Top Ten Films featuring Libraries, Librarians and the Book Arts
Compiled by Steven J. Schmidt
IUPUI University Library

Salmonberries (Pelemele Film, 1991) Rated: R

Director: Percy Adlon.
Screenplay: Felix O. Adlon, Percy Adlon.
Cast: Rosel Zech, k.d. lang, Chuck Connors, Oscar Kawagley, Eugene Omiak.

Storyline: Kotzebue (Lang) is an androgynous Alaskan pipeline worker, who goes to the public library to find out who her parents were. The librarian, Roswitha (Zech), is an East German immigrant who lost her husband while escaping from behind the Iron Curtain. Roswitha befriends the young woman, and the relationship evolves into a deep friendship with strong lesbian overtones. When they first meet, Kotzebue throws books to attract Roswitha’s attention and leaves gifts on her doorstep. At first Roswitha mistakes her admirer for a man, insulting Kotzebue, so she strips in the library to prove that she is a woman. Together they help each other find closure in their past. Salmonberries is a moving and unexpected love story about two lost souls coming together.

Library focus: This film is one of the few to depict the librarian as a full and well-rounded person. The relationship between Roswitha and Kotzebue hinges on both her role as a librarian and on her personality. All in all, this is a portrait of a knowledgeable, competent and committed professional, even if she is bad-tempered at times.


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