspace:

PROJECT BRAND YOURSELF A LIBRARIAN FLICKR GROUP!

OTHER PLACES TO GET TATTOOS IN DC

• Fatty’s Custom Tattoos PHONE: 202-452-0999
• Tattoo Paradise PHONE: 202-232-6699‎
• Off The Hook Tattoos PHONE: 202-581-2018‎
• DC Ink PHONE: 202-232-7711‎

BOOM, SHOW YOUR PRIDE!

Also, are you getting a tattoo or supporting the Project Brand Yourself a Librarian??

BOOM!

Thanks folks,

Signed, JP “the 8bit Brawler”

The 8BitLibrary team and YOU (well, if you want to) will be going to Jinx Proof Tattoos in Washington DC on SATURDAY JUNE 26TH at 4:30PM.

The bummer?  They don’t take appointments.  JP and myself will be getting tattoos and we’d love for you to be there to support us (one of us will cry, but who?) or get your own tattoo.  Of course, there will be lots of pictures and video.  Which leads me to this:

TAGS: Twitter: #librarytat8bit   Flickr, Etc: librarytat8bit

AFTERPARTY!

CLICK HERE FOR THE DETAILS

Saturday, June 26, 2010 at 9:30pm
WHERE: RFD Washington
ADDRESS: 810 7th Street

If you support the project, please add this to your blog/wiki/facebook/myspace:

PROJECT BRAND YOURSELF A LIBRARIAN FLICKR GROUP!

OTHER PLACES TO GET TATTOOS IN DC

• Fatty’s Custom Tattoos PHONE: 202-452-0999
• Tattoo Paradise PHONE: 202-232-6699‎
• Off The Hook Tattoos PHONE: 202-581-2018‎
• DC Ink PHONE: 202-232-7711‎

Join our Project Brand Yourself A Librarian Flickr group and add your photos if you’ve already got your library tattoo.  Don’t have it yet?  Maybe you’ll find some ideas here…
Speaking of ideas, let’s open up this post and discuss ideas for tattoos.  What are you thinking of getting and why?  Inspiration and sharing!

(and remember, the tag for this project is #librarytat8bit on Twitter and librarytat8bit everywhere else)

CLICK HERE FOR THE FLICKR GROUP!

• Organizing one massive tattooing is sort of a logistical nightmare, so instead we’re opening it up to you.  (See below for details)
• We’d like to keep track of how many folks are participating, so please reply to this post or email us at justinthelibrarian at gmail dot com so we can keep track!
• We want pictures!  We wants details!  The official hashtag for Project Brand Yourself a Librarian will be: TWITTER: #librarytat8bit and BLOGS/FLICKR/ETC: librarytat8bit

2. PLACES TO GET TATTOOS IN DC

• Jinx Proof Tattoos PHONE: 202-337-5469
• Fatty’s Custom Tattoos PHONE: 202-452-0999
• Tattoo Paradise PHONE: 202-232-6699‎
• Off The Hook Tattoos PHONE: 202-581-2018‎
• DC Ink PHONE: 202-232-7711‎

These are just a sampling of the tattoo parlors in the DC area.  If you’d like to go somewhere else, please feel free to do so.  8 Bit Library bloggers will only be at one of these tattoo parlors (see below).

3. DAYS TO GET TATTOOS DURING ALA ANNUAL

• What day works best for you?  Well, that’s your day!  Any days between June 24-29 will be good!
• Members of the 8BitLibrary team will be getting their tattoo on Saturday June 26th, 4pm at Jinx Proof Tattoo
• After our tattooing on Saturday June 26th, there will be a 8BitLibrary Party!  PLACE and TIME: TBA!

4. DOES MY TATTOO HAVE TO BE LIBRARY RELATED?

• We’ve been getting this question a lot.  While we are SUGGESTING that you get a library themed tattoo, you can choose to get any type of tattoo you’d like.  A tattoo is a personal thing and we here at 8 Bit Library don’t want to tell you what to get on your body.  Make yourself happy and get the tattoo you want!

If you have any other questions, please let me know.  (Justin of 8 Bit Library)

JP and I were interviewed by the American Library Association’s YouTube Channel concerning the “Project Brand Yourself a Librarian” project.  Rad stuff!

Thanks to the ALA for the interview!  You can check out more videos from ALA Midwinter 2010 here on their YouTube channel

We are librarians and we are proud.

I was really influenced by Andy Woodworth’s AMAZING People for a Library Themed Ben and Jerry’s campaign in my idea for Project Brand Yourself a Librarian. There is just so much excitement with that project.  It really showed me how much love libraries have from their public and just how dedicated librarians are to their career.

It’s really simple.  If you’re up for it, let’s all get tattoos to show our support for libraries and librarians.  We are who we are.  We are librarians!  Let’s show the world how proud we are!

Let’s do this at the ALA Annual Conference (June 24-29).  If you’ve got ideas on a tattoo parlor, leave a comment.  I’ll gladly be in charge of setting up an appointments for everyone (we should all go together).

1. DOESN’T IT HURT? Honestly, it’s not that bad.  I myself am very scared of needles but I don’t mind getting tattoos.  The worst part is the healing.  WHY?  It itches…

2. BUT IT’S FOREVER! Be proud to be a librarian!  Do you think you’ll be leaving this profession?  See, you won’t.

3. I’VE ALWAYS WANTED ONE…and this is a great chance to finally get one!  Think about it!  Who else can say that they got their tattoo with a bunch of librarians?

(my tattoo, 1 week after getting it.  Healing mode. ——->)