Common images of librarians in Russian cinema. The image of a librarian in literature and cinema

In everyday practice, the library, like any social organization, is faced with the parallel existence of three different images: ideal, mirror and real.

Perfect image - the one that the library aspires to. It reflects the direction of movement, aspirations, general goals of activity. The ideal image always remains as such, as new, even more complex tasks are set as the goal is achieved. An ideal image serves as a criterion for evaluating long-term plans and current decisions.

In a mirror image reflects the opinion of employees about the attractiveness of the library for readers, its reputation, about the attention paid to it by government agencies and the population.

real image characterizes the actual attitude of various groups of citizens to the library, their satisfaction with the quality of service, understanding of the importance of libraries for society.

Naturally, the mirror and real images do not coincide, but should be close to the ideal.

Studies conducted by domestic libraries show that such a correspondence is not always achieved. Therefore, it is very important to constantly monitor the opinions, views, preferences of readers and librarians, achieving their maximum convergence.
The success of a library is determined by the extent to which the image created is confirmed by the quality of everyday service, or by the extent to which the declared obligations coincide with their actual implementation. That is why the tasks of increasing prestige affect all aspects of the library's activities and are relevant to each of its employees.

So, the image is a general idea of the library, which depends on everyday work and is developed over many years. What influences the formation of a favorable image of the library in the eyes of the reader? Let's reason together.

Design

It is not always possible for libraries to afford large material costs for the purchase of equipment, BUT each one tries to decorate its space artistically, to create its own unique style.

The rural library, as an information, leisure center of the local community, a powerful lever for promoting books and reading to the rural population, will contribute to familiarization with various information and document resources in the remote user mode. It is assumed that an aesthetically modern, technically equipped library will attract problematic social groups, youth, children, youth, the unemployed, the elderly by providing them with a wide range of services that will combine both paid, free, and preferential. Thus, the library will become not only a place where reading, books, and information are touched, but it will turn into a meeting place, communication, intellectual leisure, and work.

Creating an attractive library image is the main function of a comfortable library environment. It can be represented as a combination of several components: providing readers with related information; organization of the library space; condition of workplaces and places of rest; organization of library collections.

A special role is played by the creation of a corporate identity, which consists of many components. Ideally, specialists, artists, designers are involved in its development, who, thanks to their professionalism and creative approach, find features that distinguish the library from others. In most cases, librarians themselves take on these multiple roles.

“The content saturation of the library space does not depend on the size of the area, the abundance of material media (including modern technology), and even on the number of readers and visits. This is an unquantifiable atmosphere of creativity, co-creation of a librarian and a reader, interpersonal communication in informal associations, a developed system of communications, including by linking the library space with social networks, combining its visual and virtual parts,” S.G. Matlin

A positive image is formed the quality of services and the level of service for library users. The reader of the library should effortlessly obtain information about its services and not be confused by the announcements.
Librarians should be constantly looking for new forms of communication with the reader, invent something unusual that will attract potential readers to the library.
The saturation of the library space depends on the level of its eventfulness. An event that determines the configuration of the library space can be an exhibition, unusual in content or design, or a meeting with an interesting interlocutor, the publication and presentation of a new book ... In a word, everything that creates an atmosphere of joy, elation, “explodes” the monotonous, monotonous rhythm of everyday life , which means it stimulates the creative activity of the individual.

An example from the professional press: target program for the study of reading "Journey of the Blue Suitcase".
The scenario for this program is as follows. Librarians compile a list of books to fill the suitcase based on recommendations from children's reading experts and reader surveys. The composition of the list consists of novelties of high-quality children's literature. The completed suitcase is sent to the selected city or region. To promote reading, the Blue Suitcase travels to those libraries that have their own reading development programs (initiatives and new developments are especially welcome). The library must submit its proposals for the program. Based on these proposals, a travel plan is drawn up. The program lasts two months, and then the Blue Suitcase moves to another city or region. The program is aimed at achieving the following results: increasing the number of library readers; improving reading skills in children; development of literary taste through the popularization of the best contemporary Russian and foreign works; development of public initiatives, involvement of children as volunteers; family involvement; cooperation with other cultural and social organizations; promotion of the program through local media.

Usage advertising for users of library services, is one of the key links in promoting library products and services on the market. This, too, is extremely important in building a credible reputation and goodwill for the library and its services in the community.
Popularization of the library is facilitated by the creation of sound advertising records and videos, booklets, brochures, bookmarks, calendars, postcards, guides. Information materials about the library will help create a positive image, reveal the history, current state of the library and popularize its services.

Slogan examples.

1. Open your book.
2. Books are the building blocks of your career!
3. The book is the beginning of your career!
4. There should be a lot of books
5. Do you want to know everything? Nothing to sleep! Take a friend - Go to the library!
6. The enjoyment of reading is the enjoyment of life.
7. The new generation chooses to read!
8. Do you want to be promoted? Move to the library!
9. Library - a place where reading is appropriate!
10. The Internet is a waterfall, the library is a water faucet. What do you choose to quench your thirst?
11. "In order not to be considered an ignoramus, read "White clothes!""
12. “Now I have a best friend for a century - a library!”
13. Didn't go to the disco - go to the library!
14. We are with you on the way. Advertising slogan in Russia, 2008 Many people listen to audiobooks in cars, standing in traffic jams…
15. "A particle of the heart - to the reader, to the library - family comfort."
16. "Every book - its reader."
17. “Time to read - time to know!
18. "To the reader - a book"
19. "Library Stop"
20. "This is your library"
21. "The library works for you"
22. "The library is ready to provide you with all its book treasures"
23. "Don't forget to go to the library: books miss you"
24. “Come back often! Library books miss you!”
25. “The library loves you, appreciates you, remembers you…”
26. "Your library is always waiting for you!"
27. “Only here and only today is there a maximum of information about women's reading!”
28. "Your presence will decorate our meeting!"
29. "Pleasant surprises await you!"

