How would you figure out what a 1940s Los Angeles gas station looked like? What about a Roman gladiator’s helmet or the inside of a Cold War era submarine? When filmmakers have sought to recreate a bygone era, they have traditionally turned to research libraries housed by the major Hollywood studios to understand the nuances of that era or a particular historical moment. In the early days of Hollywood every major studio maintained its own research library, however in the digital age when research can be conducted from any office, there are increasingly fewer film research libraries.
The Harold and Lillian Michelson Library, which has existed for over 50 years, was recently profiled by the Los Angeles Times as a storied Hollywood institution that has struggled to find a home for its collection. The Michelson Library was started in 1969 by Lillian Michelson, who was married to storyboard artist Harold Michelson, and was profiled in the 2015 documentary “Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story.” The library has been moved around Hollywood over the years, residing in a half dozen locations, but over the past five years has resided in a climate-controlled warehouse while a permanent home is sought. The collection has grown to encompass 1,594 boxes packed with approximately10,000 rare and historic books and periodicals; 30,000 photographs (architectural, set decoration, prop and set stills); and another 6,000 historic film memorabilia, including clip files, sketches, set drafts and production notebooks. The Michelson Library served as a working resource for directors, art directors, production designers and prop masters. Over the years, research conducted by Lillian Michelson was used for a wide variety of films, including “The Birds,” “Rosemary’s Baby,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Reds,” “Scarface,” “The Hunt for Red October” and “Full Metal Jacket.”
The challenge for the Michelson Library, and research libraries like it, is that the internet has changed user expectations about how quickly research queries should be answered. What once took a few days is now expected within minutes. Chuck Parker, the national executive director of the Art Directors Guild (also known as International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 800), noted that nobody has a place anymore for a brick and mortar research library. As Parker put it: “What we need is an angel to come in and finance the digitization of her collection and collections like it and make it keyword searchable.”