Conan the Librarian

Conan the Librarian is a parody of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian that has become a literary trope, and has appeared in various media, including film, radio, television, comics, and fan fiction.[1] Based on the similarity in the sound of the word "librarian" to "barbarian", and their near opposite meanings, the phrase is a parodic coinage, and its origins and recurrence are likely due to both independent invention and imitation. There is no evidence that the character has an origin in Monty Python's Flying Circus in the 1970s.[2]

The trope has received criticism from author and librarian Ashanti White for perpetuating the stereotype of the "cantankerous librarian", noting that the image was prominent in a Google Image search.[3] The term has also been used as a descriptor both favorably and unfavorably by outlets such as The New York Times.[4]

  1. ^ Smith, Jeanette C. (2014-01-10). The Laughing Librarian: A History of American Library Humor. McFarland. pp. 13, 17, 27, 161. ISBN 978-0-7864-9056-1.
  2. ^ Cronin, Brian (January 13, 2021). "The Surprisingly Complicated History of Conan the Librarian". CBR. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  3. ^ White, Ashanti (2012-03-19). Not Your Ordinary Librarian: Debunking the Popular Perceptions of Librarians. Elsevier. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-78063-296-4.
  4. ^ Schwartz, John (March 31, 2002). "Shhhh! We're trying to surf". The New York Times.