View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE
provided by CommonKnowledge
Volume 14 , Number 1 Lively Librarians Loose in the Limelight: Libraries in Popular Media (Spring 2008) | Pages 9 - 13
July 2014 Librarians and Harry Potter: An Introduction of the SHHH! Personality Assessment Instrument Connie J. Bennett Eugene Public Library
Follow this and additional works at: http://commons.pacificu.edu/olaq Part of the Library and Information Science Commons
Bennett, C. J. (2014). Librarians and Harry Potter: An Introduction of the SHHH! Personality Assessment Instrument. OLA Quarterly, 14(1), 9-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.7710/1093-7374.1186
© 2014 by the author(s). OLA Quarterly is an official publication of the Oregon Library Association | ISSN 1093-7374 | http://commons.pacificu.edu/olaq Librarians and Harry Potter: An Introduction of the SHHH! Personality Assessment Instrument
by Connie J. Bennett adame Pince, the cranky mis- of the Hogwarts library’s restricted shelves, Director, tress of the library at Hogwarts, would stand squarely with the latter group. Eugene Public Library Mis hardly a role model to emulate. J.K. Rowling has acknowledged that the In the librarian’s constant search for profes- Pince caricature is merely a plot device. Dur- sional balance between providing generous ing a benefit reading on August 2, 2006 at community access to resources on the one Radio City Music Hall, answering a question hand—and safeguarding those resources from a librarian in the audience, she said, from the public on the other—she’s clearly “I thought you were going to attack me for on the parsimonious end of the continuum. Madam Pince and I would like to apolo- However, in a discussion of the gize for you and any other librarians (crowd librarian’s image—or anything else, for that laughs) present here today and my get-out matter—in popular media, Madame Pince clause is always if they’d had a pleasant, help- cannot be ignored. J.K. Rowling’s Harry ful librarian, half my plots would be gone. Potter books1 are nothing if not popular. ‘Cause the answer invariably is in a book, The seventh and final book of the series, but Hermione has to go and find it. If they’d Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, sold had a good librarian, that would have been a record-breaking 8.3 million copies in its that problem solved. So, sorry.”4 first 24 hours on sale in the United States, With Rowling’s books still occupying according to Scholastic. “No other book, multiple slots on the best selling books list not even any of the six previous Potters, has this week5 no matter how you count it,6 been so desired, so quickly. Deathly Hallows perhaps we librarians should move beyond averaged more than 300,000 copies in sales the caricature to look for other aspects of per hour—more than 5,000 a minute.”2 the Harry Potter stories that can speak to Madame Pince provides an ironic our organizational—and thus perhaps to contrast to the real-life librarians world- our professional—lives and images. wide who have eagerly put the books into Libraries have, as organizations, adopted readers’ hands, have opened library doors many of the tools and models of the busi- at midnight for special release parties, have ness world to identify work styles, improve sought to connect kids with more books communication, reduce workplace conflict, through “read-alike” kits, displays, and lists. increase team effectiveness and productiv- And to the real-life librarians who have ity, and for library staff to better understand defended the rights of youth to read the ourselves and others. Many a library’s staff- Harry Potter books at all. training day or leadership team retreat has Another record achieved by Rowling’s included some type of psychological instru- books is frequency of challenges. The Harry ment, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indica- Potter books were number seven on the tor7 (MBTI™ ) or the DiSC8 (originally American Library Association’s list of the called the Personal Profile System®). Per- 100 most frequently challenged books of haps you know which co-workers are blue, 1990–2000. In a 2007 Banned Books Week yellow, red, or green in the Management by media release, the ALA reported, “The Strengths (MBS) survey,9 or Merrill-Reid Harry Potter series ranks as the number one has sorted their Social Styles into analytical, most challenged book series of the 21st Cen- driver, amiable, or expressive.10 tury (2000–2006).”3 While many articles In a similar rubric, we have been written in defense of the books, librarians can seek to 9 there have also been many written against understand ourselves and them; Rowling’s Madame Pince, guardian others better through use OREGON LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
