Thursday, June 7, 2012

First Thursday's Just For Fun: Library Graffiti

Yup. You read that title correctly. The topic for this month's "just for fun" post is graffiti. Library graffiti, to be specific. You see, I started another blog: a single topic Tumlbr deal that is devoted to recording and sharing graffiti I find at libraries.

Here are some of my favorites that I've seen so far:

I have no idea what's going on here, but I wish I could ask.

"Pink is the new black."

Literature discussion.

And then there's my favorite image. This is the one that inspired the Tumblr blog in the first place:


The librarian part of me is dutifully horrified at the destruction of school property, but the rest of me is completely fascinated.

Why do they do it? Is it a sense of ownership? Of "fighting the man"? Boredom? Lack of paper?

And then there's the fact that some of the pieces have evolved. The literature discussion above is just one example of conversations I've seen in graffiti. One person starts, other people add, and so on. Most of what I've shared so far is from my own library, but I have gone on one field expedition already. It seems to be a fairly common phenomenon, and I find that even more fascinating.

What about you? Have you seen graffiti in your library? If so, what was it of?

(P. S. If you're interested to see more, the Tumblr is named for the subject: Library Graffiti. Also, I'd love any submissions you might have. Anything found in or on a library counts.)

1 comment:

  1. actually this was a HUGE medium of communication at my college. check it out: http://www.crescatgraffiti.com/

    my guess? a bunch of shy, nerdy undergrads reaching/acting out.

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