When I first started out researching the field of reel librarians — this was back in my undergrad days — one of the first books I came across was a book called Bib/Triv: Profundities, Banalities, and Trivialities in Libraryland, by Frederick Duda.
An odd-yet-charming title, no?
It’s fun still to flip through this slim little volume, published in 1992 by McFarland & Co.
The back of the book makes me chuckle: But if the idea of an entire volume bursting with succulent morsels of unheard of trivia about books, libraries and librarians makes your mouth water and your hands tremble — well, you probably need counseling more urgently than you need this book.
The bulk of this book is made up of 100 sets of trivia questions, divided into four areas: the arts, books/authors, literature. and potpourri. Wouldn’t this be a PERFECT resource to convert into a librarian-themed version of Jeopardy?
There are several reel-librarian related questions, sprinkled in amongst the arts questions. Samples include:
What is the message on the license plate of the beautiful special collections librarian in the 1989 Paramount movie about baseball?. (from page 5)
In the 1978 Paramount movie Foul Play, what piece of library equipment does the librarian use to fend off an attack by a paid assassin? (from pages 44-45)
In The Music Man, Mrs. Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn, the wife of the mayor of River City, Iowa, denounces Marian Paroo for the “smutty” books she gave to Mrs. Shinn’s daughter. Which of the following is the book in question? (from page 55)
a. The Picture of Dorian Gray
b. Maggie: A Girl of the Streets
c. Sister Carrie
d. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Do you know the answers to these questions? If so, drop a guess in the comments!
In his introduction, Duda reveals that his interest in the image of the librarian was a topic he did not realize was “problematical until I entered the field.” I totally get what he’s saying! He also reveals how he “once thought that librarians were depicted as no better or worse than the rest of humanity.” Before long, however, he “found innumerable stereotypes and only some examples of attractive and praiseworthy men and women.”
But he winds up on a positive note. “We can laugh at ourselves, and we should.” Amen!
It’s a fun book to revisit, and one I’m thankful I have. 🙂
Sources used:
- Duda, Frederick. Bib/Triv: Profundities, Banalities, and Trivialities in Libraryland. McFarland, 1992.
REEL LIBRARIANS 