Libraries and librarians in fiction
Libraries and librarians are recurring elements in fiction.[1] Below is a list of notable fictional literary works, films and television episodes that are either set, either wholly or partially, in a library or in which a librarian features prominently. The year refers to the original release date of the work.
Books and comics
(Alphabetized by author's surname)
- In Hiro Arikawa's Japanese light novel series Toshokan Sensō (2006-ongoing) (also the title of the series' first book), the Japanese government enacts a sweeping censorship law, which spawns a decades-long conflict with forces seeking to protect libraries.
- Jorge Luis Borges' short story, "The Library of Babel" (1941), depicts a universe consisting of a library of hexagonal rooms.
- In Ray Bradbury's science fiction novel, Fahrenheit 451 (1953), books are outlawed and some rebels fight back by memorizing works, making themselves living libraries.
- Jen Swann Downey's The Ninja Librarian book series, which begins with The Ninja Librarians: The Accidental Keyhand (2014), follows a sword-wielding girl who apprentices herself to a secret society of warrior librarians whose job it is to protect writers from getting in trouble for the viewpoints and ideas they publish.
- Umberto Eco's first novel, The Name of the Rose (1980), is a murder mystery revolving around the existence of a book in the library of a Benedictine monastery.
- Stephen King's novella, The Library Policeman (September 1990[2]), is synopsized at King's official website as follows: "When a man forgets to return some books he borrowed from the library while writing a speech, and later accidentally destroys them, the phantom librarian who lent him the books sends the library policemen to terrorize him".[3]
- In Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, The Librarian of the Unseen University is a recurring character that first appears in 1983.
- Brandon Sanderson's young adult comic novel Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (2007) is the first in a series about a young teen with an unusual skill, who finds himself battling against a cult of evil librarians who secretly rule the world.
Films
(Alphabetical by series or title)
- Desk Set (1957) stars Katharine Hepburn as the head of a reference library; she and her staff are seemingly threatened with replacement by an early computer invented by Spencer Tracy's character
- Doctor Strange (2016) features the Kamar-Taj library, which houses ancient books about powerful magical lore.
- Fahrenheit 451 (1966), an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's book (see above)
- Harry Potter films (listed chronologically):
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), notably featured Hogwarts Library
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), features Hogwarts Library
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), features Hogwarts Library
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), featured Hogwarts Library
- The Breakfast Club (1985), five high school students serve a Saturday detention in the school's library
- The Day After Tomorrow (2004), a group of people takes shelter from sudden freezing cold in the New York Public Library, burning books to keep warm
- Shadow Man (2006), starring Steven Seagal, closes with a shootout at a central library
- The Librarian films (listed chronologically):
- The Librarian: Quest for the Spear (2004), a young man is hired as a librarian, which job entails protecting the historical, and often magical, contents of a secret section of the library
- The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines (2006)
- The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice (2008)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), Gandalf travels to Gondor to research in Lord Denethor's Library the Ring in Bilbo's possession
- The Name of the Rose (1986), an adaptation of Umberto Eco's novel (see above)
- The Time Machine (2002), a film adaptation of H. G. Wells's novel, features a holographic artificial intelligence librarian at the New York Public Library in the year 2030 and afterwards
Games
(Alphabetized by series or title)
- Touhou Project (2003-present), also known as Project Shrine Maiden, is a series of Japanese bullet hell shooter video games developed by the single-person Team Shanghai Alice that features at least two libraries: a private library inside the Scarlet Devil Mansion, owned by Pautcholi Knowledge, and a book store set inside the Human village of Gensokyou, Suzunaan, which sells books with an option of borrowing them for a small fee.
Television
(Alphabetical by series, then chronological by episode)
- The Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2001) character, librarian Rupert Giles, serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure; beneath the school library lies a secret gateway to the demon realms
- In the Doctor Who episode "Silence in the Library" (2008), Donna Noble and Tenth Doctor visit a planet which is a 51st-century book repository simply called "The Library"
- In the Doctor Who episode "The Eleventh Hour" (2010), the TARDIS swimming pool is said to be in the library
- In the Doctor Who episode "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" (2013), Clara visits the TARDIS library
- In Game of Thrones, several libraries figure prominently: in Oldtown at The Citadel, maintained by maesters; in King's Landing at the Red Keep, maintained by septons; at Winterfell (where in the season 8 "Battle of Winterfell", Arya Stark is stalked by wights), maintained by House Stark's maestre; and at the Wall at Castle Black, maintained by Maester Aemon Targaryen of the Night's Watch; additionally, Shireen Baratheon uses books from her collection at Dragonstone to teach the imprisoned Davos Seaworth to read
- The Inspector Morse episode "Twilight of the Gods" (1993), featured the Bodleian Library
- In Last of the Summer Wine (1973–2010), a Yorkshire local library was a regular feature on this longest-running comedy programme in Britain, especially in the show's early years (1973–1976), and again in the show's final years (2003–2010)
- In Person of Interest seasons 1 through 3 (2011), the enigmatic billionaire Harold Finch operates secretly from within an abandoned library.
- In the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "All Our Yesterdays" (1969), Captain Kirk, McCoy, and Spock are transported back in time by the sole remaining inhabitant of a doomed planet: the librarian Mr. Atoz
- In the Stranger Things (2016-2017), in the third episode of both seasons 1 and 2, the librarian of the Hawkins Public Library helps characters research information
- The Librarians (2014-2018) is a continuation of The Librarian film series
- In The Twilight Zone episode "The Obsolete Man" (1961), a totalitarian state, having banned books, sentences a librarian to death for the crime of being obsolete
gollark: That reminds me of the excellent security of my school's computer science exams.
gollark: Inasmuch as people like sending data over USB.
gollark: That just isolates the data lines doesn't it? Not a very good general solution.
gollark: The obvious solution is to make all devices have expensive USB power surge regulation hardware.
gollark: If you want to make them not think that then (mistake-theoretically) try and update their data or (conflict-theoretically) do enemy things.
See also
References
- The Library World. 6. Library Supply Company. 1904. pp. 126–130.
- "Written Works - A to Z: The Library Police (First published September 1990)". StephenKing.com.
- King, Stephen. "The Library Policeman Synopsis". StephenKing.com.
Further reading
- Burns, Grant (1998). Librarians in Fiction. McFarland. ISBN 0786483164. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- Flood, Alison (31 July 2014). "Libraries in fiction quiz – test your shelf knowledge". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- Gunn, James. "Libraries in Science Fiction". Gunn Center For the Study of Science Fiction. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
- New Library World. 26. Library Supply Company. 1924.
- Stevens, Norman D. (1986). A Guide to Collecting Librariana. Scarecrow Press. pp. 57–60. ISBN 0810818744.
- The Library Association Record. 20. Library Association. 1920. pp. 186, 210–.
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