[Nancy Pearl is the director of the Washington Center for the Book at Seattle Public Library. She created the popular program "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book" and reviews books every Monday at 2 p.m. on KUOW (94.9 FM), Seattle's NPR affiliate, during "The Beat." Her third book is entitled Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason. She was recently digitized for the Library Action Figure and won the 2003 Washington Humanities Award.]
Margaret Fast: Let's start with the Library Action Figure since this is an E-zine devoted to popular culture and then discuss
Book Lust. The Figure has been called stereotypical, offensive, and dowdy. Melissa Block of NPR in her interview with you mentioned "librarian rage." 
Do you think that librarian's might have had a different take on the figure if they had attended your book and action figure signing at Archie McPhee's where one can purchase anything from a rubber chicken to Mickey Mouse ears for their pet pug dog?
Nancy Pearl: From my perspective, all that supposed librarian rage, as Melissa Block called it, has been vastly overstated by the media. There are some librarians, I am sure, who didn't see the humor in the Librarian Action Figure, and didn't get that the company was playing off the stereotype of the shushing librarian (and not laughing at librarians at all), but the vast majority of letters and emails I got actually loved the Librarian Action Figure and the attention it brought to our profession. I did get two unsigned emails expressing--in strong terms--that I had set back the profession 30 years, but since they were unsigned I couldn't communicate with senders. Being called dowdy was more difficult, especially as I know that the clothes I was wearing to be photographed in are actually a beautiful, classic skirt and sweater from Eileen Fisher. What I didn't realize (silly me, never having been turned into plastic before!) is that those clothes would not translate into plastic well. Perhaps I should have worn my leather choker, mini-skirt, and fringed vest.
How does it feel to have a five-inch plastic librarian superhero modeled after you? How does the figure fit into the many popular cultural icons such as Moses, Freud, Jesus, and Ben Franklin which the Archie McPhee Company manufactures? Can you share any stats with us on who is purchasing the action figure? What is your favorite feature of the figure?
It's very weird to have a small version of my professional self out there, especially when people recognize me from having seen the LAF. I think it's totally wonderful that a librarian is part of the pantheon of Archie McPhee action figures, along with, as you mention, such luminaries as Freud, Einstein, Jesus, and Rosie the Riveter. I don't know any specific statistics--you might want to call Mark Pahlow at Accoutrements/Archie McPhee (mark@accoutrements.com) or 425 349 3838 and get numbers from him--but I did hear that at one point it was outselling the Jesus action figure. My favorite feature(s) are the books that go along with the LAF (Librarian Action Figure)--not only my own book, Book Lust , but also Bulgarian Flax, The Liars' Club, Rilke, Eudora Welty--that pile of books shows the wonderful diversity of what's available to readers.
Are you pleased that the librarian action figure came out at this time in American history? I'm thinking of the Patriot Act. What message would you like the action figure to send to the public?
Since John Ashcroft tried to give the impression that librarians were old grumps in their dislike of the Patriot Act, it pleases me no end that the LAF shows that librarians are able to laugh at themselves, and not take themselves too seriously (at least that the majority of librarians can laugh at themselves, etc.), but that we do take their responsibilities to the public seriously, and take Intellectual Freedom issues very seriously indeed.
Next page: Categories of Lust
