Hard Times Can Make For Good Parodies

Nobody can deny that times are hard in many ways now. The news is rarely hopeful, and most (if not all) libraries are coping with either current or upcoming budget cuts.

There's nothing funny about it. And yet humor is a valuable way to deal with tough times.

Here at the State Library, I've been writing one or two song parodies every year for performance at our winter staff party. I'm lucky that several of my co-workers are willing to get up in front of the rest of the staff and risk making fools of themselves year after year. Below, we're singing about our scheduling software, to the tune of "Ding Dong, Merrily on High"



I've found that the worse things are, the easier it is to write a parody. Last year, both H1N1 and unpaid furloughs provided inspiration.

Last week, OLA past president Connie Anderson-Cohoon forward this video to the OLA executive board

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8QjjKrEK7Y

It's worth watching, despite the danger of ending up with an ear worm. These library folks are definitely using humor (and a good deal of skill and talent) to point out the importance of their services.

Do any other libraries have parody traditions, or other ways of using humor to deal with difficult realities? If so, please share!