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.

In print

• 1941 - "The Library of Babel", a short story by Jorge Luis Borges, depicts a universe consisting of a library of hexagonal rooms.
• 1953 - Fahrenheit 451. In Ray Bradbury's science fiction novel, books are outlawed. Some rebels fight back by memorizing works, making themselves living libraries.
• 1980 - The Name of the Rose. Umberto Eco's first novel is a murder mystery revolving around an abbey's library.
• 1983 (first appearance) - The Librarian of the Unseen University is a recurring character in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.
• 2006 (ongoing) - Toshokan Sensō is a Japanese light novel series by Hiro Arikawa (and the title of the first book in the series). When the Japanese government enacts a sweeping censorship law, a decades-long conflict ensues with forces seeking to protect libraries.
• 2007 - Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians. The first in Brandon Sanderson's series of young adult comic novels about a young teen with an unusual skill who finds himself battling against a cult of evil librarians who secretly rule the world.

Films

• 1957 - Desk Set 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.
• 1966 - Fahrenheit 451, an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's book (see above).
• 1985 - The Breakfast Club. Five high school students serve a Saturday detention in the school's library.
• 1986 - The Name of the Rose, an adaptation of Eco's novel (see above).
• 2004 - The Day After Tomorrow. A group of people take shelter from sudden freezing cold in the New York Public Library, burning books to keep warm.
• 2004 - The Librarian: Quest for the Spear. A young man is hired as a librarian; the job entails protecting the historical, and often magical, contents of a secret section of the library.
• 2006 - The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines
• 2008 - The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice

Television

• 1961 - The Twilight Zone episode "The Obsolete Man". A totalitarian state, having banned books, pronounces a death sentence on a librarian for the crime of being obsolete.
• 1969 - Star Trek: The Original Series episode "All Our Yesterdays". Captain Kirk, McCoy and Spock are transported back in time by the sole remaining inhabitant of a doomed planet: the librarian Mr. Atoz.
• 1997 - In the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Rupert Giles, a librarian, serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure.

See also

• List of fictional librarians

References

• Burns, Grant (1998). "Librarians in Fiction". McFarland. ISBN 0786483164. Retrieved 28 March 2015. 
• Gunn, James. "Libraries in Science Fiction". Retrieved April 8, 2015. 
• Stevens, Norman D. (1986). "A Guide to Collecting Librariana". Scarecrow Press. pp. 57–60. ISBN 0810818744. 
• "The Library Association Record". Volume 20. Library Association. 1920. pp. 186, 210–. 
• "New Library World". Library Supply Company. 1924. 

Further reading

• Flood, Alison (31 July 2014). "Libraries in fiction quiz – test your shelf knowledge". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 March 2015.  CS1 maint: Date and year (link)