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Film Resources in the BPCL

Come on up and see what we've got for film research!

What are Scripts and why are they important?

Scripts are a significant primary source for film research. The BPCL has thousands of scripts searchable by title in Library Search and browsable by local call number.  See below for more details.

Scripts

Our movie scripts are cataloged in the BGSU Libraries Catalog and you can search by movie title or browse by local call number "moviescriptsbox" to find our holdings. 

Movie Marketing

The Movie Poster Collection consists of more than 7,000 posters for popular films.  The posters range in age from 1915 to the present and are of various sizes (up to 41 x 45 in.).  All genres of film are represented, as are posters for theatrical releases, video releases, premium cable releases, and movie merchandise.  The releases of many studios, such as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 20th Century-Fox, and RKO, are represented, as are screen legends such as Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe, and Sidney Poitier.

The Movie Poster Collection is a valuable tool for researchers as it can provide a comparative view of the career of specific performers, advertising techniques employed by particular studios, and the evolution of various film genres.  The collection may be used either alone or in conjunction with the BPCL's other popular entertainment collections such as the movie scripts or press kits.

The BPCL maintains a stand-alone database of the movie posters, which is searchable by title, date of release, director, producer, cast, production company, and other fields.  Ask at the BPCL Service/Reference Desk for assistance.  To browse the collection by title, there is a binder with a full list of posters located in the BPCL Reference Area.

Compiled by Mike S. DuBose, Graduate Reference Assistant, Aug. 23, 2002.  Updated and revised by Stefanie Hunker, Aug. 2008.

Lobby cards are used in movie theaters and possibly other kinds of businesses to publicize films.  They are typically printed on heavier paper than a standard movie poster and are roughly 16" x 12" in size. They came in sets of several "cards", each with a different scene from the film on it.  Sometimes each card looked the same, but had an area for smaller black and white stills from the film, which would make up the set.  The BPCL has lobby cards from American film releases, but also from Mexican and Puerto Rican film releases, which are in our Mexican Lobby Card Collection.

Press Kits

Press kits are sets of materials that movie studios and production companies send out to theater owners, video store owners, and members of the press to advertise a movie.  The BPCL has thousands of press kits and can be searched by title in the library catalog or browsed by local number "moviepresskitsbox".  

How to Use the BPCL & What to Bring With You

  • BPCL's hours are more limited than the main floor, but we're open late on Monday and Tuesday.
  • We're an archive/repository, so most of our materials cannot be checked out.
  • Most of our collection is not open for browsing. You need to request materials at our reference desk with your university ID or a photo ID. 
  • The reference collection is open for browsing! It's one of the best places to get started with popular culture research.
  • We have a copier and a scanner available for copying/scanning materials that cannot be checked out.  There is a fee for copying, but scanning is free.