Alcatraz infiltrates a library and breaks everything.

Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson is the sort of book that is super terrific but you have trouble explaining to your friends.  Here is the blurb from Sanderson’s website.  

 

On his 13th birthday, Alcatraz, a foster child, gets a bag of sand in the mail which purports to be his “inheritance” sent from his father and mother. The Librarians, of course, immediately steal the bag of sand from him. This sparks a chain of events which leads Alcatraz to realize that his family is part of a group of freedom fighters who resist the Evil Librarians—the secret cult who actually rule the world. Alcatraz’s grandfather shows up and tows him off to infiltrate the downtown library to steal back the mystical bag of sand. The ensuing story involves talking dinosaurs, sentient romance novels, and a dungeon-like labyrinth hiding beneath the innocent-looking downtown library.

 

Why I love this book:

• It’s hilarious and creative.
• Eyeglasses play a prominent role in the story, and they are my favorite symbol in literature.
• The role reversal of having librarians that are evil is so, just, totally opposite from what we really are. Really.

How to Commemorate: 

• Visit a library
• Break/destroy something (it's a superpower)
• Arrive late for something (it's also a superpower)
• Dance badly (yep, still a superpower)
• Name something after a prison (because... well, you'll find out)

Gandalf goes to the library at Minas Tirith

Celebrating National Library Week, here is one in a series about how a library changed a fictional world.

In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf suspects that Bilbo’s handy invisibility ring is in fact the (gasp!) Ring of Power worn by Sauron who used it to almost conquered Middle Earth.  But Gandalf wants to be sure.  So, like a good wizard, he does his research.  He goes to the library.

Gandalf leaves Frodo to find out about the ring and returns nine years later (in the book).  (In the movie he returns in time to miss all the action and just catch up with the hobbits in Rivendell.) During those nine years of researching, he eventually winds up in the archives at Minas Tirith (aka the White City, the one with the very epic battle in the final movie).  Denethor begrudgingly gives Gandalf access to the scrolls and books, and that, my friends, is where Gandalf learns the world-changing truth in Isildore’s description of the Ring. The library!

When I watch the movie version, my librarian heart shares the thrill of research to see Gandalf in the archive, but my librarian heart also quavers because he is smoking his pipe in there. Smoking! Next to all the paper!!

Anyway, just think--proper Library Science could have saved Middle Earth!  Well... sooner.

How to Commemorate:

• Visit a library.
• Wear an extra ring.
• Stroke prized possessions, calling them "My Precious"

Buffy Meets Giles in the Sunnydale High School Library

Buffy Summers did not have a good history with schools, being the Slayer and all.  But when her mom moved to Sunnydale and enrolled Buffy for classes, Buffy got to meet her new Watcher, Rupert Giles.  And where was their central headquarters for training and for marshaling the fight against the forces of darkness?  The Library!

Confession: Giles is my favorite fictional librarian.  Yes, I have a list.

My favorite Giles quote: "Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower, or a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell musty and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer is a... it, uh, it has no texture, no context. It's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then the getting of knowledge should be tangible. It should be... smelly."

Thank you, Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

How to Commemorate:

• Visit a library
• Carry a cross with you (and maybe a wooden stick)
• Patrol the neighborhood after dark
• Slay a vampire.  You know, if you get the chance.

 

Gandalf learns the truth about the One Ring in the archive at Minas Tirith

In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf suspects that Bilbo’s handy invisibility ring is in fact the (gasp!) Ring of Power worn by Sauron who used it to almost conquered Middle Earth.  But Gandalf wants to be sure.  So, like a good wizard, he does his research.  He leaves instructions with Frodo

Gandalf leaves Frodo to find out about the ring and returns nine years later (in the book).  (In the movie he returns in time to miss all the action and just catch up with the hobbits in Rivendell.) During those nine years of researching, he eventually winds up in the archives at Minas Tirith (aka the White City, the one with the very epic battle in the final movie).  Denethor begrudgingly gives Gandalf access to the scrolls and books, and that, my friends, is where Gandalf learns the world-changing truth in Isildore’s description of the Ring. 

When I watch the movie version, my librarian heart shares the thrill of research to see Gandalf in the archive, but my librarian heart also quavers because he is smoking his pipe in there. Smoking! Next to all the paper!!) 

Anyway, just think--proper Library Science could have saved Middle Earth!

How to Commemorate:

• Visit a library 
• Wear an extra ring
• Stroke prized possessions, calling them "My Precious"