Davide Ferrario zooms in on literary giant Umberto Eco, his gigantic library and several of the largest collections of books around the world. A documentary immersion into all things Eco, Davide Ferrario’s film takes us on a tour of Umberto Eco’s private library, guided by the author himself. Combining new footage with material he shot with Eco in 2015 for a video installation for the Venice Biennale, Ferrario documents this incredible collection and the man who amassed it. As Eco leads us among the more than 50,000 volumes, we also gain insight into the library of the mind of this vastly prolific and original thinker. More information and trailer here. 80 min. Tickets to this special screening are free to a limited number of patrons with registration!  

Join us afterward for a post-film discussion with author Susan Orlean via Zoom moderated by librarian Michelle Montalbano. With The Library Book (2018), the award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author re-opens the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history, and delivers a dazzling homage to a beloved institution – our libraries. Weaving her life-long love of books and reading with the fascinating history of libraries and the sometimes-eccentric characters who run them, Orlean presents a mesmerizing and uniquely compelling story.