The “first impressions” post about Monsters University that I wrote back in 2013 — in which I highlight the 40-foot monster librarian who appears (or rather, unfurls) in a university library scene — remains one of the top 10 most popular posts of all time on this site. Three years ago, in early June 2020, a librarian colleague here in Washington state, Lauren, emailed me about the books and call numbers on a movie poster for Monsters University… and eeeeeeeeek, I’m just now getting around to highlighting these details! I’m so sorry, Lauren — shame on me for being woefully belated in this follow-up post! (Perhaps I can be forgiven because that was the first summer of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that was a very weird time for us all, right?)
Here is the movie poster closeup, as seen on Lauren’s Instagram account:
I agree with Lauren — I want to read Scarenomics, too! 😀
Here’s the closeup of the call number on that title:
MU 21.2013 JUN
LOVE! THOSE! DETAILS! The “MU” surely stands for “Monsters University.” And the movie opened on June 21, 2013, which is what I’m sure the “21.2023 JUN” is alluding to… LOL! 😀 😀 😀
(And yes, even though I know this is a made-up call number used for the purposes of this teaser movie poster, I went ahead and looked up the “M” class in the Library of Congress classification system. I am a librarian, and I like to be thorough. 😉 I already knew “M” was the class/category for Music, but what I didn’t know was that the “MU” sub-class is not currently being used!)
You can see the entire movie poster online here, which is where I got a better closeup of all the book titles that monster Mike is standing on:
- Scareonomics
- I’m Scary, You’re Scary (Note: This book has a “USED” sticker at the bottom of the spine, instead of a call number label, which likely makes it a textbook rather than a library book. Again, these details are soooooo good!)
- The Power of Screams
- Complete Monster Encyclopedia (“Monsteropolos History & Timeline,” Volume XXV, by Dr. A. Gruff)
Thanks again, Lauren, for being a reader of this blog and for reaching out to me about this really interesting detail of the book titles and call numbers on this movie poster for Monsters University! I’m so glad you are also, as you eloquently put it, “fascinated by the way pop culture sees librarians and libraries.” I hope this post is better late than never?! 🙂
Have you seen Monsters University? What were your first impressions of the 40-foot librarian? Do you love those clever call numbers as much as I do? Please comment and share!
Sources used
- Julie & T.J. “Monsters University Teaser Posters Revealed.” Pixar Post, 30 Nov. 2012.
- Snoek-Brown, Jennifer. “First impressions: ‘Monsters University’.” Reel Librarians, 16 July 2013.
REEL LIBRARIANS 