Librarians throwing the book at new ‘shushing’ action figure

SEATTLE – A new action figure of a frumpy-looking librarian who moves her index finger to her lips with “amazing push-button shushing action!” is prompting librarians around the world to raise their voices in protest.

“The shushing thing just put me right over the edge,” said Diane DuBois, library director of Caribou Public Library in Caribou, Maine. “We’re so not like that anymore. It’s so stereotypical I could scream.”

The 5-inch Librarian Action Figure, which shows a bespectacled woman in a cardigan, long plain skirt and sensible shoes, goes on sale in October for $8.95.

It is produced by Seattle kitsch retailer Archie McPhee and Co., whose lineup of action figures includes Sigmund Freud, Nico the espresso stand barista, and Jesus Christ, the McPhee action figure that started it all.

On Web sites and discussion groups, in phone calls and e-mails, librarians from as far as Australia have made it clear how annoyed they are with the doll and with Nancy Pearl, the 58-year-old real-life librarian who posed for the action figure.

The criticism moved Pearl to stop reading about the figure online.

Despite the backlash, Pearl said she does not regret posing for the doll: “It’s a lovely idea and a lovely tribute to my chosen profession.”