Because You Asked: History Is Written By The People Who Bother Writing Things Down.

[seanan_mcguire]

I recently volunteered to make five detailed blog posts on things people wanted to know about the Toby universe, and provided a dedicated thread for them to make their suggestions. While these posts will not be specifically spoiler-y for published books, they will provide background material on the universe, and can be viewed as part of my functional canon. This is the third such post.

cbpotts says, "One wonders who keeps all the stories of the fae; have they historians or sociologists or a league appointed to keep track of a vaguely accurate record of everything important. It can't possibly be all word-of-mouth; there are too many people and it's too complex. So which of the Fae keep track of the rest of it?"

Ah, the fascinating life of the archivist and historian. I actually mean this—fae historians are more Indiana Jones than small-town librarian a lot of the time, since their books really can get pissed off and rewrite themselves, or turn you into stone, and sometimes, you really do lose entire libraries for three hundred years due to a don't-look-here charm gone horribly wrong. Sure, there's also a lot of time spent cataloging and filing things, but your job, really more fraught with peril than the average small-town librarian's (statement not universal to all small towns; Buckley, I'm looking at you...).

Every fae kingdom has a Library. Yes, with a capital-L; Libraries are a big, big deal. They're not affiliated with the local crown, and are instead considered neutral ground, answering only to Oberon...which means that for several hundred years now, they've been answering to nobody at all. That means that the filing has gotten a little lax, and there are a lot of uncollected overdue fines. Since the Libraries are considered neutral ground, they're often the subject of resentment from the local nobility, and with Oberon missing, that means they're also unprotected by anything beyond their own security. Most of them have gotten really picky about who they issue library cards to.

Most archivists, historians, and librarians apprentice to or even Foster with the Library itself when still young, being literally raised to the craft. Others come to it late in life, since the neutral status of the Libraries makes them the perfect place to flee for sanctuary. More than a few fae criminals have found second lives for themselves inside the Libraries, where as long as they follow the rules, they will be allowed to shelve books and transcribe manuscripts until they decide to go back outside and face the music. The Libraries are allowed to deal with their own as they see fit...which does include violations of the Law. So those who seek sanctuary with the librarians had better really, really mean it.

Traveling historians are generally considered untouchable, even by local nobles who would happily burn the Libraries themselves down if they thought they could get away with it. The fear of Oberon and his frequently rather heavy-handed enforcement of the rules hasn't gotten any weaker as time has gone by. Most historians are aware that this is a tenuous respect, and don't do anything to endanger it—basically, no one wants to be the straw that breaks the camel's back and causes the Kings and Queens to start testing the neutrality of the Libraries.

Periodically, Libraries will disappear, either due to natural disaster, someone "accidentally" dropping a match, or because they're anchored in Faerie, and Faerie is not a reliably predictable place. Sometimes they reappear again later. Other times, they don't. Some Libraries are hidden so well that they've basically disappeared, unless you know a guy who knows a guy who knows someone who has a library card. The Library in the Kingdom of the Mists is one of the missing ones; it was last seen during the reign of King Gilad. No one's really gone looking for it. Libraries are problematic, as they tend to maintain records, and records have an unpleasant habit of telling truths people don't want told.

The Library of the Kingdom of the Mists is called the House of Stars, for reasons that no one save for maybe the Librarians who work there can really explain. Assuming you can, you know, find them. The Head Librarian when the place when missing was a Puca named Magdaleana Brooke. The odds are decent that if the place still exists, she's still in charge. Without Oberon around to intervene, no new Library will be opened in the Mists to take its place.

And that's Libraries and archives. Any follow-up questions?

Comments

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

Cool.

So is working for a library one way of getting a library card?

I wonder what errands a library might want run. Or whether they don't want people associated with the library going Out because something might follow them Back.

[danceswithlife]

That was...fascinating. **ponders applying to work in a fae library**

I hope somewhere in the series we get to see fae libraries.

[archangelbeth]

*is in love with the Libraries, obviously*

[griffen.livejournal.com]

Libraries are problematic, as they tend to maintain records, and records have an unpleasant habit of telling truths people don't want told.

This? Is freaking spot-on!

[ceitfianna]

As a future librarian, I love this. These posts are a real treat.

[kitrinlu.livejournal.com]

I want to live in a Fae library! XD

[moongirli.livejournal.com]

Fantastic question and fantastic answer. (As a Librarian, I occasionally wish it was more Indiana Jones and less screaming children, but it's honestly pretty awesome as is.)

That said, what qualifies one to be a Librarian? How are they chosen, or trained, et cetera?

[bookblather.livejournal.com]

...I have a question. Where does one apply?

[sheistheweather]

I love these libraries. Brilliant.

[keristor.livejournal.com]

I really love the idea of Libraries as sanctuary, it resonates on a deep level with me. Although I suspect that the fae ones may not always be quite as quiet as a librarian might wish...

[stormsdotter.livejournal.com]

Do Bards fit into the Library complex in any way, or are they their own separate entities with their own rules?

[vincentursus.livejournal.com]

I am left thinking that the hypothetical Toby-verse RPG should include Librarians as a character class / archetype / template.

I'm also reminded of a poster with the caption "They got the Library at Alexandria, they won't get mine."

My Library Science degree is mostly unused allowing me to keep a rather romantic view of the profession.

The best job I ever had ...

[filceolaire.livejournal.com]

was the controls for the British Museum Great Court including the British Library Reading room refurbishment.

Back when Karl Marx and Sherlock Holmes used this you had to apply for a readers card which would entitle you to look at books in the Reading room but didn't let you take them out of the building.

Back then the reading room was surrounded by the book stacks - a 4 story tall labyrinth of book shelves filling the entire courtyard in the middle of the British Museum.

The Reading room is still there. We managed to make it look pretty much like it was just less smoke stained and better lit. These days it houses the British museum's library and an exhibition telling it's history. The book stacks are gone to the new British Library, in Kings Cross, and in their place the Reading room is now surrounded by the British Museum Great Court.

I see the Fae library being a bit like the old Reading room. Most of the documents are one-of-a-kind originals. You can borrow one to copy (is there a photocopier now or do you still need to employ a scribe to copy it by hand?) but you can't take it away. Actually this is sounding more like a medieval Irish monkish scriptorium. Look up the Battle of Cúl Dreimhne (561 AD) for what the monks would do if they caught you copying a book without permission.

[mythusmage.livejournal.com]

Are the libraries physically (and metaphysically) distinct entities, or do they tend to blend into each other in the further reaches of the stacks?

If the latter, has an orangutang been spotted perusing the stacks?

[phantom_wolfboy]

The reign of King Gilad was how long ago?

[drcpunk.livejournal.com]

Ever read the manga Library Wars?

[antinomic.livejournal.com]

We see the library in book 7. Oberon's domain. Hmmm, I'm now thinking management may be coming to visit. Maybe the whole Fae trinity returns? Can't have just one of them, can we? I'll bet they don't get charged for any overdue books!