![]() This is a great, if unconventionally worded, motto for librarians! “How do you know people are numbnuts unless you can read what they wrote?” Jo admits she’s “a little bothered” by some of the material on her shelves: “There’s some way out books in the politics section – material relating to drugs, the Unabomber, and so on – but we want people to have access and make up their minds for themselves. Polyester are stockists of some pretty strong stuff. ![]() Jo describes her regulars as “Polyster people”: “We have a real affinity with our customers…they are people who click straight away with the atmosphere and ethos of the store they get what we’re all about.” Jo hasn’t changed the bookstore too much since she took up the reins, respecting Polyester’s existing traditions and clientele – although she admits, “The shop had been run by men for a really long time, so I did add a feminist section when I took over!” The store, an icon of Melbourne’s Fitzroy district, has sold politically, aesthetically, and sexually provocative material for almost thirty years. Readers’ advisory goes even further than this: it also means that public librarians are committed to offering users free, non-judgmental access to material of all kinds.Ī similar ethos underpins Jo Emslie’s work at Polyester Books. 21st century readers’ advisory principles help users cross the boundaries of genre, author, and media.įor example, someone who enjoyed the Scott Pilgrim movie might find their librarian recommending the original comic books on which the film was based music by some of the Canadian indie bands on the soundtrack video games that inspired Scott Pilgrim’s 8-bit aesthetic or even comic book workshops like those run in Auckland, New Zealand. Today, library holdings encompass DVDs, games, music, local studies and family history materials, virtual resources, and much more. Finding the right items to engage, inspire, and extend the interests of library clients might just be the coolest thing librarians do. These days, I’m increasingly fascinated with readers’ advisory, the branch of librarianship which involves recommending new reads to library users. So what can librarians learn from the World’s Freakiest Bookstore? ![]() I dropped in to the shop for a browse and was impressed to find the likes of obscure Austrian novelist Hermann Broch on the shelves alongside the more eyebrow-raising fare. Yet Polyester’s commitment to supplying all kinds of books, DVDs, zines, art, and periodicals is deeply relevant to the mission of 21 st century librarians. She googled ‘Polyester Books’ on a State Library computer terminal and we were both immediately confronted with the store’s incredibly NSFW logo.Īs Polyester proprietor Jo Emslie puts it, “If that sign upsets you, don’t look around our shop, ‘cos your head’s gonna explode!” Polyester Books, Melbourne I had no idea where this was, so on a visit to the State Library of Victoria, I asked one of the youth librarians to help me find it. I was visiting Melbourne for the first time and a friend recommended an alternative bookshop at the far end of Brunswick Street in Fitzroy. Polyester Books – the self-proclaimed ‘World’s Freakiest Bookstore’ – spells trouble. In the second of three features pushing the boundaries of what librarians can learn from pop culture, we take a visit to Melbourne bookstore Polyester Books and talk readers’ advisory with one of the most provocative booksellers I’ve ever met.
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