Arcana: Among the Spheres

The Library of All Worlds

An Overview

by Paul King

Fragments of History

"That the Library should continue as Our divine father wished, We grant that institution 20 hefts of gold per year."
   --Proclamation of King Carefree Wander in the 7th year of his reign

"In these troubled times we all must learn to cope with reduced means. I regret that the Library is no exception. While I have fought to maintain funding, there is a strong body of opinion that the Library benefits Outsiders as much as it does our people, and that it should seek moneys from other sources. Under current circumstances it is likely that there will be further reductions next year."
   --Brilliant Emerald, Treasurer of the Realm of Roundwander, second year of the Crow Regency

"If the Books of the Nine Leper Kings are not destroyed we risk a recurrence of the Plague Demon War. If they are destroyed we will have no defense if their magics are rediscovered. I propose, therefore, that the books be kept safe in the Vaults of the Library, but not made available to any unless and until they are needed."
   --Saker Crookstaff, Speaker of the Council of Sages, Library of All Worlds, year 310 of the Emerald Reign

"It has become clear that there is much knowledge in the Library that would be dangerous if it were widely known. Therefore, following the wisdom of the late Saker Crookstaff we shall identify all such works and secure them in our Vaults"
   --Vellum Scratch, Master of the Library of All Worlds, year 431 of the Emerald Reign

The Library Today

Organization

The Library of All Worlds is nominally independent of any Family, and its Master is considered almost the equal of the heads of the great families. As such, many ambitious men--realizing that they have little chance of gaining the highest positions in their families--are attracted to it. Conversely, as all seeking positions other than the most menial must swear allegiance to the Library over their own family, most families--the Scratches being a notable exception--discourage their women from joining. It is only natural then, that many holders of the highest offices in the Library are men who have married into the Scratch family.

The greatest office is the Master of the Library. The Master is accountable both to the priests of the Walker and to the Great King of Roundwander. Other than that there are no constraints on his or her power. The Master is usually--but not always--of the Scratch Family.

Under the Master there are the Steward, the Overseer of Scribes, the Chief Indexer, and the Council of Sages.

The Steward oversees the ancillary workers--cooks, carpenters, rat-catchers, guards, cleaners, and such--who keep the Library going. The Steward is often of the Host family by birth, or sometimes marriage.

The Overseer of Scribes controls the copying of the many scrolls housed in the library. The Overseer must see that new copies are made on a timely basis--sorting out priorities when necessary. Other responsibilities include seeing that the work is assigned to those with the needed skills. The Scratch Family supplies the vast majority of Scribes.

The Indexers catalogue the contents of the Library. All have memory training and have memorized a section of the catalogue. They also need knowledge of the cross-referencing system and the Library layout and organization. Finding books without the services of an Indexer is difficult at best.

The Sages handle all aspects of research. Much of the work is finding information already in the Library--sometimes writing overviews incorporating knowledge from many sources, sometimes finding new connections or new applications of the stored knowledge. The Sages also handle the assimilation of new information into the Library--assessing it for reliability, comparing it with other works on the same or related subjects and so on. The Sages have most dealings with Chamber Platinum and sometimes accompany expeditions. The Sages are lead by a Council, the members of which elect a spokesman whenever they need a single representative.

Access

The Library is open to everyone, including Strangers and Outsiders. However it is very large, it's staff have many demands on their time and it is not possible to serve everyone in the way the Librarians would wish.

Those who are prepared to pay, or whose families are patrons of the Library are treated well indeed. They will be allocated a reading room and the services of an Indexer who will find whatever documents they require. Servants will see that they are supplied with refreshments and even food if their stay is long. A scribe may also be made available to copy documents.

Those who cannot or will not pay may be made almost as welcome--at the discretion of the Librarians--though almost always such treatment is reserved for people of high status. In such cases it will often be made clear that the service could be better for only a small charge, an amount generally considered insignificant to people of such high standing.

More typically, visitors who cannot pay must wait in line for hours for access to a communal reading room, which while as well stocked as the private libraries in many realms, is nothing compared to the Library proper. They may receive grudging help from the few staff on duty, or they may not. Outsiders or those of low status usually will not. The staff are usually more concerned with preventing the visitors from stealing or damaging the books than with being of assistance.

Buildings

The main Library was built during a prosperous period when many large building projects were undertaken. It originally housed all parts of the Library, but now almost all of it is devoted to the storage of scrolls. The staff resident on the site were moved out to new buildings--first the ancillary workers, then the Scribes, and lastly the Sages and Indexers. Then the Scriptorium was constructed where most of the copying is now carried out. Finally, a block of external reading rooms was constructed, and it is here that those who cannot afford to pay for the privilege of full access to the Library go. The inconvenience of fetching scrolls from the Library proper is just one of the reasons the staff on duty is reluctant to be of any great assistance.

The Library stores its most precious scrolls in three vaults. All three are shielded against vermin and decay through death and stasis magic. They are unhealthy places to visit without magical protection, and even then it is risky to stay longer than necessary. Other scrolls are preserved by copying--with all the work and inevitable errors that implies.

The Prime Vault was the first and smallest. Only the most important documents are kept here. The magic from the later Vaults has strengthened that protecting this Vault, and visits are rare. Scrolls are only taken from here when it is necessary to replace the copy kept in the Second Vault.

When the Prime Vault filled to overflowing, a larger adjoining chamber was converted to a Vault, with similar spells of protection. Now scrolls are only taken from here when the copies in the Great Vault need to be replaced. When the Second Vault became too small, all the chambers surrounding the two earlier Vaults were completely remodeled to create the Great Vault. Scrolls are only taken from here when the copies in the main Library need replacing.

In the last century the Great Vault has become too small. There has been talk of building a fourth Vault. However that would take much space from the rest of the Library, would entail great cost and would cause much disruption of the Library's ordinary business. For that reason so far there has been no more than talk.

Joining the Library

There is no great obstacle to joining as a servant or ancillary worker except for the higher status positions. There is some reluctance to employ Strangers or Outsiders, especially in more sensitive roles, but no official policy on the matter. Servants are not paid well but the Library does offer training in basic literacy--after work hours--and, after a probationary period, free access to the external reading rooms when not on duty.

Joining the Scribes is more difficult for anyone not born to the Scratch family. If there should be a vacancy the candidate must be capable of reading and writing quickly and accurately. Additional skills such as knowledge of unusual scripts, calligraphy, or illustration are of use, and an exceptional candidate should have no trouble in obtaining a position.

The Indexers prefer young recruits who can be trained to their requirements. Occasionally a Scribe who shows the right talents may be recruited. It is all but unheard of for Strangers or Outsiders to become Indexers.

The Sages recruit more liberally. While joining as a student is restricted to residents of Roundwander, men and women of learning may be offered a chance to join if the Council of Sages feel that they have something to offer. Even then there is suspicion of Strangers and Outsiders and they will only be allowed to join if they can convince the Council that they can be trusted.

Chamber Platinum, while not strictly speaking part of the Library proper, has much more liberal recruitment policies--especially for those who are capable of spherewalking. They must be seen to be of good character or vouched for by someone trusted by the Sages who organize the Chamber. Members of proven loyalty are often granted privileged access to the Library. On retirement--especially retirement due to injury--trusted members may be offered a suitable position in the Library itself. Most of the few Outsiders in the Library have joined through this route, usually as Sages--and often spending some time supervising the Chamber.

The Library of All Worlds copyright © 1999 Paul King, used with permission.