The Library of Babel: Difference between revisions

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* The book ''[[The City of Dreaming Books]]'' by German author [[Walter Moers]] takes place in the city of Bookholm. On the surface, you can buy nearly every book in existence. But in the catacombes below, if you are able to survive long enough, you can find everything ever written. Somewhere.
* The book ''[[The City of Dreaming Books]]'' by German author [[Walter Moers]] takes place in the city of Bookholm. On the surface, you can buy nearly every book in existence. But in the catacombes below, if you are able to survive long enough, you can find everything ever written. Somewhere.
* In ''[[Magnus]]'', the Library of Dragylon, Lucifer's fortress, is described thus:
* In ''[[Magnus]]'', the Library of Dragylon, Lucifer's fortress, is described thus:
{{quote| ''Lucifer walked slowly along the surface of the library's dark aisle of ethereal water that was connected to cosmic engines located at Dragylon's core. His jewel-encrusted wings fluttered behind him like the robes of a scholar while he glanced at the towering bookcases to the left and right of him. He strode through shafts of light descending down from the sphere's atmos­phere through certain panels that were open on each side of the library's vaulted roof, eyes flashing brightly each time he passed through the pockets of thick shadows, the darkness consuming all but the muscled outline of his golden form like a solar eclipse. The library consisted of rolled scrolls of ivory parchment stuffed into open sleeves, with each sleeve stacked on top of one another on the shelves. Small flaming symbols of angelic and cherubic origin hovered in the space of each sleeve's open circle, serving as a coded filing system created by his scribe Medius. Lucifer's own voice whispered at him from behind the scrolls' fiery symbols as he walked past them, swirling around him in cosmic drafts of devilish diatribes and prideful proclamations.''}}
{{quote|''Lucifer walked slowly along the surface of the library's dark aisle of ethereal water that was connected to cosmic engines located at Dragylon's core. His jewel-encrusted wings fluttered behind him like the robes of a scholar while he glanced at the towering bookcases to the left and right of him. He strode through shafts of light descending down from the sphere's atmos­phere through certain panels that were open on each side of the library's vaulted roof, eyes flashing brightly each time he passed through the pockets of thick shadows, the darkness consuming all but the muscled outline of his golden form like a solar eclipse. The library consisted of rolled scrolls of ivory parchment stuffed into open sleeves, with each sleeve stacked on top of one another on the shelves. Small flaming symbols of angelic and cherubic origin hovered in the space of each sleeve's open circle, serving as a coded filing system created by his scribe Medius. Lucifer's own voice whispered at him from behind the scrolls' fiery symbols as he walked past them, swirling around him in cosmic drafts of devilish diatribes and prideful proclamations.''}}
* The Galactic Library on Trantor, from [[Isaac Asimov]]'s ''[[Foundation]]'' series, should count. {{spoiler|At least until it's sacked.}} Add in the 'finished' copy of the Encyclopedia Galactica which is used to 'provide' the chapter quotes, as the Encyclopedia project is intended as a compendium of human knowledge so it won't be forgotten, too.
* The Galactic Library on Trantor, from [[Isaac Asimov]]'s ''[[Foundation]]'' series, should count. {{spoiler|At least until it's sacked.}} Add in the 'finished' copy of the Encyclopedia Galactica which is used to 'provide' the chapter quotes, as the Encyclopedia project is intended as a compendium of human knowledge so it won't be forgotten, too.
* The Clayr's Great Library in Garth Nix's ''[[The Old Kingdom]]'' series, which first shows up in ''Lirael'', is under a mountain and doesn't limit itself to just books: odds and ends like sealed Free Magic beings and chambers large enough that it takes ten minutes to walk through them that contain only a pond, a tree, loads and loads of flowers and a fake sky (this is undergrounds, remember?) are hidden here and there. Working in the library is apparently dangerous enough that whole parties of armed librarians are required for trips into the lower levels, and all librarians are required to have various weapons as well as a whistle and a clockwork mouse that will raise an alarm in case of emergencies on their person. Oddly subverted in that the sheer volume of ''stuff'' in the library makes it quite difficult to find what you are really looking for when you need it and very easy to stumble upon things that should have stayed lost.
