At Home He's a Tourist

He fills his head with culture/ He gives himself an ulcer.

Friday, July 21, 2006

In my ALA post I forgot to mention that I saw the latest version of the documentary work-in-progress The Hollywood Librarian. At a previous conference (maybe ARCL 2005 or TLA 2004) the producer had shown a very entertaining montage of clips from movies featuring librarians--this is where I first heard of Party Girl. This year's footage consisted mostly of interviews with librarians and MLS students, so it seems the focus of the documentary has shifted somewhat. It should still be interesting (the Busby-style book cart choreography was funny) though blatantly propagandistic, intended to smother the viewer in warm fuzzies about librarianship.

Speaking of which, the next time you're in the mood for a six hour Italian miniseries, check out The Best of Youth. It chronicles the lives of two brothers from the mid-60s to the present. One meets his wife while rescuing items from an inundated library, and the other has an affair with that rarest of types, the beautiful, fashion-conscious young librarian (Maya Sansa, pictured at right)--although she later drops librarianship for photojournalism, so perhaps the movie isn't a complete victory in the fight for an appealing cinematic representation of librarians.