Lego Librarian Halloween costume

A Lego Librarian + a real-life librarian together on the Reel Librarians blog. What more could you ask for?

If you’re a long-time reader of Reel Librarians (thank you!), then you will be familiar with my hunt for the Lego Librarian minifigure. I also use photos of the Lego Librarian every year for my blog anniversary posts. And because I grew my hair longer due to the pandemic and lockdowns, I decided this year to dress up as a real-life Lego Librarian! It’s SO META.

Behold:

Collage of the Lego Librarian minifigure (left) and my Lego Librarian costume (right)

For almost a decade now, I’ve enjoyed dressing up for Halloween by putting together a costume from items already in my closet. No-cost costumes for the win! And this year may be my favorite costume yet. And I never worry about exact recreations; rather, I like to focus on capturing the overall effect and feel of a costume or character. And I definitely felt like I was channeling the Lego Librarian in this costume, with the tan pleated skirt, Fair Isle sweater, buttoned-up shirt, bright red lipstick, and tiny little smirk. (The extreme side part of the hair was the final touch that transformed this costume for me.)

And to be clear: This IS a costume for me. Both my husband and my mom gasped at how different I looked in this costume, LOL! Yes, I am a real-life librarian, and yes, these are all items from my wardrobe, but my own personal style is different and much less preppy than the Lego Librarian’s style. But I do love red lipstick! 😉

The props

The Lego Librarian minifigure comes with a coffee cup that reads “Shhhh” plus a book entitled “Oranges and Peaches.” (And the book title is an inside joke that circles back to the world of reel librarians, a scene from 1995’s indie cult classic Party Girl, in which library worker Mary (Parker Posey) mistakes a library patron’s request for Origin of Species.)

So yes, I created a facsimile cover of the minifigure book — with the EXACT FONT as the original!!! #LibrarianNerd #FontNerd #NoRegrets

And I’ve featured before on this Reel Librarians blog my librarian coffee cup that reads, “Marian retired. I’m in charge now!” This is a reference to another reel librarian movie, to the character “Marian the Librarian” from 1962’s classic The Music Man.

In this photo, I mimicked the pose and props of the Lego Librarian

The locale

And OF COURSE I had to take photos in front of a “Little Free Library” in the neighborhood. And as my husband pointed out, this “Little Free Library” is made from a toy bookcase (or toy house?), so it fits this Lego toy theme even more. Soooooo satisfying! 😀

Adding “Oranges and Peaches” to a neighborhood Little Free Library

The Lego Librarian visits a Little Free Library

Although I took these photos early in order to be able to publish them on the blog in time for Halloween, I will be rewearing this costume on Halloween itself.

And here are some final photos of me and my minifig. A Lego Librarian + a real-life librarian together on the Reel Librarians blog. What more could you ask for? 😉

Shhhhh! Don’t tell anybody that I don’t shush people in the library!

This is how pleased I am with my Lego Librarian costume, LOL! 😀

Having fun dressing up as the Lego Librarian

And if you’d like more Lego Librarian fun, please explore my prior posts about Lego Librarians:

The Lego Librarian video (June 2012)
The Lego Librarian in action (Aug. 2013)
Lego minifigures, a visual history (Dec. 2013)
Lego library land (June 2015)

Did I capture the Lego Librarian spirit in my Halloween costume this year? What is your Halloween costume this year? Have you ever dressed up as a reel librarian character? Please leave a comment and share!

Lego library land

A “roundup of some of the coolest Lego libraries and bookstores from around the bookternet.”

This past week, my husband stumbled upon this Book Riot post that is a “roundup of some of the coolest Lego libraries and bookstores from around the bookternet.” Although the post is from 2013, it’s still AWESOME. (Is it too soon to call a 2013 post on the interwebs an “oldie but goodie”? 😉 ) Seriously, pause in reading this post and experience it for yourself!

Screenshot of LEGO Libraries and Bookstores post — LEGO Libraries and Bookstores post

Also, check out this “Lego Library” Pinterest board!

Screenshot of Lego Library Pinterest board

Last but not least, if you’re up for more Lego library fun, then you might also be interested in my own Lego library-themed posts from a couple of years ago, including my search for my very own Lego Librarian mini-figure (see below):

See y’all next week!

