Web sites | Articles and presentations | Books and dissertations
Web sites:
- Film Librarian (link takes you to an archived version via Wayback Machine)
- The Hollywood Librarian (link takes you to an archived version via Wayback Machine)
- Image of Pop Culture Library Review: Librarians in the Movies (site no longer active)
- Libcinema Database (Japanese and English versions)
- The Liberations of Librarians: Breaking the Stereotypes in Film and Pop Culture (link takes you to an archived version via Wayback Machine)
- Librarians in the Movies: An Annotated Filmography (site no longer active)
- Libraries at the Movies (site no longer active)
- Libraries/Librarians in the Movies (Pinterest board via Saint Mary’s College Library)
- Librarians on YouTube (site no longer active)
- Notorious Bib: Libraries, as seen by cinema (French site, no longer active)
- Pop Archives: Archives and Archivists in Pop Culture
- Pop Culture Library Review
- Stereotypes of Librarians (link takes you to an archived version via Wayback Machine)
- Wading through the Cultural Stacks
- You Don’t Look Like a Librarian (site no longer active)
Articles and presentations:
- Adams, Katherine C. “Loveless Frump as Hip and Sexy Party Girl: A Reevaluation of the Old-Maid Stereotype.” Library Quarterly 70.3 (2000): 287-301.
- Aldred, Tania, Gordon Burr, and Eun Park. “Crossing a Librarian with a Historian: The Image of Reel Archivists.” Archivaria: The Journal of the Association of Canadian Archivists 66 (Fall 2008): 57–93.
- Brooks, Jon. “Reel Librarians Don’t Always Wear Buns.” School Library Journal Aug. 1997: 22.
- Bukoff, Ronald N. “A Trip to the Library; or, The Curse of “Marian the Librarian”: Images of Libraries and Librarians on the Musical Stage. Studies in Popular Culture 22.1 (1999): 27-41.
- Burgett, Shelley Wood. “Back to the Library: Libraries and Librarians in Film: the Sequel; An Annotated Filmography.” Kentucky Libraries 65.4 (2001): 23-27.
- Burgett, Shelley Wood. “Libraries and Librarians in Film: An Annotated Filmography.” Community & Junior College Libraries 12.1 (2003): 71-89.
- Burgett, Shelley Wood. “Libraries and Librarians in Film: An Annotated Filmography.” Kentucky Libraries 64.1 (2000): 3-9.
- Chang-Ho, Jeon. and Kim Sun-Ho’s 2008 article, “Analysis of the Image of Librarians in Motion Pictures.” Journal of Information Management 39.1 (2008): 151-176.
- Church, Gary Mason. “In the Eye of the Beholder: How Librarians Have Been Viewed Over Time.” Reference Librarian 78 (2002): 5-24.
- Dickinson, Thad E. “Looking at the Male Librarian Stereotype.” Reference Librarian 78 (2002): 97-110.
- Duffy, Joan R. “Images of Librarians and Librarianship: A Study.” Journal of Youth Services in Libraries 3 (Summer 1990): 303-308.
- Dupré, Deirdre. “The Perception of Image and Status in the Library Profession.” NewBreed Librarian, 1.4 (2001).
- Hall, Alison. “Behind the Bun, or Batgirl was a Librarian.” CLA Journal 49.5 (1992): 345-347.
- Keer, Gretchen, and Andrew Carlos. “The Stereotype Stereotype: Our Obsession with Librarian Representation.” American Libraries Magazine (30 Oct 2015).
- Kiladitis, Rosemary L. “From Spinsters to Cyberpunks: The Changing Face of Female Librarians.” Library Student Journal 6 (Dec. 2011).
- Kneale, Ruth A. “Spectacles: How Pop Culture Views Librarians.” 2007 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference [text of presentation].
- Jaeger, Paul T., and Karen Kettnich. “Libraries and Librarians Onscreen and in Library Quarterly Decade by Decade, Part I, Or, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood and in LQ.” Library Quarterly, 90.3 (2020): 249-263.
- Kettnich, Karen, and Paul T. Jaeger. “Libraries and Librarians Onscreen and in Library Quarterly, Part 2, Or, The Greatest Hits of the ‘80s, ‘90s, and Today!” Library Quarterly, 90.4 (2020): 389-411.
- “Librarians on the Silver Screen.” Information Outlook Feb. 1998: 9.
- Liebold, Louise Condak. “Changing the Librarian Stereotype.” Library Imagination Paper 19.2 (1997): 4.
- McAllister, Ashley. “From the Library: The Librarian Stereotype on the Big Screen.” Bitch Media (17 July 2010).
- Neigel, Christina. “Loveless Frumps, Old Maids, and Diabolical Deviants: Representations of Gender and Librarianship in Popular Culture.” Doctoral thesis, Simon Fraser University, 2018.
- Ott, Bill. “The Back Page: Librarians on Film.” Booklist 89.18 (May 1993): 1728.
