Margaret Herrick Library

{{Infobox library

| name = Margaret Herrick Library

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| image = Academy02.jpg

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| caption = Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study, where the library is housed

| country = United States

| type = Research library

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| established = 1928

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| location = 333 S. La Cienega Boulevard
Beverly Hills, California, U.S.

| coordinates = {{coord|34.0605|-118.3767|type:landmark_region:US-CA|display=inline,title}}

| items_collected = Books, screenplays, periodicals, photographs, production records, correspondence letters, drawings, and advertising materials{{cite web |url=https://www.oscars.org/library |title=Library Homepage |website=Margaret Herrick Library |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116121537/https://www.oscars.org/library |archive-date=January 16, 2024 |access-date=May 21, 2024 |url-status=live}}

| req_to_access = Reading rooms – appointment only

| annual_circulation = On-site use only

| pop_served = Students, film historians, and industry professionals

| director = Matt Severson{{cite podcast |host=Philips, Kendall (host) |url=https://www.waer.org/podcast/pop-life/2023-05-29/paying-a-visit-to-the-margaret-herrick-library |title=Paying a Visit to the Margaret Herrick Library |series=Pop Life |website=WAER |date=May 29, 2023 |access-date=May 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529110842/https://www.waer.org/podcast/pop-life/2023-05-29/paying-a-visit-to-the-margaret-herrick-library |archive-date=May 29, 2023 |url-status=live}}

| num_employees = 70 (2021){{cite web |last=Simon |first=Lindsey |url=https://ilovelibraries.org/article/lights-camera-library-behind-scenes-motion-picture-academy-archives/ |title=Lights, Camera, Library: Behind the Scenes at the Motion Picture Academy Archives |website=I Love Libraries |publisher=American Library Association |date=April 13, 2021 |access-date=May 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413153107/https://ilovelibraries.org/article/lights-camera-library-behind-scenes-motion-picture-academy-archives/ |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |url-status=live}}

| budget = $24 million (2023){{cite web |url=https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/2023_academy_of_motion_picture_arts_and_sciences_financial_statements_final.pdf |title=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and its affiliates—Consolidated Financial Statements: Years Ended June 30, 2023 and 2022|page=4|website=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|access-date=May 21, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204141139/https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/2023_academy_of_motion_picture_arts_and_sciences_financial_statements_final.pdf|archive-date=December 4, 2023|url-status=live}}

| website = {{url|oscars.org/library}}

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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.{{cite news|last1=Lewis|first1=Hilary|title=Oscars: Who Came Up With the Name "Oscar" and More About the Statuette's History (Video)|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-who-came-up-name-774775|access-date=3 February 2016|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=18 February 2015}}{{cite video|last1=Osborne|first1=Robert|author-link=Robert Osborne|title=The Origin of Oscar|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_thW3N98cFQ|access-date=3 February 2016|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|date=17 February 2015|via=YouTube}} The library is governed by the Academy's Board of Governors.

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.{{cite web |url=https://www.oscars.org/library/collections |title=Collections |website=Margaret Herrick Library |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116224840/https://www.oscars.org/library/collections |archive-date=January 16, 2024 |access-date=May 21, 2024 |url-status=live}} 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.{{cite web |url=https://www.academymuseum.org/en/hollywood-past-and-present/margaret-herrick-library |title=Margaret Herrick Library |website=Academy Museum of Motion Pictures |access-date=May 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521175620/https://www.academymuseum.org/en/hollywood-past-and-present/margaret-herrick-library |archive-date=May 21, 2024 |url-status=live}}

Their digital collections has a curated selection of lobby cards, books, film magazines and industry publications, totaling 35,000 items.{{cite web |last=Morehart |first=Phil |url=https://ilovelibraries.org/article/academy-library-a-film-lovers-dream/ |title=Academy Library a Film-Lover's Dream |website=I Love Libraries |publisher=American Library Association |date=March 10, 2024 |access-date=May 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521193420/https://ilovelibraries.org/article/academy-library-a-film-lovers-dream/ |archive-date=May 21, 2024 |url-status=live}}

The library also collects and maintains oral histories of the industry.{{cite news|title=Spotlight: The Margaret Herrick Library in Los Angeles|url=http://www.libgig.com/herrick|access-date=4 February 2016|work=LibGig|date=2008|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011211545/http://www.libgig.com/herrick|archive-date=11 October 2008}}

History

The original research library (named the Academy Library) was established in 1928, a year after the founding of AMPAS.{{cite news|title=Margaret Herrick, Film History Trailblazer|url=http://www.oscars.org/news/margaret-herrick-film-history-trailblazer|access-date=3 February 2016|work=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|date=22 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321134018/https://ilovelibraries.org/article/margaret-herrick-academy%E2%80%99s-first-librarian|archive-date=21 March 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Margaret Herrick, The Academy's First Librarian|url=http://www.ilovelibraries.org/article/margaret-herrick-academy's-first-librarian|website=I Love Libraries|publisher=American Library Association|access-date=23 September 2013|date=30 November 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321134018/https://ilovelibraries.org/article/margaret-herrick-academy%E2%80%99s-first-librarian|archive-date=21 March 2017|url-status=dead}}

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. 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. 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.{{cite web |url=https://aframe.oscars.org/news/post/the-margaret-herrick-library-everything-to-know-before-you-visit |title=The Margaret Herrick Library: Everything To Know Before You Visit |website=A.frame |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |date=May 16, 2022 |access-date=May 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222090733/https://aframe.oscars.org/news/post/the-margaret-herrick-library-everything-to-know-before-you-visit |archive-date=February 22, 2024 |url-status=live}}

Since its inception, the Academy library had offices in the Roosevelt Hotel. 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.{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1991/02/17/oscars-brand-new-library/ |title=Oscars' Brand-New Library |work=Chicago Tribune |date=February 17, 1991 |access-date=May 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521195413/https://www.chicagotribune.com/1991/02/17/oscars-brand-new-library/ |archive-date=May 21, 2024 |url-status=live}} 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.{{cite news |last=Garcia |first=Kenneth J. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-22-me-624-story.html |title=Plant Makes Comeback as Film Library |work=Los Angeles Times |date=January 22, 1991 |access-date=May 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117192251/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-22-me-624-story.html |archive-date=January 17, 2024 |url-status=live}}

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.{{cite web |url=https://www.laconservancy.org/issues/beverly-hills-waterworks-building-fairbanks-center-motion-picture-study |title=Beverly Hills Waterworks Building / Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study |website=Los Angeles Conservancy |date=14 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114010004/https://www.laconservancy.org/issues/beverly-hills-waterworks-building-fairbanks-center-motion-picture-study |archive-date=14 November 2020 |url-status=dead}} On November 12, 1991, the library reopened at its current location, the Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study.{{Cite journal|doi=10.1080/02763915.2010.526475|title=The Margaret Herrick Library: Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences|year=2010|last1=Kinder|first1=Larry Sean|journal=Community & Junior College Libraries|volume=16|issue=4|pages=264–266|s2cid=62169148}}{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-08-10-ca-403-story.html |title=Film Library to Move |work=Los Angeles Times |date=August 10, 1990 |access-date=May 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521203056/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-08-10-ca-403-story.html |archive-date=May 21, 2024 |url-status=live}}