SPL - Films

I've always been a library-goer. There were summers of my life that I visited a library every day. There were the Wizard of Oz books when I was little, the comic books when I was in college, the American folk and blues CDs, forever will be those young adult science fiction/fantasy novels, art books, Agatha Christie, Jane Austen, oh, and of course--FILM!

The last several years I have been privy to some excellent library film and TV DVD collections, including my college library (far more BBC drama series than necessary), the community college library at "home" (any collection containing all the films of the four Marx brothers is a winner with me), and the Iowa City Public Library, which of course has a collection (film and comic books) to die for. Even the public library in my former hometown for some reason has a fine growing film collection including many foreign, indie and "art house", and documentary flicks, as well as some TV shows (such as "Kids in the Hall").

Naturally, upon moving to Spencer this summer I obtained a library card and checked out the collection of Spencer Public Library...



..only to be disappointed. They didn't have any of my favorites, if they have CDs, I don't know where they are, and their DVDs only comprise two spinning displays in the middle of the (mostly educational) VHS tapes. But I realized that I had been spoiled and any library is a blessing. It didn't take me long to find something I liked. I read Jane Austen for the first time this summer, and I read every book they had. After watching the new Miss Marple for the last couple years on PBS's Mystery!, I decided to start reading the novels (the SPL has one and a half shelves of Christie). Also, I realized that while the DVD collection wasn't what I was used to, it wasn't bad. In fact, it does include a few of my favorites, such as Dark Crystal, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and, oh yes, 9 to 5.

While poor in the foreign and indie genres, the SPL is rich in what I would categorize as "Classics", with the king of them all, Citizen Kane among them. Loads of movies starring Cary Grant, Robert Redford, and Audrey Hepburn (Breakfast at Tiffany's, Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Funny Face). Hitcock films include: North by Northwest, Dial M for Murder, and Rear Window. I also noticed they have Rocky one through five, Indiana Jones trilogy, a few Pink Panther's, and several westerns. They do possess a single Marx brother DVD: a two-disc collection of selected episodes from the Jack Benny show and Groucho's You Bet Your Life (complete with the original commercials).

There are probably several other gems that I overlooked. Definitely several films that have intended to see eventually.

So although I was a bit disappointed in the Spencer Public Library in the beginning, I've warmed up to it and I recognize that while it isn't as big as some other libraries I've used, it's still got a lot to offer and is quite nice for this community.