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"Emergency Librarian" is a Canadian feminist periodical started by Sherrill Cheda, Phyllis Yaffe, and Barbara Clubb in the 1970s. None of them had had any previous experience in publishing, but wanted to provide a serious outlet for writing by and about women. They recognized the need to bring to light the perseverance of male-centric power being held over women in the workforce, in this case, libraries. The publication started as a simple typed up, stapled together journal that was sent out six times a year and is now under the periodical "Teacher-Librarian."

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Adrian Mole is a character created by British author Sue Townsend (1946 – 2014). The quote on this button comes from The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 ³/₄, which was published in 1982 and is the first in the eight part series. The remaining books follow Adrian throughout adulthood. The books are written in the form of a diary and the misadventures of Adrian offer a comedic view of the social and political environment in Britain.

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This button was created for the ALA’s National Library Week in 1991. Having begun in 1958, National Library Week is a week to celebrate the contributions of libraries and librarians in the United States. The theme for 1991 was “Read. Succeed.” and “Kids Who Read Succeed.”

The American Library Association is a non profit organization that supports and promotes libraries, library professionals and library education. The association was founded in 1876 and is the largest library association in the world.

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The "Reference is Cool" contest was held in 2005 by the publishing company Salem Press. The contest encouraged the public to think about how reference material, reference librarians, and the people who use this material are cool. Salem Press gave away this button as part of the contest.

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This button refers to SUNY Buffalo’s Library and Information Science program, which began in 1972. The "Put a Buffalo in Your Library" theme was developed by Gerald Shields as a way to garner interest in recent graduates among potential employers. This slogan was also the title of a special publication that listed all the year’s graduates with their resumes.

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“Oppose Book Worship” refers to one of the articles written by Mao Tse-tung. Mao Tse-tung was a Chinese communist revolutionary and the founding father of the People’s Republic of China. He was a Chinese Marxist theorist, who led his nation’s Cultural Revolution. Mao Tse-tung wrote about the Revolutionary Civil Wars, the war against Japan, the Socialist Revolution, and other topics that interested him. Among these articles was his “Oppose Book Worship.” The article was written in 1930, and was to oppose dogmatism in the Red Army. The term dogmatism, at the time, was not used and instead they used the term “bookworship”. Mao Tse-tung uses the term “bookworship” to criticize those who believe that whatever is written in a book is right. 

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The “liberated librarian” is a modern storytelling trope which can be applied to both men and women. If the character in question is a woman, she starts as naïve/repressed but discovers her sense of self either with the help of a man, or in the face of adventure and adversity. According to Reel Librarians, this character’s evolution is also illustrated through a change in wardrobe (away from conservative and restrictive clothing) and physical appearance (becoming more attractive). If the character is a man, he is often seen as a failure in the beginning of the story, who resorted to the profession for lack of other options. He eventually faces an outside attack or force to spur on liberation from his rut. For both sexes, the character is often young, though sometimes middle-aged, and often leave the profession at the end of the story, thanks to their newfound liberation.

Off the screen, the liberated librarian represents a concerted effort to break from the cultural stereotypes; away from the image of the shushing, cardigan-wearing, tight-laced librarian to a more realistic view of the profession. This movement saw a boost in the early 2000s as the number of library jobs increased, but new entrants to the field remained constant. A more dynamic and engaging representation of librarians and libraries was not only a more accurate view of the modern landscape but would help encourage more interest in the industry.

The liberated librarian can also refer to a movement beginning in the 1970s to deconstruct the gendered stereotypes that can be associated with the profession and the general imbalance of gender along the library’s leadership spectrum. Such efforts became more formalized in 1970 with the creation of the American Library Association’s Feminist Task Force.