Sources used:

James Bennett Pty Limited. “Lego Library” Pinterest board.
Jensen, Kelly. “LEGO Libraries and Bookstores.” Book Riot, 29 Aug. 2013.

Lego minifigures, a visual history

It took 35 years to get around to including a Lego librarian minifigure.

Earlier this summer, I posted the news about a new Lego librarian minifigure, which included my experience hunting one down. I also celebrated the second anniversary of this blog with a librarian minifigure giveaway, here and here. I thought I had thoroughly explored the librarian-themed minifig universe…

I was mistaken. 😉

Last week, while I browsed the shelves at a huge Scholastic book fair warehouse (does anyone else get really excited and wax nostalgic about Scholastic book fairs?), when lo and behold, I turned a corner and encountered the book, LEGO Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History (published by DK, 2013).

Reel Librarians | Lego minifigures, a visual history — Front cover of Lego Minifigure book

So OF COURSE I had to take photos. You’re welcome 😉

Turns out the modern Lego minifigure was first introduced in 1978. Who knew?! The librarian minifigure didn’t show up until this year, in the 2013 Series 10 series, meaning it took 35 years to get around to including a Lego librarian minifigure. We came after the mime, super wrestler, zombie, cheerleader, musketeer, sleepyhead, lederhosen guy, and lawn gnome, just to name a few.

And when I mentioned that to my husband, here’s how the conversation went:

Me: It took them 35 years to feature a librarian?!
My husband: Well, they kept bringing it up, but they kept getting shushed.

SNAP!

Gotta admit, that got a chuckle — or two — out of me. 😀

Sources used:

Farshtey, Gregory, and Daniel Lipkowitz. LEGO Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History. DK Children, 2013.

The Lego Librarian in action

On the hunt for a Lego Librarian of my very own

LEGO released a “Lego Librarian” as part of its Minifigures series… in May. May! How am I just now finding out about this?! Better late than never, because I was on the hunt for a Lego Librarian of my very own. The catch? LEGO “cannot accommodate requests for specific minifigures,” which is (a) really annoying and (b) really annoying. The minifigures are sold in opaque packages, so you can’t tell which one is inside.

Quite undeterred, however, my husband and I set off for the nearest Toys ‘R’ Us and dutifully sorted through the display of minifigures, feeling each package for the librarian props, as seen below. And after nearly an hour of effort, success! (I am nothing if not dedicated to my love of all things librarian. 😉 )

Yep, several visual stereotypes present and accounted for: glasses, dark colors, conservative sweater vest, with a coffee cup that reads “Shhhh…” But no bun! And the “Lego Librarian” also comes with a book entitled Oranges and Peaches, a hilarious insider joke to this scene in one of my very favorite reel librarian films, Party Girl (1995). Well played, LEGO, well played.

“Oranges and Peaches” video uploaded by fornitking is licensed under a Standard YouTube license

And librarian Joe Hardenbrook, aka Mr. Library Dude, has taken the time to craft his own twist on the new toy, with 28 (!) variations on the Lego Librarian. This is all kinds of awesome. Repeat, AWESOME. Click here for his piece for the Huffington Post — scroll to the bottom for the gallery of Lego Librarians — and click here to visit his web site that goes into more detail about each character variation.

Click image to view the Lego Librarian gallery

My favorite Lego librarian? It’s sooooo hard to choose. I love the one who quotes ‘Buffy’ (yep, been there), as well as the Alternalibrarian and the Warrior Librarian. And he’s got a whole line of guy librarian minifigures, too! My fave guy librarian figure is the wannabe hipster librarian (yep, met a few of those). 😉

And now, shhhhh, I’ve got some reading to do. In the meantime, check out this previous post about a Lego library-themed short film.

Happy Lego Librarian Day!

Sources used:

Hardenbrook, Joe. “28 Lego Librarians (PHOTOS).” Huffington Post, 5 Aug. 2013.
Hardenbrook, Joe. “Image, Public Perception, and Lego Librarians.” Mr. Library Dude, 24 July 2013.