糖心原创

Home⇛Information Generation & Management⇛vol. 4 no. 2 (2025)

A Content Analysis of Librarians’ Image on Philippine Films and TV

Kaye H. Bela-ong | Jeneva Therese Mae S. Cercado | April R. Manabat

Discipline: liberal arts (non-specific)

 

Abstract:

Objectives. This study aims to explore the representation of librarians in Philippine films and TV shows from the 1970s to 2024 and to identify the librarian stereotypes portrayed in these materials. Methods. The study employed a quantitative content analysis of six (6) Philippine films and TV shows featuring seven (7) characters of librarians. All films and TV shows selected in the study were accessible to the researchers through the public domain or publicly available pages (e.g., YouTube) under fair use. Results. The study revealed that librarian characters in these selected Filipino films and TV shows were all female, noting that the profession is dominated by females. Results show that the majority of characters were between 30 and 50 years old and had an indeterminate marital status. However, none were married, suggesting the negative stereotype of librarians as single, unmarried, or “old maids”. The study also revealed that saying ‘shush’ is still a common line for a librarian, with most librarians wearing dull clothes most of the time, depicting uninteresting or dry characteristics. The results also showed that there were still librarian characters portrayed negatively, such as being affectionless & irritable, but there are also certain characters that have been shown in a positive light, such as being approachable, friendly, and kind. Conclusions. The overall portrayal of Philippine librarian characters revolves around the same stereotypes that exist within the media. No new librarian representations emerged in Philippine films and TV shows, thus continuing to portray the known librarian stereotype of an old maid.



References:

