Movie helps librarians break stereotypes

Librarians wear thick-rimmed glasses, keep their hair up in a tight bun, and skulk around bookshelves “shushing” talkative, trouble-making children, right?

Not so, according to “Hollywood Librarians,” a documentary that will be shown at the Joyner-Green Valley Branch Library on Saturday.

The free movie not only focuses on how the media have stereotyped librarians, but on the changing role of librarians in society.

The portrayal of librarians in movies has come a long way since “It’s A Wonderful Life,” when Donna Reed, in the alternate reality where Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey was never born, is consigned to a terrible fate as an old maid.

Things took a step up in “The Music Man,” with Shirley Jones’ portrayal of the sexy, spirited “Marian the Librarian.”

And in recent years, librarians have become cool, thanks to Parker Posey’s hip New York City librarian in the indie movie “Party Girl,” and Rachel Weisz’s adventurous, Indiana-Jones-type librarian in “The Mummy” movies.

Amber Mathewson, head librarian at Joyner, says she likes the adventurous portrayal best, because real-life librarians “do noble things every day, like standing up for intellectual freedom and helping individuals to become active citizens in our democratic society,” she said.

Librarians “protect the rights of individuals to read and gain access to the information they want, and need,” which is basic to the democratic process, she said in an e-mail.

Though she has always loved reading, Mathewson originally wanted to pursue a career as a physician, even getting her undergraduate degree in biology. But years later, when she found herself working at the customer service desk of the Green Valley Branch Library, she knew she was about to go down a different path.

With the help of the Friends of the Green Valley Library, who provided her with a scholarship to attend the University of Arizona, Mathewson got her Master’s of Library Science degree. She calls it the best decision she ever made, and said she feels “doubly-blessed to be able to serve the community that supported my education.”

Librarian Karen Greene says she loves working at a library in a small town, because it also serves as a place for the community to gather.

“People know this is the place you go to see your friends and neighbors, to find out where all the activities are happening,” she said. About 1,000 people pass through the Green Valley library’s doors every day in the summer, she said.

Greene, who used to be a librarian at a middle school, says her the best part of her job is the interaction with people. She once helped a woman find a science fiction book she’d read about 20 years ago and remembered little about. Without knowing the title or author, Greene found the novel after searching for hours.

“She was so happy that she came in the next day and made us all little treats,” Greene said. “It’s a great feeling when you can make someone’s day like that.”

With the current state of the economy, more people than ever are checking out the library for free books, music, movies and computer access.

Michele White, who manages the Sahuarita Branch Library, says more and more people are coming to the library specifically to search for jobs, using computers to do research and write resumes.

The Sahuarita Library opened its doors in January and gets anywhere from 100 to 300 patrons each day. White says the new library is becoming established in the community and is an especially popular with children, who enjoy “Story Time” and the “read to a dog” program.

“I’m excited to see what the library will grow in to,” she said.

White says she’s wanted to be a librarian since she was a child, when her dad would take her to the library every weekend. After working as an insurance claims adjuster for 20 years, she decided a few years ago that she would go back to school for her dream career.

She said the biggest misunderstanding about librarians is that they’re sticklers for noise control.

“The library’s a family environment, and when kids come in, they’re excited,” she said. “We don’t go around shushing people!”

jricharson@gvnews.com | 547-9726

IF YOU GO

What: “Hollywood Librarians”

When: 9:30 a.m. Saturday, July 18

Where: Joyner-Green Valley Branch Library, 601 N. La Canada Drive