Margaret Herrick Library

Margaret Herrick Library
Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study, where the library is housed
Map
34°03′38″N 118°22′36″W / 34.0605°N 118.3767°W / 34.0605; -118.3767
Location333 S. La Cienega Boulevard
Beverly Hills, California, U.S., United States
TypeResearch library
Established1928
Collection
Items collectedBooks, screenplays, periodicals, photographs, production records, correspondence letters, drawings, and advertising materials[1]
Access and use
Access requirementsReading rooms – appointment only
CirculationOn-site use only
Population servedStudents, film historians, and industry professionals[1]
Other information
Budget$24 million (2023)[4]
DirectorMatt Severson[2]
Employees70 (2021)[3]
Websiteoscars.org/library

The Margaret Herrick Library is the main repository of print, graphic and research materials of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). The library contains a digital repository of historical materials, including those relating to the Academy Awards ceremonies. It is located in Beverly Hills, California.[5][6] The library is governed by the Academy's Board of Governors.[7]

Collection

The Margaret Herrick Library has a diverse collection including screenplays, movie production records, correspondence and other materials pertaining to film studios, production companies, individuals, and professional organizations.[8] According to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the library holds 32,000 books, 80,000 screenplays, and 300,000 files of clippings. Other materials at the library are 35,000 posters, 10 million photographs, copies of 2,400 periodicals, costume and production and costume sketches, sheet music and musical scores, and advertising materials, including press books and lobby cards.[9]

Their digital collections has a curated selection of lobby cards, books, film magazines and industry publications, totaling 35,000 items.[10]

The library also collects and maintains oral histories of the industry.[11]

History

The original research library (named the Academy Library) was established in 1928, a year after the founding of AMPAS.[7][12]

In 1936, Margaret Herrick began serving as the head librarian, holding her position until 1943. Dedicated to AMPAS' mission of broadening the film industry's educational and cultural outreach, Herrick was responsible for establishing the library as a world-class research institution. In 1947, Herrick was responsible for the first acquisition of an archival collection: the William Selig collection.[7] In 1952, Herrick negotiated to have the Academy Awards televise their broadcast, which allowed for the awards ceremony and the library to become financially independent from the major Hollywood studios.[7] She was promoted to executive director in 1945, which she served until her retirement in 1971. At her retirement ceremony, the institution was renamed the Margaret Herrick Library.[12][13]

Since its inception, the Academy library had offices in the Roosevelt Hotel.[7] In 1975, after occupying rented space across the city, the Academy moved its office spaces and its library to a seven-story building in the Beverly Hills business district. However, the library's collection began to outgrow its storage place. A year later, the City of Beverly Hills abandoned its namesake Waterworks building, in favor of obtaining its water supply from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Water District.[14] By 1987, the building had suffered structural damage and was vandalized with graffiti, and was proposed for demolition. However, members of the Academy toured the derelict building, and considered it as a potential new site of the library.[15]

In 1988, the Academy and the city signed a 55-year lease agreement to renovate the building into a new location for the library, on a rehabilitation budget of $6 million.[14][16] On November 12, 1991, the library reopened at its current location, the Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study.[17][18]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Library Homepage". Margaret Herrick Library. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on January 16, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  2. ^ Philips, Kendall (host) (May 29, 2023). "Paying a Visit to the Margaret Herrick Library". WAER (Podcast). Pop Life. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  3. ^ Simon, Lindsey (April 13, 2021). "Lights, Camera, Library: Behind the Scenes at the Motion Picture Academy Archives". I Love Libraries. American Library Association. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  4. ^ "Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and its affiliates—Consolidated Financial Statements: Years Ended June 30, 2023 and 2022" (PDF). Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 4, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  5. ^ Lewis, Hilary (February 18, 2015). "Oscars: Who Came Up With the Name "Oscar" and More About the Statuette's History (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  6. ^ Osborne, Robert (February 17, 2015). The Origin of Oscar. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved February 3, 2016 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Margaret Herrick, Film History Trailblazer". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. September 22, 2015. Archived from the original on March 21, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  8. ^ "Collections". Margaret Herrick Library. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on January 16, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  9. ^ "Margaret Herrick Library". Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Archived from the original on May 21, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  10. ^ Morehart, Phil (March 10, 2024). "Academy Library a Film-Lover's Dream". I Love Libraries. American Library Association. Archived from the original on May 21, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  11. ^ "Spotlight: The Margaret Herrick Library in Los Angeles". LibGig. 2008. Archived from the original on October 11, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  12. ^ a b "Margaret Herrick, The Academy's First Librarian". I Love Libraries. American Library Association. November 30, 1999. Archived from the original on March 21, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
  13. ^ "The Margaret Herrick Library: Everything To Know Before You Visit". A.frame. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. May 16, 2022. Archived from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Oscars' Brand-New Library". Chicago Tribune. February 17, 1991. Archived from the original on May 21, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  15. ^ Garcia, Kenneth J. (January 22, 1991). "Plant Makes Comeback as Film Library". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  16. ^ "Beverly Hills Waterworks Building / Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study". Los Angeles Conservancy. July 14, 2020. Archived from the original on November 14, 2020.
  17. ^ Kinder, Larry Sean (2010). "The Margaret Herrick Library: Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences". Community & Junior College Libraries. 16 (4): 264–266. doi:10.1080/02763915.2010.526475. S2CID 62169148.
  18. ^ "Film Library to Move". Los Angeles Times. August 10, 1990. Archived from the original on May 21, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2024.

Further reading

  • Mehr, Linda Harris (2009). "Oscar's very special library: the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences". Art Libraries Journal. 34 (3): 29–34. doi:10.1017/S0307472200015996.
  • Russell, Maureen (2014). "Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Margaret Herrick Library Special Collections". Music Reference Services Quarterly. 17 (3): 169–184. doi:10.1080/10588167.2014.939625. ISSN 1058-8167.
  • Sands, Pierre Norman (1973). A Historical Study of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (1927–1947). New York: Arno Press. ISBN 978-0-405-04100-6. OCLC 340397. (Originally presented as the author's Ph.D. thesis, University of Southern California, Arno Press Cinema Program, 1966.)
  • Slide, Anthony (2014). The New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. pp. 1–2. ISBN 978-1-135-92554-3. OCLC 871224495.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Margaret Herrick Library.