This is a Modern World Sub Cultures and Sub Genres: Make your library service truly multicultural
Let’s Identify a Subculture ► Come together, on a local and national level to socialize and skill share. ► Create their own publications and organizations. ► Are constantly struggling to re identify themselves and find their relevance in the world. ► Have created their own social hierarchy.
LIBRARIANS While we are a profession, much of our behavior mimics that of a subculture.
Under Your Influence ► Librarians involvement in a subcultures may explain their choice in the profession (Geek is now thought of as a subculture). ► Many changes in our profession can be attributed to the influence of subcultures and countercultures.
Beyond Race and Class ► Subculture ► Counterculture ► Youth Culture ► Urban Tribes ► Enthusiast ► “Scene” In the (post) modern world we are all looking for our place. We can no longer rely on our ethnicity and ancestry for identity. As librarians we are challenged by a society becoming fragmented and increasingly complex. We can resign ourselves to serving a increasingly smaller “norm” or we can learn to embrace diversity outside of class and race.
What Is A Subculture In Sociology and Cultural Studies it is Defined as… A group of people with a culture (whether distinct or hidden) which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.
Sociology and Subcultures ► The Chicago School is best known for its analysis of how the urban environment affects human behavior. Its members studied social structures and physical environmental factors, rather than genetic and personal characteristics, in the development of human interaction.
Identification of a Subculture ► Distinctive use of aesthetics. ► A symbolic use of style which can be interpreted by other members of the same culture. ► Affinity to a particular type of music, physical activity (sport), style of art, or geographic territory. ► An often antagonistic view of normal society and social conformity.
The Urban Tribe ► The urban tribe is a microgroup of people who share common interests in metropolitan areas. The members of these relatively small groups tend to have similar worldviews, dress styles and behavioral patterns. ► Defined by French sociologist Michel Maffesoli, 1985.
Types of Subcultures? ► Punks ► Goths ► Gammers ► Techies ► Beats ► Hippies ► Ravers ► Mods ► Metalheads ► Urban Primitives ► Furries ► Sukebans There the are sub- subcultures… punk is the base of several. Skinheads, hipsters, artpunks, hardcore kids, straight edge and many others are rooted in punk. Some embrace their subculture, others see it as a stereotype.
Subcultures in the Library ► Teen Services ► Children’s Services/Parents ► Collection development ► Programming ► Adult instruction ► Non traditional library services
Sub Cultures and Emerging Genre’s ► Punk is now added to anything outside the norm… Cyber Punk, Steam Punk, and Horror Punk (just saw that one the other day). ► Urban Fiction is very much a part of the “street” lifestyle, which can be defined as a subculture. ► Modern art, music, and literature is often influenced by sub/counterculture.
Not Judging a Book By It’s Cover ► Some subcultures have similar aesthetics, but vastly different tastes and values. ► Members of a subculture are not always comfortable being identified by it, especially by outsiders. ► You may find that many of these groups may become library advocates. ► Nothing is more D.I.Y. than the library.
In Closing We need to rethink how we categorize our collections and the people we serve. While subcultures are a small segment of the population, they need to be taken into consideration when tooling our library services. They could make strong advocates for your organization.