|
The Librarian of the Unseen University is one of the most popular characters in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels.
The Librarian first appeared in the second novel of the series, The Light Fantastic, in which he was transformed into an orangutan as a side-effect of a powerful magic spell. Discovering that being an orangutan has certain advantages for a librarian (such as not requiring a ladder to reach those tricky high-up shelves), he refused to be transformed back into a human, and has remained an orangutan ever since. The other wizards have gradually become used to the situation, to the extent that "if someone ever reported that there was an orangutan in the Library, the wizards would probably go and ask the Librarian if he'd seen it." (Night Watch)
The Librarian is known for his violent reaction whenever he hears anyone refer to him as a "monkey". (An orangutan is an ape.)
The Librarian's actual name has never been given in any of the novels; he is always simply "the Librarian". If the Librarian's true name were known, he could be changed back into a human, and he has carefully excised his name from the records of the University (since he has special access). The Discworld Companion hints that he may once have been Dr Horace Worblehat, which goes a long way to explaining why he's happier as an orangutan than as a human.
The librarian also had a brief stint in the city watch during the reign of terror caused by the dragon of Ankh-Morpork, where he helps rescue Sam Vimes from the Patrician's cell. He also used the miraculous ability of travelling through L-Space (the extradimensional space that connects all libraries) to save books from the great library of Ephebe, despite Brutha having memorised the entire library in Small Gods. In Soul Music, he joined the Band with Rocks In since his large hands and wide reach make him an excellent organ player.
The Librarian is member of a small elite group of senior librarians, who have the knowledge and ability to travel through L-space. The very strict rules that members of these group are pledged to enforce are,
- Silence.
- Books must be returned no later than the date shown.
- Do not meddle with the nature of causality.
(of course, the Librarian has been known to break both the first and the third rule on occasion, but he is adamant about the second).
| 