  1. Aldred, T., Burr, G., & Park, E. (2008). Crossing a librarian with a historian: The  image of reel archivists. Archivaria, The Journal of the Association of Canadian  Archivists, 66, 57–93. https://archivaria.ca/index.php/archivaria/article/view/13189
  2. Aquino, L. B. (2015). Portrayals of teachers in selected Filipino films. Iskomunidad.
  3. Baxter, M. (2014). Stereotype, or archetype? The librarian in popular culture.
  4. Beck, C. (1996). A “private” grievance against Dewey. American Libraries, 27(1), 62– 64.
  5. Beck, S. E., & Manuel, K. (2008). Practical research methods for librarians and  information professionals. Journal of the Medical Library Association: JMLA,  96(4), 388.
  6. Blakemore, E. (2017, December 19). The Father of Modern Libraries was a serial  Sexual Harasser. History.
  7. Boone, E. A. (1997). Holding the key to the hall of democracy, professional  education for librarianship in Toronto, 1882- 1936.
  8. Carmichael, J. V. (1992). The male librarian and the feminine image: A survey of  stereotype, status, and gender perceptions. Library and Information Science  Research 14(4), 411–446. https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/J_Carmichael_Male_1992.pdf
  9. Casil-Batang, P. G. P. (2021). Exploring gender stereotypes in 21st century  Philippine narratives. International Journal of Arts, Sciences and Education,  2(1), 61–70.
  10. de Castro, I. Jr. (2024, January 24). [ANALYSIS] Will there be a new golden age in  Philippine cinema after record-breaking MMFF?. Rappler.
  11. de Guzman, A., Custodio, S. M. B., & Garcia, M. A. P. (2007). Surfacing Filipino  school children’s images of librarians through doodling. Libri, 57(1), 9-16.
  12. Dickinson, T. E. (2003). Looking at the male librarian stereotype. The Reference  Librarian, 37(78), 97–110.
  13. Grotzinger, L. (with University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign). (1992). Ideals and  standards: The history of the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library  and Information Science, 1893-1993 (W. C. Allen & R. F. Delzell, Eds.).  [Urbana-Champaign, Ill.鈥�: The School].
  14. Helms, B. L. (2006). Reel librarians: The stereotype and technology. University of  North Carolina.
  15. Hsieh, H.-F., & Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content  analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 15(9), 1277–1288.
  16. International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. (2012). IFLA code of  ethics for librarians and other information workers (long version). 
  17. Jennings, E. (2016). The librarian stereotype: How librarians are damaging their  image and profession. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 23(1), 93–100.
  18. Lasig, C. A., Morales, V. B., Reyes, N. S. J., Garabiles, R. N., Madia, R. M., Ragasa,  J. W. L., & Reyes, M. M. (2024). Sex-disaggregated data and gender  stereotype issues in the workplace: The Nueva Ecija academic librarians’  experience. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 50(2), 102854. 
  19. Lin, C.-S., & Jeng, W. (2015). Using content analysis in LIS research: Experiences  with coding schemes construction and reliability measures. Qualitative and  Quantitative Methods in Libraries, 4(1), 87–95.
  20. Majid, S., & Haider, A. (2008). Image problem even haunts hi-tech libraries: Stereotypes associated with library and information professionals in Singapore. Slib Proceedings: New Information Perspectives, 60(3), 229–241.
  21. Mayesti, N., Salam, A., & Noviani, R. (2018). Portrayal of librarians in Indonesian  film: Visual representation of social actors. Journal of Economic & Management  Perspectives, 12(1), 594–597.
  22. Meng, Y., Sun, Y., Guan, R., Li, D., & Zhang, Z. (2017). The changing stereotypes of  librarian in Chinese movies. World Journal of Social Science Research, 4(2),  108.
  23. Onwubiko, E. C. (2022). Social perception of the image of public libraries and  librarians by users as catalyst of transformation: A survey. Library Philosophy  and Practice, 1–30. 
  24. Osman, Z. (1995, August 20). Enhancement of the library profession: An Asian  perspective—61st IFLA general conference.
  25. Pagowsky, N., & Rigby, M. (Eds.). (2014). The librarian stereotype: Deconstructing  perceptions and presentations of information work. Association of College and  Research Libraries, A division of the American Library Association.
  26. Pratt Institute Libraries. (2023). Libguides: Dewey decimal system: we need to talk  about Melvil Dewey.
  27. Riedinger, E. A. (2023). Melvil Dewey. EBSCO Research Starters. 
  28. Rudolph, M. A. (2008). Librarians in film: A changing stereotype. [Master Thesis,  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill].
  29. Reference and User Services Association. (2023). Guidelines for behavioral  performance of reference and information service providers [Text]. 
  30. Salman, S. (2024). 陌leti艧im Çal谋艧malar谋 (M. Kuyucu, Ed.). Yaz yayinlari.
  31. Seale, M. (2008). Old maids, policeman, and social rejects: Mass media  representations and public perceptions of librarians. E-JASL: The Electronic  Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship, 1–10.
  32. Spear, M. (2006, July 24). The top 10 reasons to be a librarian | ALA education &  careers.
  33. Spring, K. (2019). Shush: A creative (re)construction. Liminalities, 15(1), 1–17. 
  34. Totanes, V. (2016). Ssshhhhh! Librarians in Pinoy pop culture [PowerPoint slides].
  35. Vassilakaki, E., & Moniarou-Papaconstantinou, V. (2014). Identifying the prevailing  images in library and information science profession: Is the landscape  changing? New Library World, 115(7/8), 355–375.
  36. Walker, S., & Lawson, V. L. (1993). The librarian stereotype and the movies. The  Journal of Academic Media Librarianship, 1(1), 16–28.
  37. Wells, J. A. (2013). The female librarian in film: Has the image changed in 60 years?  School of Information Student Research Journal, 3(2).
  38. White, A. (2012). Not your ordinary librarian: Debunking the popular perceptions of  librarians. Elsevier.
  39. White, M., & Marsh, E. (2006). Content analysis: A flexible methodology. Library  Trends, 55(1), 22-45.
  40. Yeagley, B. (1999). Shelving, stamping and shushing: Librarians in the movies. Kent  State University.

Tools


Copyright © 2026  糖心原创 Exclusively distributed by