Abstract (Engels)
The Hollywood Librarian: A Look at Librarians through Film is the first full-length documentary film to focusing on the work and lives of librarians. Using the entertaining and appealing context of American movies, the film will hold some surprises for people who may think they know what librarians do. American film contains hundreds of examples of librarians and libraries on screen -- some positive, some negative, some laughable and some dead wrong. Films such as Sophie's Choice, Philadelphia and It's a Wonderful Life show librarians as negative stereotypes. The librarians in Lorenzo's Oil, Desk Set and The Shawshank Redemption, on the other hand, are competent and professional. Dozens of interviews of real librarians will be interwoven with movie clips of cinematic librarians and serve as transitions between the themes of censorship, intellectual freedom, children and librarians, pay equity and funding issues, and the value of reading.
The Hollywood Librarian is a unique and charming blend of film clips, humor and critical analysis of the popular image of librarians. It will create a new-found empathy for the profession by revealing the diversity of individual librarians and the importance of what they do. This documentary will increase the public's awareness of the complex and democratic nature of librarianship in the age of technology, and be a step toward librarians redefining themselves as not only more than a stereotype, but also as a cultural imperative.
Toelichting (Nederlands)
De VVBAD organiseert een vertoning van deze film in aanwezigheid van regisseur Ann Seidl en in samenwerking met de Universiteitsbibliotheek Gent. Deze vertoning is uitsluitend toegankelijk voor leden van de VVBAD en studenten van bibliotheekopleidingen.
Met de steun van de firma's Swets en Ebsco, zal de film getoond worden met Nederlandse ondertitels.