Recognition, the formation of a positive image of the library contributes to form style : logo, business cards, desktop calendars, printed materials.

The creation of a positive image of the library is facilitated by introduction of new information technologies. Own website, own electronic products, electronic delivery of documents - all these are effective ways to promote and advertise the library in the international information society.

It is impossible not to mention such an important component of the work on the formation of public opinion and image as relations with mass media. Actively working with the media, one can feel that they largely contribute to the formation of an attractive image of the library, the growth of its authority, and social relevance.

It is very important to see the future of your library, continue to form a new image of it, look for new ideas, in modern terms - to form a "brand strategy". After all, caring about improving the image is a clear proof that the organization is not indifferent to the needs of its users. And the lack of new ideas is an indicator of the trouble of the team. The high public prestige of the library and our own satisfaction from work depend only on us.

Students of the 1st year of the specialty "Library Science" of the correspondence department of TOKKiI held a discussion on the topic "The image of a librarian and a library in fiction" (discipline "Ethics and psychology of professional activity").

The focus was on very interesting and controversial images of librarians in Russian and foreign fiction.

For analysis, students took the following works of domestic authors, Soviet and post-Soviet times: Babel I.E. "Public Library" (Zolotykh K.S.), Likhanov A.A. "Children's Library" (Samorukova E.S.), Georgievskaya S.M. "Silver Word" (Berestova V.P.), Elizarov M.Yu. "The Librarian" (Petina Yu.N.), Ulitskaya L.E. "Sonechka" (Podshchekoldina I.V.).

The works of foreign authors, characterized by students, differed in genre diversity: Myron, V. Dewey. “The cat from the library that shook the whole world” (Golodok E.S.), Bell Logan “The Librarian” (Kotukhova A.S.), Terry Pratchett “Staff and Hat” (Tatarnikova Zh.E.) Larry Beinhart. "The Librarian, or How to Steal the President's Chair" (Pechnikova O.V.), Ion Colfer "The Very Scary Miss Murphy" (Kotova A.D.) Here is a political detective story, and a women's novel, and children's fantasy. Some of the authors give a specific description of the heroine - a librarian, others open the inner world of a librarian through action, often on an abstract topic.

Fiction analyzes library stereotypes in detail and accurately, allowing an ignorant person to imagine the place and role of the library profession in society.

Very often, the image of a librarian does not correspond to our self-image. As examples from fiction show, a librarian is a very inadequate person in the eyes of writers, journalists, that is, those who voice and at the same time predetermine public opinion.

Nevertheless, it is necessary to read fiction about people in their profession: all psychological types and situations are described and analyzed here. And we cannot talk about the development of our professional consciousness until we know enough about ourselves.

The nature of the image of a book, a library and a librarian in fiction and cinema appears as a fragment of society's attitude towards them. And the works of literature and cinema make it possible to comprehend the place of the library in the life of society more voluminously, to understand the image of a librarian in society, because the attitude towards reading, books, libraries and its employees depends not so much on the status of the institution, the quantitative indicators of its activities, its social function, but on the prevailing in a society of ideas and stereotypes.

The book and the library appear as the objects of many literary, artistic and film constructions. The library and librarians are abundantly and diversely represented in world literature and cinema - in a variety of genres - stories, novels, ironic tales, detective stories, mystical prose. The name of the profession appears in the titles, clearly positioning the main role of its representatives in the development of the plot: in the play by A. Galin, stories by A. Nikitin, A. Pak, p. Antonov, novel by M. Elizarov, film by P. Winser. However, in a number of their image of a librarian is far from the practice of librarianship, its current state.

The image of the library and its employees in literature and the art of cinema is ambiguous. an example of creating a model, structure of the world order. M. de Unamuno believed that the purpose of science is to catalog the Universe in order to return it to the Lord in perfect order. In M. Pavich's novel "The Khazar Dictionary", the catalog acts as a kind of matrix of the Universe. Such constructions reflect the view of librarianship as a systematization of knowledge. H. - L. Borges in the novel "The Library of Babel" created the image of an infinite, inexhaustible library as a model of the world, its metaphor. In his vision, the library is both the Universe and an endless book, and a person is an inexperienced librarian.
At the same time, the depicted library - usually an architecturally complex, multi-level structure with secret chambers and passages - can represent both a fundamental, classical style building with columns and porticos, and a gloomy temple and monastic structure, or it can occupy a basement - the bottom of urban space and the social “underground”. ".

The library often becomes a scene in cinema and literature (A. Likhanov's story "Children's Library"): in V. Shukshin's fairy tale "Until the third cocks" it appears as a field of sharp spiritual and intellectual discussions. The library is actively involved in the artistic action of the films “Such a guy lives”, “In love of his own free will”, “Ranetki”. In S. Gerasimov's painting "By the Lake", the library is a platform for spiritual and poetic communication and even love rivalry.

