Monroeville library books could appear in 'Where'd You Go Bernadette'

Diane Lindsay will go to the movies this weekend to try and spot some old, vintage books.

The books, which used to belong to the Friends of the Monroeville Library, might show up in “Where’d You Go Bernadette,” a movie about a woman (Cate Blanchett) who disappears before a family trip to Antarctica.

Lindsay, the director for the Monroeville Public Library’s funding arm – Friends of the Library – said a set designer came to her in July 2017 to purchase some old books.

“He wanted some books with maps and geography, with gilt on the covers and gold lettering,” Lindsay said.

Fortunately for the set designer, Lindsay provided him with three boxes full of them, around 80 to 90 books for $175. She said the library gets old books donated to them on a regular basis with topics ranging from the Civil War to “magic and myth” books.

“He told me they might show up in a library scene, but not a public library scene. He said it was like a library room at a home. He wanted it to look like an older book reserve area of a private home,” Lindsay said.

“Where’d You Go, Bernadette” will be released Friday with select theaters showing it the night before.

The film is based on a 2012 novel by Maria Semple and stars Cate Blanchett as Bernadette Fox. Narrated by Bernadette’s 15-year-old daughter (Emma Nelson), the story follows Fox as her family tries to track her down.

Other stars include Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig, James Urbaniak, Judy Greer, Troian Bellisario, Zoe Chao and Laurence Fishburne.

Scenes were filmed in New Kensington in the summer of 2017.

Despite being set in Seattle, the movie was filmed in Pittsburgh and Vancouver, with Pittsburgh standing in for Seattle.