The Hollywood Librarian

After all the excitement and activity it has been back to the day job this week. It has included interviewing for staff and a round of meetings. I also found myself spending much of Tuesday refereeing proposals for one of the research councils which I do fairly regularly as a member of their Peer Review College. It's always interesting but always takes you much longer than you think it will.

On Wednesday evening, Fiona Clark, head of Aberdeen City Libraries, and I did an "Interview Skills" workshop for Grampian Information. It was, I think, a good evening and I hope those attending got something out of it. Yesterday afternoon I was out again at a Grampian Information event held at the James Hutton Institute here in Aberdeen. This time it was the Annual General Meeting of GI followed by a screening of the Hollywood Librarian.

This was, I think, the third time that I had watched but if you haven't seen this film let me tell you briefly about it. It is an American documentary (filmed in 2006 and 2007) about what we do and how we make a difference. It is incredibly poignant and moving and I defy any librarian to watch without having a tear in the eye at particular moments. It is largely self-narrating with librarians doing the talking, occasional contributions from users and Ann Seidl, the writer and director. In between the talking heads are wonderful clips from Hollywood films, all portraying librarians in every conceivable stereotype that we have ever been accused of.

Amongst the inspriring librarians including is the incomparable Nancy Pearl and if you haven't come across her then check out some of the YouTube clips of her. She is also the inspiration for the famed Library Action Figure doll. There are school, academic, public and special librarians galore in the Hollywood librarian, every one being utterly incredible in their work. One special person worth mentioning and to whom the film is dedicated, is Peg Hepburn Perry (1920-2006) a formidable woman, a great librarian and also the sister of Katharine Hepburn the movie star. Peg appeared briefly in the film and was described, after her death, as the "Hippest Shusher".

Hollywood Librarian is a very cool portrayal of our profession.