*Warning: this post contains spoilers of my book The Ancient Wish If you haven’t read it yet, check it out here.
Did you know that the first library was founded in 7th century BC and belonged to the Assyrian ruler Ashurbanipal? It’s located in Iraq and is said to contain some 30,000 tablets, most of which are archival documents, and the like, but there are a few works of literature including a 4000 year old text called Epic of Gilgamesh.
Most people will have set foot in some form of library, be it the one attached to your school, or the public one you claimed you were visiting to ‘study’. Nowadays all it takes is to type whatever you’re curious about into your phone, and voila! There’s your answer…or at least the answer according to the gospel of the internet.
When it came to designing the world of Abnyr where people didn’t have mobile phones to just Google what they needed, what better opportunity than to create a library of my own!
I created Bibliothecary – the lection, or library of Poel Ohneon – so Max, Peng and Hazel would have a way of learning more about the legend of Ondraj. Since the story itself had been consigned to mythical status, it made sense that there should be a place where all the books and scrolls about said legend would be available for study.
I called it Bibliothecary, because I wanted to combine the latin for book – I remember all too well having to include a bibliography at the back of my school assignments – and an apothecary – a cabinet full of tiny drawers that contain all manner of wonders and treasures. Just like a book!
I particularly focussed on the children’s area, and this came from memories of my own experiences in the local libraries when I lived in the ACT, Australia. One thing that stood out for me was the smell. It seems to exude knowledge, adventure and the means of escaping whatever else might be happening outside.
The children’s section usually housed books for ages from toddlers to teens. I vaguely remember a pile of cushions (perhaps not anymore with society’s need for sterility), or comfy seats to sit back and indulge in another world or adventure.
That’s what I wanted to emulate with Bibliothecary’s children’s are on the belvedere level being rows of shorter stacks of shelves, and plenty of space to relax with a book.
Sadly, I don’t get to visit my local library as often as I’d like, but on the odd occasion when I do, I find it a place of absolute pleasure.
Do you frequent the library often? Let me know in the comments below:
