The abstract of this article reads as follows:
The news media, television, and nonfiction and fiction books all disseminate and perpetuate many stereotypes of the archival profession. This article is a study of the images of archives and archivists based on a reading of 128 novels. It is divided into four parts: how authors define the term “archives,” perceptions of the archivists themselves, the issues of dust and the images of death regularly associated with archives, and the importance of archives and archival holdings. The images of archives and archival work presented in these books are discussed in the context of archivists’ long-standing concern about their professional image.
In addition to this groundbreaking work, seekers of novels featuring archivists might also want to see author Schmuland’s library in Librarything: https://www.librarything.com/profile/aschmuland
As she writes there: “This is effectively my current bibliography of fictional material with archival references.” This list updates the 1999 listing at least until 2006.
Keeping (and Telling) the Past 