Kudos to the "Desperate Librarians"

Last fall, shortly after I relocated to central Ohio, I read an article about a group of central Wisconsin librarians who decided to create a unique gift for Craig Lahm, the retiring director of the Kaukauna Public Library. They would have photographs taken and put them all together in a calendar as a gift. They soon realized however that the project would involve a significant cost and instead decided to have a professional calendar made, which they would sell as a way of raising funds for cash-strapped libraries.

Did I mention that the librarians posed naked?

Actually, that's not quite true. All of the six women (there were originally 12 , but six of them bailed after the decision was made to sell the calendar to the masses) were at least partly clothed for the shoot. Books and other props were "strategically" placed to hide the parts that weren't covered. This calendar has to acknowledge the influence of the famous "Calendar Girls," a group of women in Yorkshire, England, who created a charity calendar to honor one member of the group's husband, who died of cancer, and to raise funds for leukemia research. Their story was made into a movie starring the wonderful Helen Mirren and Julie Walters.

The "Desperate Librarians" have also branched out, selling additional wares at CafePress.com.

The calendars cost $20, plus $2.50 for shipping and are going toward a great cause. Thanks Laura for sending me a copy!

* Addendum 4/6: After showing the calendar to my colleagues today, I got a great idea about what to submit for my chosen Division's silent auction, to be held during the Special Libraries Association annual conference in Baltimore in June.