No one at the library she worked at knew about Kristy Cooper's other job. On the surface, it seem that being a librarian and a stripper are polar opposite jobs, but in practice Kristy found that they were not nearly as different as most people would think. Strip club customers and library patrons both produce wild stories, and you have to be good at working with people in both professions (whether your clothes are off or not). In this first-hand account, Kristy describes her decision to get into stripping to make her student loan debt more manageable, overcome her introversion to learn how to hustle customers, learn about sex worker advocacy, and finally transition into full-time library work.
For years Kristy hid her stripping history to fit into the mold of a respectable librarian, but as time went on she realized this wasn't something she should feel ashamed about. Telling these kinds of stories helps destigmatize sex work, which makes it safer for current sex workers. Librarianship is changing, especially as the profession begins to evaluate itself through a greater anti-oppression lens. Librarians can learn a lot about class struggle and privacy advocacy from sex workers.
Kristy Cooper is a librarian single mom in Michigan. In her spare time, she fights politicians for libraries and will eventually get around to finishing writing her YA series.
You can also learn more about Kristy’s future projects by signing up for her newsletter, and learn more about her other books by visiting kristycooper.com.
Protect libraries:
I Was A Stripper Librarian: From Cardigans to G-Strings
By
Kristy Cooper
Written
By
Heidi Lynn’s Book Reviews
First, I want to thank Kristy Cooper, Olivier, and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.
WOW!! Kristy Cooper, you knew I just had to read your book!! It is not everyday a librarian writes a book entitled I Was a Stripper Librarian From Cardigans to G-Strings! So, the shock value of the title and the awesome cover design I just had to know what the book was about. Plus, I am a huge fan of my local library and the librarians there. However, I can’t picture them stripping.
This book is dedicated to all the sex workers who have come out before Kristy and have told their stories. And to all the sex workers who want to come out and tell their stories too.
I commend Kristy for her bravery in sharing her extremely personal story with us. In this story she shares an in-depth view of the stripper world but oh so much more. You will meet all sorts of characters and learn their stories. This made for a very interesting eye opening read that is for sure!
On the same front Kristy shares her journey she takes to become a librarian.
I laughed at the point where she was more nervous going to a stripper interview than a job interview for a librarian job.
Kristy does a fantastic job educating her readers on a boat load of topics related to sex workers and the meaning behind it. She also gives you terrific websites, book suggestions, and social media handles if you choose you want to learn more on the subject. You can tell this is a passionate subject for her and she wants to help others get help.
Kristy definitely learned a lot about herself while on this journey.
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