- Ott, Bill. “The Back Page: Life Imitates Art, Librarian Version.” Booklist 90.2 (1993): 192.
- Plumb, Abigail Leah. “The Dewey-Eyed Decimal System: Checking Out Librarians on Film.” Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture 14 (Summer 2001).
- Plumb, Abigail Leah. “Smarty Girl: Three Librarians on Film.” Bitch 14 (2001): 31-33, 88. Reprinted in Alternative Library Literature, 2000/2001: A Biennial Anthology. Eds. James Philip Danky & Sanford Berman. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2002.
- Quaratiello, Arlene Rodda. “Greatly Exaggerated Death of the Library.” College and Research Libraries News 58.9 (1997): 625-626.
- Radford, Marie L. and Gary P. Radford. “Librarians and Party Girls: Cultural Studies and the Meaning of the Librarian.” Library Quarterly 73.1 (2003): 54-69.
- Radford, Marie L. and Gary P. Radford. “Libraries, Librarians, and the Discourse of Fear.” Library Quarterly 71.3 (2001): 299-329.
- Radford, Marie L. and Gary P. Radford. “Power, Knowledge, and Fear: Feminism, Foucault, and the Stereotype of the Female Librarian.” Library Quarterly 67.3 (1997): 250-266.
- Raish, Martin. “Librarians in the Movies.” Library Mosaics 9.4 (1998): 12-15.
- Raish, Martin, and Ann O’Brien. “The Image of the Librarian in Commercial Motion Pictures: An Annotated Filmography.” Collection Management 17.3 (1993): 61-84.
- Romanko, Karen A. “A Librarian Lets Her Hair Down.” Publisher’s Weekly 230.11 (1986): 88.
- Seale, Maura. “Old Maids, Policeman, and Social Rejects: Mass Media Representations and Public Perceptions of Librarians.” Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship 9.1 (2008).
- Scherdin, Mary Jane and Anne K. Beaubien. “Shattering Our Stereotype: Librarians’ New Image.” Library Journal July 1995: 35-38.
- Schmidt, Steven J. “The Depiction of Libraries, Librarians and the Book Arts in Film and Television.” Indiana Libraries 15.2 (1996): 15-56.
- Schmidt, Steven J. “Reel vs. Real Librarians.” Indiana Libraries 24.2 (2005): 2-5.
- Schuman, Patricia Glass. “The Image of Librarians: Substance or Shadow?” Journal of Academic Librarianship 16.2 (1990): 86-89.
- Shaw, Katy. “Buns on the Run: Changing the Stereotype of the Female Librarian.” The Silverfish: Newsletter of the Association of Library and Information Science Students 7.4 (Oct. 2003).
- Snoek-Brown, Jennifer. “What Hollywood Gets Wrong (and Right!) about Librarians.” I Love Libraries, American Library Association, May 2020.
- Stevens, Norman D. “The Last Librarian.” American Libraries Oct. 2001: 60-64.
- Threatt, Monique L. “Bad to the Bone, Librarians in Motion Pictures: Is it an Accurate Portrayal?” Indiana Libraries, 24.2 (2005), 6-9.
- Valenza, Joyce. “Just a Librarian? Who Do They Think We Are?” Book Report May/June 1996: 15-17.
- Walker, Stephan, and V. Lonnie Lawson. “The Librarian Stereotype and the Movies.” MC Journal: The Journal of Academic Media Librarianship 1.1 (1993): 16-28.
- Wallis, Linda. “The Image and What You Can Do About it in the Year of the Librarian.” American Libraries 20.1 (Jan. 1989): 22-25.
- Westbrook, Georgia. “Libraries and Librarians in the Movies.” Infospace: The Official Blog of the Syracuse University iSchool, 8 April 2019.
- Williamson, Jeanine. “Jungian/Myers-Briggs Personality Types of Librarians in Films.” Reference Librarian 78 (2002): 47-59.
Books and dissertations:
- British Library. As Others See Us: The Image of the Librarian. London: British Library Information Sciences Services, 1993.
- Duda, Frederick. Bib/Triv: Profundities, Banalities, and Trivialities in Libraryland. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1992.
- Duda, Frederick. “Librarians on Film.” The Whole Library Handbook. Comp. George M. Eberhart. Chicago: American Library Association, 1991. 457-458.
- Duda, Frederick. “Librarians on Stage and Screen.” The Whole Library Handbook 2. Comp. George M. Eberhart. Chicago: American Library Association, 1995. 463-467.
- Fordham, Winifred. “Exploring the Image of the Librarian through Themes of Identity and Self.” Master’s thesis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2000.
- Goodfellow, Tom. “The Depiction of American Public Libraries in Film.” Master’s thesis, U of North London, 2000.
- Harris, Michael H. History of the Libraries in the Western World. New Jersey: Scarecrow Press, 1995.