of Rowling’s personality assessment instru- student is sorted into one of the houses ment, the Sorting Hat: Hogwarts Houses, based on certain characteristics, revealed by hereafter referred to (in honor of librarians the Sorting Hat’s songs12 as well as dialogue everywhere) as SHHH! from throughout the seven books. Figure 1 We are familiar with the basic SHHH! concisely summarizes the information avail- categories, named after the four wizards able from Rowling’s original texts about the who founded Hogwarts over 1,000 years four SHHH! categories. ago (Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, It is crucial for SHHH! to work with Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin).11 the original text for both psychological and In an annual ritual, each new Hogwarts professional integrity, as there are many, Figure 1 Crest House Description
Gryffindor You might belong in Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart, their daring, nerve, and chivalry set Gryffindors apart.13 Said Gryffindor, “We’ll teach all those with brave deeds to their name.”14 Students of Gryffindor are typically brave, daring, and chivalrous. Famous members include Harry, Ron, Hermione, Albus Dumbledore, and Minerva McGonagall (head of Gryffindor).15
Ravenclaw Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, if you’ve a ready mind, where those of wit and learning, will always find their kind.13 Said Ravenclaw, “We’ll teach those whose intelligence is surest.”14 Ravenclaw students tend to be clever, witty, intelligent, and knowledgeable. Notable residents include Cho Chang, Padma Patil, and Luna Lovegood (daughter of The Quibbler magazine’s editor).15
Hufflepuff You might belong in Hufflepuff, where they are just and loyal, those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafraid of toil.13 Said Hufflepuff, “I’ll teach the lot, and treat them just the same.”14 Hufflepuff students are friendly, fair-minded, modest, and hard-working. A well-known member was Cedric Diggory, who represented Hogwarts in the most recent Triwizard Tournament.15
Slytherin Or perhaps in Slytherin you’ll make your real friends, those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends.13 10 Said Slytherin, “We’ll teach just those whose ancestry is purest.”14 Salazar Slytherin prized resourcefulness, determination, a certain disregard for the rules.16 Important members include Draco Malfoy, Professor Severus Snape (head of Slytherin) and Tom Riddle (later Lord Voldemort).15 Vol 14 No 1 • SPRING 2008
many versions of Sorting Hat quizzes 5. Linda Beren’s essays “Essential Quali- available.17 There have even been some ties of the Personality Patterns”25 and early attempts to link Hogwarts Houses to “Linking Interaction Styles to Other the MBTI™ —one insufficiently rigor- Models.”26 ous18 and one limited to an analysis of the personality of Severus Snape19—as well Figure 2 shows the synthesis of these sourc- as attempts to connect them to the four es, allowing librarians to match a SHHH! humors (sanguine, choleric, melancholic, category with results from other standard phlegmatic),20 and to the elements (earth, personality and styles inventories, and so air, fire, water).21 move to something linked with the popular This new SHHH! analysis is based Harry Potter books beyond our connection primarily on five sources: to the biased stereotype of Madame Pince. To discover patterns in the personalities 1. Text analysis of J.K. Rowling’s seven of librarians, as well as the relationship of books.1 the stereotypical image to reality, the best source is Discovering Librarians: Profiles 2. The copyrighted Tough Teams essay22 of a Profession,32 which summarizes the by Steven Wille comparing various various personality studies of our profes- four-quadrant assessment methods. sion between 1934 and 1994, using several instruments. Mary Jane Scherdin’s “Vivé la 3. An exhaustive table of equivalents of Difference: Exploring Librarian Personality four preference personality types (it Types Using the MBTI™”33 looks at com- even includes Jane Austen characters!) parisons of the MBTI™ types in librarians from a Web 2.0 site by “2 H.”23 as compared to the general population, in librarians by specialty, and by type of li- 4. David Keirsey’s Temperament Sorter- brary. She reports on the findings of a 1992 II, a four preference grouping of the ACRL study which found that librarians sixteen MBTI™ types.24 are more likely than the general population
Figure 2 DiSC®27 Gregorc28 Merrill Reid29 Keirsey Interaction SHHH! Temperament30 Styles31 D CR Driver Rationals In-Charge™ Slytherin Task Concrete Tell Thinking/ Quick Random Control Intuition (NT) I AR Expressive Artisans Get-Things- Gryffindor People Abstract Tell Sensing/ Going™ Quick Random Emote Perceiving (SP) S AS Amiable Guardians Behind-the- Hufflepuff People Abstract Ask Sensing/ Scenes™ Process Sequential Emote Judging (SJ) C CS Analytical Idealists Chart-the- Ravenclaw 11 Task Concrete Ask Feeling/ Course™ Process Sequential Control Intuition (FN) OREGON LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
