to think a school librarian should have heard of Wolf Hall and actually read books?

[Prevalence]

was chatting to a friend - who said the school librarian where he works doesn't read books, has never heard of Wolf Hall and cannot recommend any reading books to pupils as a result ... AIBU to think this is nonsense???

To this, and to others who have posted the same, if you are aged over about 38 or so I would still be surprised, and assume that you don't read newspapers or keep up to date with current affairs. Otherwise I'd assume that it's probable that someone who is only in their 20s or very early 30s and too young to be aware of the news around Wolf Hall when it was released may well not know about it. I mean it was 2009 so 16 years ago.

I'm constanly surprised by what people in their 20s don't know, but then I'm early 50s. And remind myself that when I was that age, I remember older people saying to me "Oh, haven't you heard of x, y, z?" I guess it's normal.

Take it how you like it but certain things are part of general knowledge, Wolf Hall being one of them. Not having even heard of it is very ignorant because it shows you don't read newspapers or care about major cultural achievements. Nothing to do with my personal interests.

I would have hidden them behind the library desk for her! Pupils with such enthusiasm for reading are scarce these days and what keeps school libraries running (if they still exist at all).

Calm down, Capt Jack Sparrow!😉

The point I was making is that I have not heard of many of the other Booker prize winning novels, so just not knowing one particular novel is not a hallmark of ignorance.

As an ex-school librarian (undergraduate specialised degree, chartered, over 25 years of experience of education libraries), that is CLEARLY a list of transferable skills that would be useful in lots of jobs. It is not a list that is specific to a school librarian's job. A love of reading and a good knowledge of books should be at the top of the list. You sound fairly young and so like you have grown up with and absorbed the fallacy that you're just a keeper of resources. How absolutely depressing.

I’m quite calm! Just couldn’t face the time it takes my fat fingers to italicise.

I think the fact that the Booker Prize is only an incidental to Wolf Hall’s reputation has already been discussed on this thread. Totally agree that the majority of them are fairly obscure. The fact it’s one of the few that a lot of people can actually name is part of the point.

I read constantly and always have done. I have never heard of wolf hall.

I don't know what reaction posts like this are supposed to elicit. "Well done"?

You could be reading the complete Famous Five collection on a constant loop for all we know. Are we supposed to be more impressed by your ignorance because you read constantly?

A proper school librarian wouldn't need to look up where it was on the catalogue. Their brain would instantly go "Mantel.....M......this shelf over here."

Quite.

Both the reply and the post it's replying to just have no idea sigh😔

It reads like part of a job description I've definitely seen before

It is. I retrained to IT because of my experience of using tech in academic libraries, and because I didn't want to be broke for the rest of my life. I had friends working in IT, and they could afford to go on holiday and run a car. I had to budget well to get to the end of the month without getting more overdrawn. IT pays way better.

I've usually ended up managing the documentation in every tech job I've been in, though.

Otherwise I'd assume that it's probable that someone who is only in their 20s or very early 30s and too young to be aware of the news around Wolf Hall when it was released may well not know about it. I mean it was 2009 so 16 years ago.

But its last TV adaptation was released only this autumn just gone, which produced another flurry of reviews and articles about it all. I know 20yos probably don't watch live TV, but there was still lots talked about it, and they might have had parents or other family members talking about it.

Back in the day (1980s) entry to the handful of postgraduate schools of Librarianship and Archive Studies was insanely - and I mean insanely- competitive.

These were the qualifications you needed to work as a professional librarian or archivist. You needed a good degree ( harder to come by in those days) from an elite university Most definitely not City snd Guilds.

Unfortunately like much else in modern life these types of traditional academic endeavour have been degraded and dumbed down as modern technology has made some aspects of these professions ( a word bandied around like confetti these days but correct in this context) obsolete or changed beyond recognition.

Combine that with social media and teaching to the exams rather than expanding young minds; the closure of libraries in schools and communities; the horror that children arrive at university never having been in a library; general lack of awareness of wider culture ( even if you haven't read Wolf Hall- neither have I) - makes me want to drink bleach.

This thread is profoundly depressing on so many levels.

I would expect them to have heard it, but not necessarily have read it. The Wolf Hall trilogy has been big cultural news for many years and the two TV adaptations equally so.

I can't get on with Hilary Mantel, I read 'a place of greater safety' many years ago, and really struggled to finish it, even though it's one of my favourite periods of history.
How does your friend know the librarian doesn't read?!
A qualified Librarian needs a degree or post graduate qualification for the job. Maybe the librarian is just currently bogged down with life to read a book, since having kids, I don't read anything like the amount I used to, partly due to lack of time, partly due to lack of mental capacity...my job requires serious concentration, so I'm just looking for zoning out once I'm done; I'm sure I'm not the only one!

My friend is a librarian (qualified and cilip certified) hasn't read a novel
For
Years - too busy with academia ( doing a doctorate) & doesn't enjoy fiction. Have you vertigo from your high horse OP?

She probably paid barely more than minimum wage. Why should she be expected to have read books in line with your snobby expectations?

So low-paid jobs only attract people who don't read? Do you actually know any booksellers or library assistants? Or authors?

🤣

Literally never once said she should have read it, but anyone with general knowledge should have at least heard of Wolf Hall. Ignorance is not a desirable quality.

.

It is a chatgpt description of basically every desk job ever

Has she heard of Hilary Mantel?

See what you mean. It's generic enough to mirror job description details I've seen before Chat GPT was a thing too.