It’s kind of a sad deal that librarians these days are being kind of overlooked since quite honestly they used to carry a very important role. It’s easy to argue that they still do since they’re the individuals that are still in charge of keeping up the old libraries, keeping everything in its place and being there when someone needs help. But the role of the librarian is indeed changing in the modern era, which makes their appearance in movies a nice bit of nostalgia since back in the day a librarian had a very tall order when it came to keeping their library in working order and making certain that people could find what they needed when they needed it. Somehow this task has been so overlooked in the recent past thanks to technology that some people have forgotten that the role of a librarian used to be quite prestigious since they were seen as the keepers of information and those that were knowledgeable enough to tell us where to find it and why it was important.
Here are five movie librarians that you might recognize.
5. Matilda – Mrs. Phelps
Roald Dahl of Schmoop is pretty accurate when stating that Mrs. Phelps is the first adult in Matilda that treats her like a human being. It’s obvious that she’s a bit apprehensive of first of a small girl visiting the library, especially when Matilda expresses an interest in something other than picture books, but Mrs. Phelps eventually takes a liking to Matilda and helps her out quite a bit. In fact it could be said that she helps Matilda find a new type of love for books that transcends what she might have discovered on her own, plus she instructs Matilda how to obtain a library card. It’s pretty obvious before her part is over and done with that Mrs. Phelps has come to like the curious little girl she’s helped so much.
4. Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones – Jocasta Nu
Jocasta Nu is likely someone that a lot of people don’t know about since she was there and gone in the second prequel. Her role wasn’t that big but if you were really watching the movies it was memorable enough since the Jedi Order, despite being known as lightsaber-wielding peacekeepers, are also well-learned individuals with stores of knowledge that require someone to keep and maintain. Despite there being no books and everything being kept in data files Jocasta is still very well aware of where everything is and just how to access what someone wishes to see. Her vast knowledge is great, but there are obviously those that know how to work around this since an entire planet was lost from their system in the second movie.
3. The Shawshank Redemption – Andy Dufresne
Some people might state that this didn’t count since Andy was an inmate and not really a true librarian, but quite honestly he fought for the library and took care of it so he more than earned the title. Plus, he did more for the inmates than anyone else did when he fought so hard to establish the Brooks Hanlon Library. In a big way the library was an expression of freedom that allowed Andy to look beyond the walls of the prison and imagine places that were far different than where he’d been stuck, and for a man that didn’t get to see the outside of his confined area for so long imagination was at that time the best thing he could hope for.
2. Monsters University
When you’re a kid a librarian can be your friend or perhaps your worst nightmare because just like any profession there are good librarians and there are those that are absolute monsters since the library is their domain and they won’t brook any shenanigans of any sort. This librarian however takes things above and beyond since a simple footstep causing a creak in the floor is turned into a humorous as well as horrifying event that kind of outlines just how strict her policy is when it comes to noise. But given that this scene is used for a challenge between the different houses it’s perfect since trying to outwit and outrun a monster librarian seems like a daunting task.
1. The Mummy – Evelyn Carnahan
So in all honesty this scene would likely come with a lot more collateral damage and most librarians would show her the door in a heartbeat since the mess would take days to clean up unless you had a team on hand to handle it. Just the thought of one of those heavy bookcases coming down with enough force to knock the others down is enough to make a person cringe since even with the domino effect the splintering of wood and the ripping and tearing of books would add up to a great deal of money in repairs and a lot of knowledge being torn to shreds. Oh, poor Evelyn.
Be kind to librarians, they’re more important than you think.
Follow Us