Significant meetings take place in the library (“Sonia” by L. Ulitskaya, “The Endless Book” by M. Ende, the film “Such a Guy Lives” by V. Shukshin). The book and the library in literature are often endowed with mystery. The complexity and closeness of library work firmly envelops this institution with a halo of mystery, dictates a detective story. Book collections serve as the key to finding a timeless corridor, a portal to a parallel world, a source of hints for a fateful decision and therefore become the object of a search, a sophisticated hunt and a fierce struggle, the outcome of which depends on the fate of the universe. Thus, the library of Ivan the Terrible forms the grain of plot intrigue, the subject of research in B. Akunin's novel "Altyn Tolobas".

The library and the book are often threatened by disaster - and in very different eras, which emphasizes the vulnerability of this social institution and the fragility of book knowledge itself. In U. Eco's novel "The Name of the Rose", the library appears as an analogue of the path of knowledge, the structure of truth that is destructive for a person. The indestructible thirst for forbidden knowledge of some and the fanatical desire of others to limit it provoke its death.

The epicenter of the clash of the polar principles - good and evil, two worlds - the real and the other world, sometimes - a springboard for direct battles (the film "Isaev").

Many figures of heroes are echoes of reflections on the ideal librarian. In their actions, there is a desire to streamline, systematically organize space, fix it, save it for the future. The nature of a librarian is often a fanatical love for the book, a devout devotion to it. Such an enthusiast is able to comprehend the depths of book meanings and spiritual messages. I. Bunin, H. - L. Borges, K. Chapek, V. Shalamov, L. Ulitskaya captured such a beginning in the heroes.

In Soviet literature, the figure of the librarian was significant. In the 1940s-1960s. the hero-librarian combined the performance of his professional functions and intellectual and spiritual asceticism. In domestic literature, such an inherent function of the librarian as the Guardian has found a special reflection. The prose of the war years strengthened this function: many characters-librarians selflessly saved books and defended libraries as strongholds of human culture - as opposed to the demonstrative destruction of books by the Nazis (V. Lidin).

The librarian was often thought of as a typical representative of the Russian intelligentsia. Among the essential features for him are nobility, dignity, moral rigor and inevitable loneliness. Often the image of an honest but indigent librarian was presented as an ethical imperative.

The library profession often became a form of internal emigration, spiritual underground, and escapism. In post-Stalin literature, the image of this profession is formed precisely as a "trap" for the intelligentsia. The authors endow the librarian with the function of resistance to circumstances, injustice, political dictatorship and the function of self-sacrifice, which is demonstrated by A. Galin's play "The Librarian". The servant of the book is credited with internal dissidence. Such is the scientist Shulubin in A. Solzhenitsyn's story "Cancer Ward". In the books of A. Solzhenitsyn and V. Shalamov, the library in the inhuman conditions of the Gulag acts as a saving authority for the individual. Life among books allows you to get lost, to hide from the hardships of the world, to avoid a tougher sentence, death. The library for "Sonia" Ulitskaya became a refuge from the cataclysms of the era.

Modern cinema refutes the notion of the profession of a librarian as quiet and calm. The library becomes the scene of a fight between whites and reds in the film "Isaev" (based on the novel by Y. Semenov). So, the caretaker of the public library Vladimirov - the father of the scout Isaev - in the midst of the civil war defends the library as a stronghold of culture, spirituality, knowledge. The understanding of the “presumption” of culture, the genetically embedded consciousness of the impossibility of a barbaric act in relation to the library, saved the white general, an expert in seven languages, from burning the book depository. The consciousness of the value of the book world is also maturing among the Reds, and instead of folios they still guess to put bricks under the machine gun. But having saved books from both, Vladimirov perishes at the hands of a vandal who believed in the slogan "now everything is possible."

The involvement of the profession in secrets, dangers and adventures is confirmed by P. Winser's films “The Librarian. In Search of the Spear of Destiny”, “Librarian-2. Return to the Mines of King Solomon”, “Library-kar-3. The Curse of the Judas Chalice. The plot conflicts are based on stereotypical plot moves and detailed truisms. So, librarian Flynn Karsen, along with a brave and experienced bodyguard Nicole, went through extreme tests. In the films, the archetype of the library appears as a mysterious space - a place where sacred actions are performed. Monumental, covered with a mystical halo, the building of the metropolitan library resembles a temple. The library appears as the custodian of magical artifacts, the book is the subject of secret knowledge, and the library path is chosen. In this world, the most fantastic events are possible - incredible meetings, collisions, incidents, crimes. In the library, where the eternal student Flynn Carsen is "summoned", a secret life flows for the uninitiated. Secret halls store ancient artifacts and priceless cultural treasures - the Excalibur sword, the original of da Vinci's Mona Lisa.

Flynn gets a "quest" - a particularly important life task. He is chosen to be the keeper of the treasure. This responsible mission turns the life of an unlucky student. In the center of the intrigue is an eccentric bookish clown, a dreamer far from the world, who has 26 (and in the third film 32) higher educations. Flynn is a connoisseur of rare languages, native customs, exotic rituals - a storehouse of seemingly irrelevant, excessive information. He is traditionally outwardly comical - wearing ridiculous clothes and the same glasses - as a typical "nerd" sign. Flynn often behaves like an inveterate loser, which exhibits the stereotypical image of a librarian. In general, the vision of the librarian, the library in Winser's films is traditional and archaic.