* The Clayr's Great Library in Garth Nix's ''[[The Old Kingdom]]'' series, which first shows up in ''Lirael'', is under a mountain and doesn't limit itself to just books: odds and ends like sealed Free Magic beings and chambers large enough that it takes ten minutes to walk through them that contain only a pond, a tree, loads and loads of flowers and a fake sky (this is undergrounds, remember?) are hidden here and there. Working in the library is apparently dangerous enough that whole parties of armed librarians are required for trips into the lower levels, and all librarians are required to have various weapons as well as a whistle and a clockwork mouse that will raise an alarm in case of emergencies on their person. Oddly subverted in that the sheer volume of ''stuff'' in the library makes it quite difficult to find what you are really looking for when you need it and very easy to stumble upon things that should have stayed lost.
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* The Gaia Library in ''[[Kamen Rider Double]]'' is a neverending white void filled with bookshelves that only Philip can access. However, its function is more like a Search Engine of Babel as Philip needs keywords before he can get any of the information he needs.
* The Gaia Library in ''[[Kamen Rider Double]]'' is a neverending white void filled with bookshelves that only Philip can access. However, its function is more like a Search Engine of Babel as Philip needs keywords before he can get any of the information he needs.
* ''[[Warehouse 13]]'': Myka discovers that the eponymous [[Secret Government Warehouse|Warehouse]] also holds a massive library containing first editions of everything ever printed.
* ''[[Warehouse 13]]'': Myka discovers that the eponymous [[Secret Government Warehouse|Warehouse]] also holds a massive library containing first editions of everything ever printed.
{{quote| '''Pete:''' Does that include comic books?}}
{{quote|'''Pete:''' Does that include comic books?}}




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== Western Animation ==
== Western Animation ==
* "The Library" in the desert in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' whose supernatural librarian, Wan Shi Tong, keeps humans outside because they [[Humans Are Bastards|have an annoying tendency to abuse his knowledge.]] The protagonists, after promising Wan Shi Tong that they were not going in the library with malicious intent, go up to the observatory and find the next eclipse - but only because they're planning to launch an attack. Long story short, Wan Shi Tong overhears them and gets [[Berserk Button|very,]] [[Unstoppable Rage|very]] [[One-Winged Angel|mad]].
* "The Library" in the desert in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' whose supernatural librarian, Wan Shi Tong, keeps humans outside because they [[Humans Are Bastards|have an annoying tendency to abuse his knowledge.]] The protagonists, after promising Wan Shi Tong that they were not going in the library with malicious intent, go up to the observatory and find the next eclipse - but only because they're planning to launch an attack. Long story short, Wan Shi Tong overhears them and gets [[Berserk Button|very,]] [[Unstoppable Rage|very]] [[One-Winged Angel|mad]].
{{quote| "If you're going to lie to an all-knowing Knowledge-Spirit, you should at least put some effort into it."}}
{{quote|"If you're going to lie to an all-knowing Knowledge-Spirit, you should at least put some effort into it."}}
* ''[[Futurama]]'': in "The Why of Fry" the Brain Spawn are constructing a database of all the knowledge in the universe, and once it's full, they plan to destroy the universe to make sure no new knowledge appears. In Fry's own words, "[[It's Personal|Now it's personal.]]"
* ''[[Futurama]]'': in "The Why of Fry" the Brain Spawn are constructing a database of all the knowledge in the universe, and once it's full, they plan to destroy the universe to make sure no new knowledge appears. In Fry's own words, "[[It's Personal|Now it's personal.]]"
** The Brain Spawn, amusingly, are actually scanning in EVERY SINGLE FACT (such as "2+2=4", "Puppies are cute", etc) not just tomes of knowledge or principles of mathematics. ([[Fridge Logic]]: If they wanted to store all mathematical facts, they'd need to record infinite facts of the form "n+n=2n" alone.)
** The Brain Spawn, amusingly, are actually scanning in EVERY SINGLE FACT (such as "2+2=4", "Puppies are cute", etc) not just tomes of knowledge or principles of mathematics. ([[Fridge Logic]]: If they wanted to store all mathematical facts, they'd need to record infinite facts of the form "n+n=2n" alone.)
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