Dear Colleagues:

Following is an announcement of the premiere of a documentary film about--gasp--librarians!  The premiere will happen at the American Library Association conference in Washington, D.C. on Friday night, June 22 at 8 pm.  Although my part in it ended up on the cutting room floor, I am an avid supporter of the filmmaker, Ann Seidl.  She is possibly the most energetic, creative person I have ever met.  She has plans to show the film in libraries across the country and to use it as a fundraiser for libraries.  If you are going to ALA, you might want to make plans for a place in line ahead of time because, although it will be shown in the main convention hall that seats 4500 people, that may not be big enough to hold everyone who will want to get in.  (There are regularly 20,000 attendees at ALA.)  For more information, go to the website, www.hollywoodlibrarian.com.  There's a link there to the trailer on YouTube.

Joan Benedetti

World Premiere of "The Hollywood Librarian: A Look at Librarians Through Film"
Friday, June 22, 2007, 8:00 pm
Doors open at 7:30 pm with a red-carpet walk.
The film premiere will begin at 8:00 pm.

This is a no-charge event, however attendees must have a conference or exhibits badge, or be the guest of a person with a badge. Black Tie optional.

The Hollywood Librarian is the first full-length film to focus on the work and lives of librarians in the entertaining and appealing context of American movies. American film contains hundreds of examples of librarians and libraries on screen -- some positive, some negative, some laughable and some dead wrong. 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. Join us for the premiere of this film! Click here to view the film's trailer.