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
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.
►Subculture
►Counterculture
►Youth
Culture
►Urban Tribes
►Enthusiast
►“Scene”
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.