Flynn, terrified of real life, must finally emerge from the saving cocoon of a diligent student and enter into a duel with members of the evil Brotherhood of the Serpent, who have stolen part of the Spear of Destiny. Combined together, fragments of a magical smashing weapon grant its owner absolute power over the universe. Flynn is confronted by a strong, cunning enemy - a professor who turned out to be the thief of a fatal artifact. The villain longs to penetrate the Gate of Eternal Life in order to master the gift to control life and death. The fate of the world depends on the outcome of their struggle. In order to stop the monstrous thoughts, Flynn is forced to go in search of other parts of the spear. No one but a true librarian can cope with the mission of ridding the world of evil. The librarian appears not only as a connoisseur-encyclopedist, custodian and translator of book knowledge, but also as an active fighter against evil and evil spirits, defender and savior of the world; and the brave Nicole is called upon to fulfill the mission of his protection.

According to the genre, the librarian's fulfillment of his mission is complicated by a series of mysteries. Searches are preceded by gloomy predictions that invariably come true. The path of the hero is an endless chain of obstacles to achieve the goal. Flynn, together with his companion, crosses the impenetrable jungle, overcomes the gloomy abyss and the turbulent river between rocky cliffs, moves along a dilapidated suspension bridge, passes snowstorms, mirror traps, penetrates into a tribe of savages, visits a Mayan temple, a Buddhist temple, conquers Mount Jaime in the Himalayas, moreover, he behaves adequately to the role assigned to the type, erroneously crushing the pearl of culture. The path of the heroes is accompanied by unexpected finds and quite expected discoveries: "God is inside each of us."

At first, the hero's phenomenal knowledge is a kind of defense against reality. It is no coincidence that Flynn is admonished with the phrase “Take a risk, hero!”, Calling to finally begin to comprehend living life. During the tests, the recent hermit learns the world in its entirety. At the same time, the world is rescued and the chosen librarian himself is granted victory by his extensive and supposedly useless knowledge. Saving knowledge is updated at the right time, providing a way out of hopeless situations. Knowledge provides the key to the task, allowing you to decipher ancient writings and secret codes, unravel metaphors (How long does it take to become a bird again?). Intelligence and knowledge are not just equated with courage and strength - they are clearly preferred in the plot. Flynn's education harmoniously complements Nicole's physical dexterity.

The hero is accompanied everywhere by a characteristic sign - a tome - as a sign of belonging to a profession and traditional book culture. This detail echoes the perception of the book as a sacred object.

There is a noticeable irony in the director's attitude towards the hero. But the degree of irony is gradually decreasing. The high title of a librarian is constantly declared: “No one dares to talk like that about a librarian, even he himself!”; "You can't drop your title of librarian." The name of the profession sounds respectful. The fact that the antipode belongs to the library environment (“I was also a librarian”) complicates the outcome of the battle between the hero-Good and the hero-Evil. Parody sounding does not abhor sympathy for the hero-librarian.

Serious race ground between the forces of good and evil unfolds in the films of S. Sommers "The Mummy". His heroine, the librarian Evelyn, has knowledge that is exotic for the present, but effective: knowledge of the ancient Egyptian language allows her to read the Book of the Dead and contribute to the duel with otherworldly evil.

The mysterious text, which reveals the knowledge that is tragic but necessary for mankind, also appears in the film adaptation of D. Brown's The Da Vinci Code. Incunabula is an object of almost cult worship. In "Crimson Rivers - 2" this is the original of the Apocalypse of the hand of God himself. The ancient book is assigned an applied role - as a tool necessary for fulfilling a mission, a key to unraveling a mystery, sometimes a source of producing a saving idea.

The deeds of "superlibrarians" convince that their profession is "honorable". American films clearly respond to the wishes of society and the expectations of the professional environment in raising the status of the librarian profession. The old mystical shade returns to the attitude towards the book. Characteristically, the action in these films is built around sacral manuscripts, fundamental to human spiritual culture, "fatal" texts. Because of such rarities, world conspiracies are arranged, universal battles are unfolding.

Librarians, heroes of Russian cinema of the 1970s-1980s, are united by education, intelligence, and high morality. So, young Lena Barmina from the film "By the Lake" is the personification of purity, intelligence, naturalness, dignity, female charm.

In the film “In love of his own accord” by S. Mikaelyan, the type of librarian familiar to everyday consciousness appears - a modest, impractical, outwardly inexpressive, but kind, sympathetic, intelligent, spiritualized personality, able to build women's happiness with the help of emotional efforts, the ability to extract from under down the spiritual beginning of his chosen one and strengthen him.

In the series "Ranetki" by S. Orlanov, a familiar type is exploited. In the image of Sveta Utkina, echoes of the former stereotype appear - an eccentric, naive, touching librarian, a desire to emphasize in her romance, some old-fashionedness, disinterestedness, the presence of a spiritual principle. In her appearance, echoes of the cliché about the librarian as an inconspicuous person are palpable. Attractive in the heroine is an indestructible desire to find personal happiness. Again, the librarian is embodied out of work, outside of professional activities, against the backdrop of stunted bookcases and an old PC, which does not correspond to reality.