- Helm, Bari L. “Reel Librarians: The Stereotype and Technology.” Master’s thesis, U of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2006.
- King, William H. “The Celluloid Librarian: The Portrayal of Librarians in Motion Pictures.” Master’s thesis, U of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1990.
- Low, Kathleen. Casanova Was a Librarian. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2007.
- Lutz, Christine Ann. “From Old Maids to Action Heroes: Librarians and the Meanings of Librarian Stereotypes.” Master’s thesis, U of Maryland, 2005.
- Ott, Bill. “Libraries and Librarians in the Movies.” The Back Page. Chicago: American Library Association, 2009.
- Raish, Martin, Frederick Duda, and George M. Eberhart. “Librarians on Stage and Screen.” The Whole Library Handbook 3. Comp. George M. Eberhart. Chicago: American Library Association, 2000. 531-545.
- Raish, Martin, Antoinette Graham, and George M. Eberhart. “Libraries and Librarians in Film, 1999-2005.” The Whole Library Handbook 4. Chicago: American Library Association, 2006. 533-544.
- Rudolph, Megan. “Librarians in Film: A Changing Stereotype.” Master’s thesis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2008.
- Snoek-Brown, Jennifer. “A Glimpse Through the Glasses: Portrayals of Librarians in Film.” Thesis, West Texas A&M U, 2001.
- Stelmakh, Valeria D. “The Image of the Library: Studies and Views from Several Countries: Collection of Papers.” University of Haifa Library: Haifa, 1994.
- Tevis, Ray and Brenda Tevis. The Image of Librarians in Cinema, 1917-1999. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2005.
- Wheeler, Karen. “Image of Librarians in Motion Pictures from 1980 to 1996.” Master’s thesis, Kent State U, 1996.
- Yeagley, Beth. “Shelving, Stamping and Shushing: Librarians in the Movies.” Diss. Kent State U, 1999.
Im looking for the title of an obscure scary movie. The film is about a shapeshifting gargoyle or demon, it ends in a study or library where they trick the creature into turning into a wooden chair. Once it transforms they throw it into the fireplace and thats how its defeated. It is not Unamable 1 or 2. If you can find it or remember it I would be grateful.
A very interesting query… I admit, I did think of The Unnamable II: The Statement of Randolph Carter, aka The Unnamable Returns, as the final scene at the Arkham Library involves the shapeshifter/demon getting fused with a chair and then burned in a fireplace, as described in this Reddit thread, https://www.reddit.com/r/tipofmytongue/comments/14w50d6/tomthorrormovie1980s_or_1990s_horror_movie_where/?rdt=41715
But you state that it’s definitely NOT the Unnamable II, so I’m not sure! It is hard to find reviews or write-ups of films online that actually provide details of the final scenes, as those kinds of spoilers are usually avoided. I’m wondering if it may be part of an ensemble type of horror film, like a collection of mini-films under a shared theme or framework. Are there any other details you can remember about the film, like the language, time period, characters, etc., that would help narrow it down?
I also recommend that you try the Keyword search in IMDb.com, https://www.imdb.com/search/keyword/ , where you can put in a basic keyword, and then cross-filter by additional keywords, genre, type of movie, etc. Maybe browsing the results will spur a memory or flash of recognition for you? I hope this helps!
I dont know of it was part of an anthology series. I do remember there was one that had a guy that would shoot cds to kill people as part of mulitple stories but there is also a solo movie like that too. The movie Im looking for would of been in the early to mid 90s maybe late 80s as the shapeshifting demon/creature used modern stop animation at some points. It was two people near the end of the movie that defeated it in a setting that appeared to be a library or a private study. I think at thr beggining thry accidently dug it up but Im not surr on that detail I mostly remember the end. Ive searched imdb and TV Tropes for keywords with no luck. That Tomt post is actually mine lol.
You’ve obviously been trying to track this film down for awhile! I admire your diligence. I have two last thoughts about who else might be able to solve this mystery… there’s an AMAZING video rental place in Portland called Movie Madness, and they have a very knowledgeable staff, particularly obscure movies on VHS from that time period. I think it would be worth it to contact them with your query, if you haven’t already, https://moviemadness.org/about/about/. Also, Hope Madden from MaddWolf has an encyclopedic knowledge of horror movies, and she might also be able to help, or their awesome staff, https://maddwolf.com/about — might also be worth contacting them! If you’re able to track down this title, please let me know! 🙂
Thank you I truly appreciate you taking time out of your day to help me.
Nice blog thannks for posting
Jennifer! Your blog got a plug (unnamed, but at least a link) in “Inside Higher Education.” https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/gradhacker/pedagogy-unplugged?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=acefbbbb33-DNU_2019_COPY_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-acefbbbb33-198400833&mc_cid=acefbbbb33&mc_eid=198bed8407
Tony Greiner
Thanks, Tony, for the heads up! I had seen some pingbacks come through for that post, which was also shared on some other sites. Exciting! 🙂