Clockwise from left: Linda Mehr; a page from the script of From Here to Eternity, with director Fred Zinnemann’s notes; Zinnemann directs actors Montgomery Clift and Donna Reed in the scene detailed in the script. (Photo: The Margaret Herrick Library)

Bookend: Star Power

June 1, 2014

Standing in the Cecil B. DeMille Reading Room, Mehr holds one of the library’s prized possessions: director Fred Zinnemann’s shooting script for the Academy Award–winning 1953 film From Here to Eternity, filled with his handwritten production notes.


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Newsmaker: Stan Lee

May 19, 2014

You’re known for making movie cameos. What is your favorite one to date? Stan Lee: I did one in the new Captain America: The Winter Soldier movie. I think it’s a very funny one. We’re pretty partial to the librarian you play in The Amazing Spider-Man. Do you have a spidey sense? No, I wish I … Continue reading Newsmaker: Stan Lee


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Media in the Classroom

May 13, 2014

Media is a complicated format for librarians: Issues involving fair use limitations and allowances, individual versus institutional rights, closed-circuit rights, public-performance rights, streaming rights, licensing details, and copyright and access questions are ever-present. Finding titles in a required format can also be problematic. The payoff comes in the many video resources available, both for free … Continue reading Media in the Classroom


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Saving Our Celluloid Past

February 25, 2014

Steve Leggett, program coordinator of the National Film Preservation Board at the Library of Congress (LC), laughs as he retells this Hollywood urban legend. Nevertheless the story contains truth. Scores of films were destroyed during cinema’s early years by studios that viewed silents as obsolete. These silent classics were not seen as works of art … Continue reading Saving Our Celluloid Past


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Libraries on the Vine

December 3, 2013

“We avoided it for awhile,” says Gail Shackleton, director of library services at Appleby College, a 7–12 grade school in Ontario. She and library technician Stefania Mulyk administer the library’s social media presence, which already includes Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and YouTube. They waited to adopt Vine until four months after the app’s introduction because of … Continue reading Libraries on the Vine