Thus, the librarian is among the popular and even iconic characters of world literature and cinema. Its very presence in various works is a sign of general interest in this profession, a sign of trust in the inexhaustible resources of librarianship and knowledge, an echo of ideas about the limitless, almost mystical possibilities of a book.

Modern cinema and literature demonstrate the emergence of new types of library workers - from an eccentric to a righteous man. However, they retain the old stereotypes, and in a fresh interpretation. In the "mix" of mysticism and computer technology, it is amusingly proved that the qualities that are attributed in the public mind to a typical librarian are effective and saving at all times.

At the same time, the almost complete absence of books and book collections in the space of modern cinema is characteristic. In pre-perestroika films, the personal library was almost an obligatory subject background for the action. The book often became the spring of plot intrigue. Thus, Pushkin's poems and the novel "Eugene Onegin", serving as the leitmotif of the touching film "I Loved You", nourish and enrich the gentle, quiet feeling of the young hero; the lines of A. Blok's poem "The Scythians", read with inspiration by Lena Barmina in the library, are organically included in the film story about the spiritual quest of the individual, her relationship with the world and nature.

In the current cinema, and even more so in serials, the book is absent even as a piece of furniture. As a detail of the material world, it has practically disappeared from the space of a modern home, not showing up even in the home and office rooms of business people. As in reality, the book in cinema and literature has ceased to be a subject of spiritual interest, an occasion for communication for both adults and children. It rarely becomes a source for inner movements, a ground for self-exploration.

The danger lies in the fact that in literary works and cinema old stereotypes are preserved and broadcast and new ones are produced, replicated and popularized. The image of a librarian in literature and cinema is far from modern realities, from understanding his activities in the context of society's demands, the latest multimedia technologies; there is even a distortion, "the deterioration of the image of the library and the library profession in literature" . In the image of a librarian, the connection with the past state of the profession is more visible, which envelops him with a romantic halo. Due to the habitual trust of readers to printed texts, these stereotypes, easily introduced into consciousness, distort the idea of today's librarian, make it difficult to perceive the real image of a modern specialist working in a new information space, open to technological innovations and at the same time remaining faithful to professional traditions and culturally entrusted to him by society. -spiritual mission.

At the same time, the role of the book as a phenomenon of the professional activity of the librarian and the spiritual practice of the reader is weakened. Cinematography transmits the image of the book as far from modernity, connected exclusively with the past spiritual experience of mankind (and even with the mystical-sacred plane) and suddenly updated artifact. Art also captures the dominance of the knowledge-information approach over the spiritual in the activities of the modern library. The social outsidership of librarians led to the loss of their role as spiritual authorities. There is a devaluation in literature and cinema of the idea of bookishness as a cultural phenomenon.

Loginova, N. V. A trap for an intellectual: images of librarians in Russian fiction / N. V. Loginova // Bibliotekovedenie. - 2007. - No. 1. - S. 118-122.
Matveev, M. “And the century will never end...” Images of libraries and librarians on the screen at the end of the 20th - beginning of the 21st century. / M. Matveev // Bib. case. - 2008. - No. 21. - S. 29-32.
Matveev, M. And the century will not end. Images of libraries and librarians on the screen at the end of the 20th - beginning of the 21st century. / M. Matveev // Bib. case. - 2008. - No. 23. - S. 22-26.
Matveev, M. And certainly. dead body. Libraries and librarians in detective novels / M. Matveev // Bib. case. - 2003. - No. 9. - S. 36-41.
Matveev, M. Like in the movies!? Libraries and librarians in films / M. Matveev // Bib. case. - 2003. - No. 4. - S. 36-39.
Matveev, M. Book people in Russian literature of the XX century. / M. Matveev // Bib. case. - 2003. - No. 10. - S. 36-37.
Matveev, M. Book people in Russian literature of the XX century. / M. Matveev // Bib. case. - 2003. - No. 12. - S. 40-43.
Matveev, M. Book people in Russian literature of the XX century. / M. Matveev // Bib. case. - 2004. - No. 1. - S. 40-43.
Matveev, M. Yu. The image of the library in works of fiction. Literary and sociological essays / M. Yu. Matveev, D. K. Ravinsky. - SPb., RNB, 2003. - 136 p.
Matveev, M. The pernicious influence of postmodernism? Images of libraries and librarians in works of art in the second half of the 20th - early 21st centuries. / M. Matveev // Bib. case. - 2010. - No. 12. - S. 36-42.

Source: Spiritual and moral culture of Russia: : materials of the All-Russia. scientific-practical. conf. IX Slavs. scientific Cathedral "Ural. Orthodoxy. Culture” / comp. I. N. Morozova; Chelyab. state acad. culture and arts. - , 2011. - 331 p.: ill. ISBN 978-5-94839-299-8

slide 1
The image of a librarian in literature and cinema.
Being a librarian is like riding a bike:

if you stop pedaling and move forward,

you fall.

D. Schumacher.
I was educated in the library.

And, completely free.

R. Bradbury.
The librarian profession is not what it is usually imagined to be, it is not for the weak at heart.

In fact, the lack of prestige, the common idea of librarians as deeply closed, introverted, out of this world personalities - professional associations of librarians not only in our country, but all over the world have to put up with this and exist or fight. The specifics of library work, both in ancient times and today, remains a mystery to most.
slide 2
It is interesting that it is absolutely impossible to define the whole variety of activities of a librarian using one single verb for this, while a doctor treats, a teacher teaches, a cook prepares food, and so on.

