“Libraries usually evoke images of dusty stacks and abandoned archives. Here in Los Angeles, however, the library is becoming... well, cool. The Linda Lindas concert, held in the Cypress Park branch, garnered over 130,000 likes on Twitter. https://t.co/vws3zHPspL”
Not just “dusty stacks,” but “abandoned archives” really?
As John Overholt said on Twitter, “Only because you don’t stop saying it.”
The image is evoked because you evoked it, because it is evoked, because you evoked it. Relying on repeating tropes continues to reinforce the idea of obsolescence that has no basis in reality.
“Whenever you use ‘musty’ [or ‘dusty’] in an article about archives, the ghost of Schellenberg kills a kitten” - a quote from Brad Houston. This blog highlights the use of tropes like “musty,” “dusty,” and “discovery” in articles about archives and libraries which are relied upon to demonstrate irrelevance, or erase the people doing archival labor.
Poor kitty.
cat via @lraquel
