Film Number

12186

Title

80,000 BOOKS

Producer

Jack Dempsey

Date

1950s

Gauge

std8mm

Colour

b/w

Sound

silent

Running Time

14 mins 54 secs

Description

This film is about Fulwood Branch Library, the 80,000 books in the title refers to the fact that the Fulwood branch issued 80,000 books a year. In this film we see the library staff at work. They unpack new books from crates, prepare them for the shelves and later we see books being issued to library users. We see the staff at work shelving and doing various tasks around the library. We see the library users browsing the shelves and taking out books. The film shows us the full range of books on offer to demonstrate that there is something to suit everybody's taste, and we also see the children's library. We are shown the practical uses of the books. For example, we see cookery books, and then we see a lady in her kitchen at home using the book for recipes. There are similar scenes of people using the books to instruct them in gardening, decorating, bicycle maintenance, sewing, embroidery, crafts, tennis and cricket. We are shown the quick reference service, where people can telephone the library staff, who will look up information for them and relay it over the telephone. We also see various members of the Dempsey family at home enjoying their books.