OXFORD, Miss. – Films are being introduced more and more to
augment printed material in studies across the academic
spectrum, and as with all library materials, identifying
and making accessible the most desirable film titles is
often challenging.
This task at the University of Mississippi’s John D.
Williams Library falls in part to Michelle Emanuel, catalog
librarian and assistant professor, who continuously
explores avenues to help ensure that faculty and students
are well-served. In her efforts, Emanuel applied for and
has been chosen to receive a $3,000 grant to survey major
film libraries in the Paris region to analyze and evaluate
the collections and services provided to visiting
scholars.
As recipient of the 2008 Association of College and
Research Libraries Western European Studies Section Coutts
Nijhoff International West European Specialist Study Grant,
Emanuel is scheduled to study in Paris for two weeks in
September.
“The growing importance of film studies in many academic
fields, as well as the challenges of identifying and
accessing a full range of relevant primary and secondary
research materials, suggest that Dr. Emanuel’s timely
survey of Parisian resource centers will provide valuable
guidance for librarians and for the students and faculty
they serve,” said Bryan Skib, collection development
officer at the University of Michigan Libraries and award
chair of the grant selection committee.
“This is a wonderful research opportunity for Michelle; the
results of her research will be beneficial not only to our
library but also to other academic libraries with serious
interest in film collection development,” said Julia
Rholes, UM dean of libraries.
She is slated to be awarded the check and a plaque June 30
at the WESS general membership meeting during the 2008
American Library Association Annual Conference in Anaheim,
Calif.
The award will enable Emanuel to combine several of her
interests into one topic while venturing into a new field
of research.
“I’ve always been interested in film and film studies, and
in my work here, I wear a number of hats, including that of
media cataloger,” Emanuel said. “So, I work with films all
day, and as subject selector for the Department of Modern
Languages, I frequently recommend the purchase of foreign
films for the library’s collection.”
While in Anaheim, Emanuel said she plans “to spend a few
days before the conference using the film library at UCLA,
at the suggestion of the WESS committee, so as to anchor my
study in Paris with a comparison of what film resources are
available at American libraries.”
The grant covers airfare, transportation in Europe and
lodging and board for up to 14 days. The primary criterion
for the award is the significance and utility of the
proposed project as a contribution to the study of the
acquisition, organization or use of library materials from
or relating to Western Europe.
“I’m very excited that I will be able to return to Paris
for the first time since 2004, when I was doing research on
my book on Leo Malet, which was a revision of my
dissertation.”
Emanuel earned her Ph.D. in French and her master’s in
library science from the University of Alabama. She has
been a co-director of the Oxford Film Festival since 2005
and a volunteer since the festival began five years ago.
ACRL is a division of the American Library Association
representing 13,000 academic and research librarians and
interested individuals. It is the only individual
membership organization in North America that develops
programs, products and services to meet the unique needs of
academic and research librarians.
Coutts Nijhoff International is the European books division
of Coutts Information Services, the international book and
eBook service provider to academic libraries and
information organizations.
To learn more about the J.D. Williams Library, go to