Margaret Herrick Library

Margaret Herrick Library
Name	Margaret Herrick Library
Caption	Exterior of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences headquarters housing the Margaret Herrick Library
Country	United States
Type	Special collection, research library
Established	1928 (collection); 1948 (named)
Location	Beverly Hills, California
Items collected	books, periodicals, scripts, photographs, posters, oral histories, production records
Collection size	over 10 million items

Margaret Herrick Library is the principal research library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, located in Beverly Hills, California. It supports scholarship and preservation for film and cinematic arts by maintaining extensive archival holdings that document motion picture history, film production, and the careers of filmmakers and performers. The library serves academics, authors, filmmakers, students, and the public through research services, exhibitions, and educational programs.

History

The library traces origins to the early collection efforts of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the late 1920s and expanded through donations from figures such as Mary Pickford, Charles Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Cecil B. DeMille, and Douglas Fairbanks, reflecting archival growth during Hollywood's studio era and the transition to sound. Named in 1965 for librarian and Academy executive Margaret Herrick, the institution consolidated holdings previously dispersed across Academy offices and benefitted from postwar archival initiatives associated with institutions like the Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, and British Film Institute. The library's development paralleled efforts by preservationists such as Martin Scorsese and organizations including the Film Foundation and the National Film Preservation Board to safeguard nitrate and acetate materials. Over decades, acquisitions from studios like Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, and 20th Century Fox augmented production files, while personal papers from artists including Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Greta Garbo enriched the archive.

Collections

The library's holdings encompass production records, screenplays, film stills, posters, costumes documentation, pressbooks, trade magazines, clippings, and oral histories. Significant trade periodical runs include titles such as Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Photoplay, Sight & Sound, and Cahiers du Cinéma. Personal papers and estates represented include materials from John Ford, Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman, Stanley Kubrick, John Huston, Billy Wilder, Federico Fellini, Jean-Luc Godard, Satyajit Ray, François Truffaut, and Billy Wilder. The photograph collection contains production stills and portraiture of performers like Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Josephine Baker, and Rita Hayworth. Film art and design holdings include concept drawings linked to designers such as Edith Head, Hans Dreier, and William Cameron Menzies. The script archive spans studio script departments and individual screenwriters including William Goldman, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Raymond Chandler, Paddy Chayefsky, and Nora Ephron.

Services and Access

Researchers may consult materials on-site; the library provides reference, reproduction, and research consultation services and maintains reading rooms and digitization programs. Access policies balance preservation concerns with scholarly needs, involving appointment systems, copyright clearance procedures with entities such as Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild, and image licensing coordinated with rights holders like Paramount Pictures and independent estates. The library collaborates with academic institutions including UCLA, USC School of Cinematic Arts, New York University, and international archives such as the Cinémathèque Française to facilitate interlibrary loans, fellowships, and joint digitization projects. Special services include oral history interviews modeled on initiatives from the Academy Oral History Projects and conservation referrals to laboratories experienced with cellulose nitrate preservation exemplified by the National Film Preservation Foundation.

Programs and Exhibitions

Public programming features rotating exhibitions drawn from the collection, panel discussions, screenings, and lectures that connect to cinematic anniversaries and scholarly conferences like Sundance Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and the Venice Film Festival. Past exhibitions showcased artifacts related to films such as Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Lawrence of Arabia, and The Wizard of Oz, as well as retrospectives on auteurs including Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurosawa, Federico Fellini, and Stanley Kubrick. Educational initiatives include workshops for preservationists, seminars for students affiliated with American Film Institute, and public programs partnered with museums such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Facilities and Architecture

The library is housed within the Academy’s campus in Beverly Hills near landmarks like the Dolby Theatre and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Facilities include climate-controlled stacks, a conservation lab, digitization suites, photography studios for reproduction, and secure storage for film reels and artifacts. Architectural modifications over time addressed archival standards advocated by groups like the International Federation of Film Archives and the National Archives and Records Administration to provide proper humidity and temperature control for cellulose acetate and polyester-based materials. Reading rooms and gallery spaces support public exhibitions and researcher workflows.

Notable Holdings and Special Collections

Notable holdings include production files for landmark titles such as The Godfather, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Psycho, Singin' in the Rain, Sunset Boulevard, and The Graduate. Significant personal archives contain correspondence and drafts from Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Marian Anderson (performing arts intersections), Marlene Dietrich, Elizabeth Taylor, Sidney Poitier, and Katharine Hepburn. The poster collection spans international campaigns featuring works by designers like Saul Bass, Howard Terpning, and Drew Struzan. The oral history collection documents interviews with figures including Billy Wilder, Robert Altman, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Spielberg. Special technical collections preserve camera manuals and production logs from manufacturers and studios tied to equipment by Panavision, Technicolor, and RCA Photophone.

Category:Libraries in Los Angeles County, California Category:Film archives in the United States