Batgirl was a librarian! In the Batman universe of comics, she was Barbara Gordon, the head librarian of Gotham City Public Library with a Ph.D. in library science, and she was the daughter of Commissioner Gordon. Later on, she became paraplegic as a result of being shot and was known as the Oracle. Oracle's prior history was preserved, and she used her information seeking skills to fight crime. Learn more about Batgirl from reading Barbara Gordon on the website The MarySue: A Guide to Girl Geek Culture and from the Batgirl article in Wikipedia.
DC Comics is now bringing Batgirl back as Barbara Gordon, releasing Batgirl #1, #2, and #3 in September,
October, and November 2011, respectively -- "and she's going to have to face the city's most horrifying new villains as well as the dark secrets from her past." (DC Comics, http://www.dccomics.com/dcu/comics/?cm=20091). The loss of her character as the Oracle is controversial. "Some comic fans say the spunky redhead is more super the way she has been portrayed in comics for the past 20 years -- in a wheelchair" (Batgirl returns. Herald Sun (Melbourne), 08/30/2011, p3).
The Mundt Library has books about comics and superheroes. See, for example, The Superhero Book: the Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-book icons and Hollywood Heroes (Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 2004). To find similar material, search the Library Catalog for "comics," "comic books," "heroes," and "graphic novels."
For more librarian superheroes, read "10 Action Librarians" on The Mary Sue: A Guide to Geek Culture website.
