The Librarian (Discworld)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Characters from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series |
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| Character details | |
| Full name: | The Librarian (formerly Dr. Horace Worblehat) |
| Description: | A large male orangutan |
| Associations: | Unseen University, Rincewind |
| Location: | The library of Unseen University; L-space |
| Story appearances | |
| First seen: | The Light Fantastic |
| Also in: | Mort (cameo), Sourcery, Guards! Guards!, Moving Pictures, Small Gods, Lords and Ladies, Men At Arms, Soul Music, Interesting Times, Maskerade, Hogfather, The Last Continent, The Last Hero, Night Watch, Thud!, Discworld (computer game) |
| Other details | |
| Notes: | Reacts violently if referred to as a "monkey", though his vengeance can be subtly brought |
The Librarian of Unseen University is one of the most popular characters in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels, to the extent where pin badges bearing the legend Librarians rule Ook are now available. The character appears or is mentioned in most books in the series.
The origin of the Librarian may have come about because of a sketch in an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus, where administrators are interviewing a gorilla named Mr. Phelps for a job as a librarian, but discover he's just a man in a costume.[citation needed] It is also rumoured[citation needed] that the Librarian is based on a small book shop owner from Lancaster, England. Pratchett, however, says he just needed to turn a librarian into something funny, and an orangutan came to mind.[citation needed]
[edit] Fictional history
The Librarian first appeared in the second novel of the series, The Light Fantastic, in which he was transformed into an orangutan as a side effect of a powerful magic spell. Discovering that being an orangutan has certain advantages for a librarian, he refused to be transformed back into a human, and has remained an orangutan ever since. Most of the grimoires are highly dangerous to people, and sometimes the books even consume them, but the Librarian is no person, and he no longer requires a ladder to reach those tricky high-up shelves. He retained his position as librarian despite his condition because "he's the only one who knows where all the books are" and the fact that he could screw a man's head off with his feet. The other wizards have gradually become used to the situation, to the extent that "if someone ever reported that there was an orangutan in the Library, the wizards would probably go and ask the Librarian if he'd seen it." (Night Watch).
The Librarian is known for his violent reaction whenever he hears anyone refer to him as a "monkey" (orangutans are apes). He speaks an elaborate language whose vocabulary consists of two words; Ook and Eek. Nonetheless, most people seem to be able to understand him.
The Librarian's actual name has never been given in any of the books; he is always simply "the Librarian". If the Librarian's true name were known, he could be changed back into a human, and he has carefully excised his name from the records of the University (since he has special access). The Discworld Companion hints that he may once have been Dr. Horace Worblehat, which goes a long way to explaining why he's happier as an orangutan than as a human. The Art of Discworld confirms that the Librarian was indeed Dr. Horace Worblehat, and that his fears of turning back into human are baseless at most - although with such a name, one could only surmise that he has a past to which he doesn't want to go back.
The Librarian served a brief stint in the city watch during the reign of terror caused by the dragon of Ankh-Morpork, where he helped to rescue Sam Vimes from the Patrician's cell. He retained an honorary position with the Watch, and is considered to be one of the first members of the 'Specials' - the Ankh-Morpork City Militia (Thud!). He also used the Librarianic ability of travelling through L-Space (the extradimensional space that connects all libraries and other large accumulations of books) to save books from the great library of Ephebe in Small Gods. In Soul Music, he joined the Band with Rocks In since his large hands and wide reach make him an excellent organ player, though he did leave before they became famous.
The Librarian is a member of a small elite group of senior librarians, who have the knowledge and ability to travel through L-space. The very strict rules that members of these group are pledged to enforce are:
- Silence.
- Books must be returned no later than the date shown.
- Do not meddle with the nature of causality.
(Of course, the Librarian has been known to break both the first and third rules on occasion, but he is adamant about the second).
He has become a part of Discworld language, in that to go "Librarian-poo" means to go insane (a not-so-subtle reference to Going apeshit).