In encyclopedic dictionaries, the word "librarian" is often missing. The word "library" is there, but the word "librarian" is not. The interpretation of the word denoting our profession more often sounds like this: a librarian is a library worker whose duties include processing books entering the library, storing them and issuing them to the reader.

The 1980 Larousse French Encyclopedic Dictionary has this definition: librarian - a person who has been entrusted with the management or supervision of a library.

I decided to dwell on the following definition, which I liked more than others for its versatility.

A librarian is a library employee who performs an operation or a set of operations to form a library fund, serve users, create and use the material and technical base, manage personnel and the library as a whole.
slide 3
One of the many tasks of a modern librarian is to create conditions, organize the information environment of the library, so that with the greatest savings in the mental strength and time of the user, the information is internalized (i.e., would be deeply assimilated) by him.
slide 4
The library profession is one of the most interesting and fascinating in the sense that every day brings acquaintance with new books, fresh issues of newspapers and magazines, new people, different unique situations arise every day.

On its Facebook page, the Russian State Library opened an interesting section "Historical Complaint". Here are published the most outstanding notes received in the complaint book of the library.

Here are some of them:
slide 5
"We kindly request that during the evening hours, consulting librarians double or triple their jobs, especially in the catalog room. Demchenko I.V. May 5, 1936 ".
“When asked where readers could drink water with syrup, the librarian replied: “nowhere.” To me, a Soviet person, such an attitude is incomprehensible. Sometimes there is a samovar next to the wardrobe, but only as a mockery, because there is no glass with it! Is there really nothing that can be done to fill this gap?- On July 12, 1937, a certain Chernykh N.V. was indignant.
slide 6
"I believe that a cultured person should not watch how others read, even if this person and a library employee! You still need to trust people and understand the peculiarities of their mood! And employee Rosenthal brazenly continued to remain within the reading room and sometimes throw oblique, suspicious glances in my direction until I myself came out of there. I think that all this was done on her part rudely, shamefully and tactlessly, "- an unknown reader is indignant in the complaint book on June 21, 1937.
Slide 7
We work for our reader, whatever he may be. A professional feature of a librarian should be a high pedagogical skill. First of all, it is necessary to love people, to approach different categories of readers in a differentiated way, taking into account the peculiarities of their information requests, to help navigate the reference and bibliographic apparatus, explaining intelligibly and patiently. In addition to erudition, we must be sensitive and responsive, always invariably polite and attentive.

Contact with the reader must be confidential. After all, a positive attitude towards a specialist arises not only and not so much because he is well versed in the fund, but also because of his benevolence, ability to easily and fascinatingly conduct a conversation, and willingly help in choosing books. A real librarian is characterized by empathy, empathy for another person.

Communication with the reader is an exchange of information. Do you remember that 40% of the information is absorbed through the intonation of speech, that in addition to the text there is a subtext? Unfortunately, the "discovery" of these truths sometimes occurs in conflict situations.
Slide 8
For librarians who are in constant contact with readers, the ability to communicate in a businesslike manner becomes a professionally necessary quality, therefore, increased requirements are placed on the librarian's speech. Of particular importance is the frequency and clarity of pronunciation, coherence, consistency, richness of vocabulary, clarity when asking questions and answers, and the speed of speech that is optimal for perception.

Personal charm and good looks are also essential to a librarian. A good psychological climate in the library is created by the cheerfulness and sense of humor of its employees.
Slide 9
Today, the profession of a librarian is considered in a broad social context. In our current, very stressful life, people come to the library not only for books, but also for the sake of communication, to find spiritual comfort and balance.

In the context of global informatization, everything is changing: interiors, funds, material and technical base, library equipment are changing. But are librarians themselves ready for change?

I haven't worked in a library for a very long time. But having studied this problem, it became interesting to me why the domestic librarian still appears in the eyes of others in the form of a gray mouse, why does he not look the best?

The nature of the image of a librarian in fiction and cinema appears as a reflection of the attitude towards them (that is, towards us, dear colleagues) of society.
In Russian cinema and literature, the following characteristic images of librarians can be distinguished:
1. Ascetic or saint. This is the type of righteous librarian who thinks only of the welfare of the library he works for. Such librarians see their life purpose and happiness in preserving books for future generations. They help people free of charge and disinterestedly, providing them with knowledge and information.

2. An idealist who dreams of introducing all readers to the "reasonable, kind, eternal." This type of librarian dreams of re-educating their readers through serious, thought-provoking literature.

3. A rebel, a revolutionary who does not agree with the political system, views and orders that exist in society. Unfortunately, very often such librarians consider the library only as a forced and temporary refuge.

4. Honest and poor worker. The most common type of domestic librarian.
In foreign literature and cinema, the images of librarians are somewhat brighter and more noticeable. However, writers and filmmakers have often portrayed and portray the library as a symbol of the collapse of life's plans. (There is nowhere to fall below.) Such stereotypes persisted until the 2000s.

Today, in foreign art, the image of a librarian has become much more interesting. You can “meet” our colleague in science fiction, romance novels, action films, detective stories, mysticism and even horror films…
I want to bring to your attention a selection of works by domestic and foreign writers and directors on this topic.
So, PRO MOVIE.