to be Introverted (more interested in the in- when he says, “It is our choices, Harry, that ner world of concepts and ideas than in the show us what we truly are, far more than outer world of people and things) and Judg- our abilities.”16 ing (preferring order, closure, and schedules Or as Harry, himself, echoes in the epi- to spontaneity and flow).34 The most com- logue to the last book: “Albus Severus … you mon MBTI™ types among librarians are were named for two headmasters of Hog- ISTJ and INTJ, while the least common are warts. One of them was a Slytherin and he ESFP, ESTP, ISFP and ISTP. was probably the bravest man I ever knew … Extrapolating from the mapping of Fig- If it matters to you, you’ll be able to choose ure 2, this study would indicate that using Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat the SHHH! analysis, 34.6 percent of librar- takes your choice into account.” ians would be sorted into Hufflepuff, 34.4 “Really?” percent into Slytherin, 24.9 percent into “It did for me,” said Harry.38 Ravenclaw, and only 5.9 percent into Gryf- findor.35 (Or as quizilla’s “Which Mix of the Footnotes Hogwarts Houses are You?”36 would put 1Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (June it, librarians are most likely to be Slyther- 26, 1997) (titled Harry Potter and the Sorcer- puff!) Perusing further breakdown of the er’s Stone in the United States), Harry Potter figures, technical services staff is more likely and the Chamber of Secrets (July 2, 1998), to be Hufflepuff, children’s librarians to be Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (July Ravenclaw, and administrative staff a mix of 8, 1999), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Slytherin and Ravenclaw. By type of library, (July 8, 2000), Harry Potter and the Order of public and school librarians are more likely the Phoenix (June 21, 2003), Harry Potter and to be Ravenclaw, academic librarians to be the Half-Blood Prince (July 16, 2005), and (July 21, Slytherin. Another study indicated that sup- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2007), all published by Scholastic. port staff is most likely to be Hufflepuff.37 Of course some may feel that a trade- 2Article by Hillel Italie, AP National Writer, off between the Madame Pince image and Sun Jul 22, 2007 that of Slytherin is not necessarily an im- 3www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/chal- provement; I need not point out to librar- lengedbanned/challengedbanned.htm ians that necessities of the narrative arc of 4www.accio-quote.org/articles/2006/0802-ra- the story line (exploring the battle between diocityreading2.html good and evil) does not necessarily parallel 5 organizational life within libraries. “While This week’s top 150 best-sellers: asp.usatoday. com/life/books/booksdatabase/default.aspx we should never put people in boxes and keep them there, it is useful to classify be- 6For an article on the change to the New York havior so we can better understand behavior Times Best-Seller list due to the Harry Potter and leverage strengths.”22 phenomenon, see archives.cnn.com/2000/ SHHH!, like other personality typing, books/news/07/21/potter7_21.a.tm can be helpful for understanding various 7www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality- perspectives as well as recognizing our own type/mbti-basics strengths. Librarians, like all humans, are 8www.toughteams.com/papers/fix_people.htm not pre-programmed, but have options in 9www.strengths.com 12 our interpretations and responses to the events and interactions of our lives. Perhaps 10www.tracomcorp.com/products_services/so- Albus Dumbledore is speaking to all of us cial_style/model.html Vol 14 No 1 • SPRING 2008
11Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 23www.2h.com/personality-types.html p. 150 24http://www.keirsey.com/pum_2.aspx. 12Songs appear in Harry Potter and the Keirsey’s Temperaments were first introduced Sorcerer’s Stone (p. 117–8), Harry Potter and in his book Please Understand Me (Tandem, the Goblet of Fire (p. 176–7) and Harry Potter 1984), and are based on the MBTI pairs and the Order of the Phoenix (p. 204–7); lyrics NT, NF, SJ and SP. Others besides Keirsey also available at hpbeyond.net/hpb/info/song. have created schematics to reduce the sixteen There’s also an original Pokemario song, MTBI types to four, notably Isabel My- “Which Hogwarts House Do You Belong In?” ers’ functional pairs (NT, NF, ST, SF) “the (www.mugglenet.com/songs/whichhouse. most important factors by which to group shtml) preferences”(Myers, quoted by Hirsh, Intro- 13Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, duction to Type in Organizations, Consulting p. 117–118 Psychologists Press; 3rd ed., 1990, p. 11). 25 14Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, www.16types.com/Request. p. 204–207 jsp?lView=ViewArticle&Article=O ID percent3A59667&Page=OID 15 House crests and examples from www. percent3A59669 personalitylab.org/tests/ccq_hogwarts.htm 26