When I have presented programs about reel librarians, I often begin with a think-pair-share activity, inviting attendees to share with each other examples of librarian portrayals in movies or TV that they’re familiar with. This often spurs very interesting discussions! (I’ll never forget one time when this activity prompted a vocal outpouring of affection for the “Reading Rainbow” PBS series developed by LeVar Burton! ❤ )
My spouse, who teaches English and writing at the college level, has challenged his students the past couple of quarters with this extra credit opportunity:
“Email me the title of any movie or TV show that portrays a librarian. It can be a flattering or unflattering portrayal—just send me the title.”
Always on the lookout for fun post ideas, I then asked for a list of the titles that students contributed (anonymized, of course). It was super fun to explore what reel librarian titles resonate with students! Below is the list of the student-suggested reel librarian movies and TV shows, organized alphabetically by title.
Agora (2009)
One student chose this movie, which stars Rachel Weisz as Hypatia (born c. 350–370; died 415 AD), one of the first female mathematicians. This one is interesting. As the student noted, “really, Weisz’s character is a classical scholar/philosopher/mathematician/astronomer/’librarian’.” It appears that this movie links Hypatia’s death (uh, spoiler?) with the destruction of the Library of Alexandria, but that iconic library was no longer in existence during Hypatia’s lifetime. This movie has been on my Master List for years… so I really need to watch this movie!
The Amazing World of Gumball (2011-2019, UK / Ireland / USA / Germany)
This TV series — which features a Tree Librarian who shushes Gumball! — was also recently added to the TV Shows list back in February, thanks to archivist Burkely Hermann, who often writes about libraries on his blog Pop Culture Library Review and about archives on his blog Wading Through The Cultural Stacks.
Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-2008, USA) – Animated series
Four students highlighted “The Library” episode in Season 2 of this series, featuring Spirit Librarian Wan Shi Tong, voiced by Hector Elizondo.
This series and episode had already been added to the TV Shows list.
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
One student highlighted the bookseller scene in this animated classic — first animated film ever to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar! Although this fairy tale film does not feature a reel librarian, it does highlight a bookshop and a memorable private library, enough to earn the movie a special mention in the posts linked below.
Related posts: Reel librarians on library ladders ; Best Picture nominees that feature reel librarians, 2020 update
Ghostbusters (1984)
A couple of students called out the original Ghostbusters movie, which features 3 reel librarians! I’ve written about this movie a few times — enjoy the related posts below.
Related posts: Who you gonna call? Not the librarians in ‘Ghostbusters’ (1984) ; A closer look at the reel librarians in the original ‘Ghostbusters’
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
I would guess that the character of Madam Pince was submitted by a student as an unflattering portrayal of a reel librarian! I’ve also written a couple of posts about this school librarian character portrayal from both the movie and original book versions.
Related posts: Harry Potter and Madam Pince ; Revisiting favorites | ‘Harry Potter’ librarian, Dec. 4, 2012
High School Musical
It was unclear whether this was in reference to the original TV movie from 2006, follow-up sequels, and/or the newer series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
I did have the 2006 TV movie on my Master List already. Should I add more High School Musical titles? Please leave a comment and let me know!
The Librarian: Quest for the Spear (TV movie 2004) ; The Librarian: Return to King Solomon’s Mines (2006, TV movie) ; The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice (2008, TV movie)
Another 7 students spotlighted The Librarian TV movies from the 2000s, starring Noah Wyle as “The” Librarian. I’m loving that these fun, action-adventure TV movies and follow-up series are still soaking up some pop culture love! I’ve also written extensively about this series of TV movies on this blog.
Related posts: ‘Quest for the’ Liberated Librarian ; Best librarian films by decade, Part II: 1960s-2000s ; The Quotable Librarian 4
The Librarians (2014-2018, USA)
This was one of the most popular suggestions, with 7 students highlighting this action-comedy series from the 2010s. 😀 I happened to live in Portland, Oregon, while they were filming this series in and around the city, so I have written about this series a lot on this blog!
Related posts: ‘The Librarians’ come to Portland ‘‘The Librarians’ TV premiere ; First impressions: ‘The Librarians’ ; Rating ‘The Librarians’ ; ‘The Librarians’ are back! ; Second impressions? Season 2 premiere of ‘The Librarians’
Matilda (1996)
A student called out the reel librarian of Mrs. Phelps in this kid’s classic. I haven’t yet written about Matilda — I really need to! — but it was included already on my Master List.
Monsters University (2013)
A student named the “giant mean librarian” in this animated movie — obviously, this reel librarian is VERY memorable! I’ve written about this character and movie in several posts, linked below.
Related posts: First impressions: ‘Monsters University’ ; Having fun with call numbers | An (overdue!) spotlight on ‘Monsters University’ (2013) teaser movie poster
The Mummy (1999)
Four students submitted this action-adventure classic, another movie with a reel librarian lead character! ❤ This is one of my personal favorites, as well; please explore the posts below about the iconic reel librarian character of Evie Carnahan.
Related posts: Revisiting the reel librarian hero in 1999’s ‘The Mummy’ ; Best librarian films by decade, Part II: 1960s-2000s
The Pagemaster (1994)
A student highlighted “Mr. Dewey,” the reel librarian in this half-animated, half-live action movie. Christopher Lloyd plays both Mr. Dewey and the title role of the Pagemaster, “the keeper of the books, the guardian of the written word.” I really need to do an analysis post of this movie, as it has been on my Master List for many years.
Related posts: In name only? Librarians as title characters
Parks and Recreation (2009-2015, USA)
Ahhhh, yes, the character of Tammy Swanson, aka “Tammy 2” from this iconic TV show! Megan Mullally, the real-life wife of Nick Offerman, played his character’s ex-wife, the Deputy Director of Library Services, in the show — and clearly was very memorable in this recurring role! I have watched the show — and this series has been on the TV Shows list for several years — but I haven’t written about this character yet… probably because I started out my librarian career in public libraries, and the budgetary tension between libraries and parks is very real, maybe too real. 😉
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Another classic! This has been on my Master List from the beginning, but I haven’t written extensively about this movie or the iconic role of Brooks, the prison librarian. James Whitmore brought such humanity to the role of Brooks Hatlen, that I still choke up when I think about this character! I have also included this movie on my list of best librarian films, linked below.
Related post: Best librarian films by decade, Part II: 1960s-2000s
Summer Strike (2022, South Korea)
This was a new one for me! This is a K-drama series available on Netflix, and one of the lead characters is a librarian. Im Si-wan as Ahn Dae-beom, a librarian at Angok Library. I have added it to the TV Shows list. Definitely on my summer watch list!
A huge thank you to my spouse — an unfailing supporter of this blog as well as all things library — for sharing this challenge with his students and for sharing the titles with me! And thank you to all the Reel Librarian readers who also continue to share titles to add to this site.
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