Opens our selection of films

"Librarian" USA, 2004 Directed by Peter Winzer.
Slide 10

Having received an invitation for an interview at the metropolitan library, botany student Flynn Carsen did not even think that this work would become the meaning of his life. However, what his employers offered him is very different from the everyday work of a librarian sorting through visitor cards and arranging books on the shelves. It turns out that the library may have a secret side, hidden from the eyes of the townsfolk ...
Slide 11
"Marriage of convenience". Russia, 2002. Directed by Y. Pavlov. Cast: N. Kurdyubova, E. Stychkin.

The provincial librarian was sure that marriages were made in heaven. But when a huge debt hung on her and her father, she decided to urgently find a rich spouse who would settle all material problems. After numerous searches, the heroine realized that she could only rely on herself...
"Red rivers". France, 2000 Director: Mathieu Kassovitz.

remy, hereditary the librarian of a prestigious college in the Alps does not appear directly in the film - he is brutally murdered before the start of the thriller. However, it turns out that it was the librarian who was involved in the genetic experiments within the walls of the college... And the librarian performed his role, seating the readers in pairs, according to the scheme drawn up in the rector's office...
slide 12
Falling Leaves Blues. Russia, 2006 Director: Alexander Mikhailov. Cast: Evgenia Dobrovolskaya, Ilya Rutberg, Yulia Rutberg.

The young librarian Ksenia, who until recently solved her numerous family and financial problems, one day becomes the owner of an inheritance - a huge apartment, a bank account and a new Mercedes, and with it many secrets and mysteries. Ksenia understands that in this life nothing happens just like that ...
"In love of his own accord." USSR, 1982 Director: Sergey Mikaelyan. Cast: Evgenia Glushenko, Oleg Yankovsky.

The heroine of the film is a young, sweet, educated, but outwardly unattractive librarian Vera with a personal life that does not develop in any way. By chance, she runs into a former athlete Bragin in the subway. He quit sports, his wife left him, he drank everything he had gained over the years of his sports career and works at a factory as a turner, which does not please him at all. After talking, the characters come to the conclusion that you can fall in love at will, with a person you just outline. And they decided to test this theory, built on auto-training and self-hypnosis ...
slide 13
"There's a guy like that." USSR, 1964 Director: Vasily Shukshin. Cast: Leonid Kuravlev, Bella Akhmadulina, Lidia Alexandrova.

A story about a young Altai driver Pasha Kolokolnikov, who, risking his life, prevents a fuel tanker from burning. A joker and a joker, Pashka loves to show off. He likes Nastya, the local librarian, but the girl prefers to him a visiting engineer who does not consider her her equal.
"At a lake". USSR, 1970 Directed by Sergei Gerasimov. In ch. Cast: N. Belokhvostikova, V. Shukshin.

Lena Barmina, a librarian, is the main character of a movie that thundered all over the country more than 40 years ago. "By the Lake" is a film-thinking about the responsibility of a person to other people, native nature and the world around us. And it's also a love story.

The best film according to the Soviet Screen magazine poll in 1971.
Slide 14
"The gun in Betty Lou's purse." USA, 1992 Directed by Allan Moyley. In ch. Cast: Penelope Ann Miller.

The heroine of the American comedy detective Betty Lou Perkins works in a quiet provincial library. She adores her husband - a policeman, but he is too passionate about work and does not pay attention to her. One day, Betty finds a real gun on the river bank, puts it in her purse, and then incredible adventures begin.

This film shows the rebellion of library workers when, tired of their hopeless existence, monotonous work and general indifference, they take risky actions.
slide 15
"How do I get to the library?" Russia, 2011. Directed by E. Malkov. Cast: T. Bibich, T. Cherkasova.

Oleg Barinov, the owner of a network of nightclubs, stops by the district library on his way to work to give away unnecessary books, of which he has accumulated a lot at home, and his upbringing does not allow him to throw them in the trash. In the library, he meets Alla - a nondescript, inconspicuous librarian girl, who at first does not make the slightest impression on him ...
"Mummy" USA, 1999 Directed by Stephen Sommers. Cast: R. Weiss, B. Fraser.

Of course, I could not miss this film, because its main character Evelyn says: “I am proud of who I am ... I am a librarian!”.

Evelyn is not only a librarian, she is also a historian, a linguist, and she knows the most complex ancient language, she dreams of reading the Book of the Dead. It is thanks to Evelyn's knowledge that the heroes of the film defeat the mummy that has risen from the tomb.
Films are films, but our professional destiny (and for many it is inseparable from personal) is still in the book. The fate of a librarian is to look into a book and see his own reflection in it. This leaves a certain imprint and forms a special image, far from always unambiguous.
So, further - THE IMAGE OF THE LIBRARY IN LITERATURE
slide 16
Vasily Shukshin “Until the third roosters. A fairy tale about Ivan the Fool, how he went to distant lands to gain mind-reason.

This is a fairy tale. Here the revived literary heroes call the librarian "vulgarite". The content of the telephone conversation that the heroine leads does not attract fans to her, but quite the opposite, makes the image of a woman librarian primitive and vulgar.

