Imagining information retrieval in the library: Desk Set in historical context

In the 1950s, a computer that could hold the contents of a library, retrieve facts and formulate questions was laughable to many. The 1957 movie "Desk Set" accurately mirrored the way ordinary citizens perceived computers and their possible consequences. On another level, the film's focus on libraries was an ideal juxtaposition of humans' intellectual capacity with machines' processing capacity.