Lilia Belyaeva "Seven years don't count"

The librarian in the book is an honest and poor worker. The main character leaves for seven years to earn money on Sakhalin. During this time, his wife Larisa turns into a typical (according to the author) librarian with a knot of hair on the back of her head and in a shapeless sweater: “Alone ... in the morning, afternoon, evening ... At home, in the library. Books, shelves, books...”. Other librarians are also described in the story. This is the principal head of the reading room, as well as two friends of Larisa, for whom to see the world of wealthy people is like “flying to Mars”.
Slide 17
Alexander Volodin "Idealist"

The author does not even mention her name. She is a librarian by profession and an idealist in life. She believes with all her might in pure and bright love for life, although she knows that many easily converge for just a week. Love stories are mixed in her head - Ophelia, Agafya Tikhonovna, Poor Liza, Anna Karenina and even Dulcinea of Tobosskaya. And neither age nor life's hardships will ever change her romantic perception of the world. Because, as the play says, "it's a shame to be unhappy."
N.K. Gorbunov "Report"

The "holiness" of the librarian leads to tragicomic situations. So, in the story, the librarian sincerely rejoices for the professor, who shamelessly uses in his speech rare materials that she has been collecting bit by bit over a long time.
Slide 18
Ilya Ehrenburg. "Second day".

Looking at the heroine of this novel, librarian Natalya Petrovna Gorbacheva, “people thought that she looked like a book bug and that only catalog numbers were in her head. To others, it seemed like a big ugly letter... Natalya Petrovna Gorbacheva did not save her life, or the good, or the revolution. She saved books. She was lonely, middle-aged and ugly. No one even knew her name - they said: a librarian. They did not know Natalya Petrovna ... She approached them and whispered plaintively: “Comrades, please be careful!” She suffered because none of these people felt for the books the love that overwhelmed her heart. Sobbing awkwardly, Natalya Petrovna said: “Books are a big thing! ... they cannot be burned, they must be stored ... "
Larry Beinhart "The Librarian, or How to Steal the President's Chair"

University librarian David Goldberg works for an eccentric, elderly billionaire whose last wish is to leave posterity a memorial library of himself and his accomplishments. However, the most memorable thing about his work, as Goldberg accidentally discovers, is the secret of big politics, which should never come out. This is a conspiracy to rig the presidential election! For the main character, a librarian who systematizes archival information, a real hunt begins.
Slide 19
Roman Senchin "The Yeltyshevs"

Valentina Viktorovna, the mother of a family that is steadily heading towards complete destruction, is a librarian, an aged woman, tired and heavy. We will never see her with a book: neither the author nor the heroine comes up with such a familiar way to forget herself in hopeless everyday life. We do not discern in it a glimpse of bookish (in the sense of lofty) principles and values. Periodically, she remembers who wrote such and such a book, which she once gave out. Without remembering, he quickly calms down.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn "Cancer Ward"

One of the characters is a certain Aleksey Filippovich Shulubin - in his youth a military commander, later a "red professor" - a teacher of philosophy. He escaped the Stalinist camps, but in the wild he went through all the stages of intimidation and humiliation. In the action of the novel, Shulubin is a librarian. The profession of a librarian in the novel turned out to be the extreme limit to which a person could be humiliated, making him unhappy, completely broken.
Slide 20
Lyudmila Ulitskaya "Sonechka"

Lyudmila Ulitskaya wrote a bright, amazing image of the librarian Sonechka: “For twenty whole years, from seven to twenty-seven, Sonechka read almost without interruption. She fell into reading like a swoon, ending with the last page of the book .... She had an outstanding reading talent, and maybe a kind of genius. Her responsiveness to the printed word was so great that fictional characters stood on a par with living, close people ... ".

The story "Sonechka" was once published in one of our professional publications. The author of the article wrote: “Sonechka” is the anthem of our profession, a prose anthem that should be read standing up. “Sonya” is our honor and glory, ... our main and favorite thought about the librarian.”

My opinion about the character of the main character differs from the opinion of the author of this article, and I think that not every one of us will see Sonya as a role model both professionally and personally.
Vera Kalashnikova "Nostalgia"

The action in the story takes place today. Her heroine Polina, a librarian by profession, “speaks English and French... she has collected a lot of material for her dissertation; you just need to dig a little in the German archives... She is a smart, determined modern woman (like a new Russian librarian), very well-read.

She is horrified by the surrounding lack of spirituality, drug addiction, prostitution. Disappointed with domestic reality, Polina leaves for Germany, to her fiancé. However, even there she does not find peace ... The story is unusual and attracts attention because in it, in one of the first in Russian modern literature, a simple librarian is equated with academics, endowed with great intellectual potential.
And it is on this high note that I would like to end. Of course, there are other images, and many other characters. The rules of our event do not allow us to demonstrate all examples of the image of a librarian that can be found in fiction and cinema (it is pleasantly surprising that there are many of them).

Oddly enough, but sociological studies show that two types of people most often play gambling. Most of them have very calm professions (for example, a librarian), while the rest are engaged in high-risk professional activities (policemen, rescuers). The first do this because of the lack of thrills in everyday life, and emotions, meanwhile, are rushing out; and for the latter, the propensity to take risks turns into a habit.

I do not urge you to gamble, but I want to wish you to bring this excitement, fire in the soul, into our professional activities; preserving traditions, constantly wishing for something new. And then, in the near future, completely different images of Russian librarians will appear in cinema and literature.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

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Common images of librarians in Russian cinema. The image of a librarian in literature and cinema

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