How does the world at large view its librarians? As bun-wearing shushers, instruments of information, or a mix of the two? SLJ took a deep dive into depictions of librarians, past and present, in both books and media, and came up with a Top 10 in each category. Like or loathe these takes on the purveyors of information science, they’re what our public often thinks of when they try to conjure up what it is that librarians do.

Matilda by Roald Dahl Illustration by Quentin Blake (Viking, 1988)

Top 10 librarians in books

Mrs. Phelps from Matilda by Roald Dahl. The librarian that lends little Matilda the books she so desperately craves certainly falls into the positive side of librarian depictions. Which version of Mrs. Phelps is your favorite? The one illustrated by Quentin Blake in Dahl’s original story? The one who befriends a young Mara Wilson in the 1996 film? Personally, I’ve always preferred the Mrs. Phelps from the musical production, who begs the little girl for story after story.

Batgirl (Dr. Barbara Gordon) from the “Batman” comics. Considering the wide range of superhero professions out there, you’d think more than one would work the hallowed halls of a library. Yet only Barbara Gordon, daughter of police commissioner Gordon, and the one and only Batgirl, managed to juggle crime fighting with working in the Gotham City Public Library.

The Librarianin the “Discworld” books by Terry Pratchett. First introduced in Pratchett’s The Color of Magic , and later transforming into an orangutan inThe Light Fantastic(risks of the profession, I guess), the Librarian of the Unseen University has the singular ability to climb shelves and intimidate patrons who are up to no good. The drawback? He can only say “Ook.” Cuts down on reference desk time,
I suppose.

Henry DeTamble in The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. The Newberry Library in Chicago proves to be an important workplace for Henry, a chrono-impaired hero librarian. Though he has a tendency to travel through time without warning or control, his workplace offers a bit of order and solace. Except for “the cage,” of course.

Charles Halloway in Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. While librarians sometimes get to be action heroes in movies and films, they rarely have that chance in books. But thanks to Bradbury’s marvelously demented classic, mild-mannered Mr. Halloway plays a key role in destroying the Illustrated Man and his creepy carnival when it rolls into town.

Harry the acting librarian in Leeva at Last by Sara Pennypacker. Technically, it’s Harry’s aunt, Mrs. Flowers, who is the true librarian of this book. However, Mrs. Flowers’s library is not ADA compliant, and she cannot access her job after an accident. This book also contains maybe one of the most heinous crimes against a library imaginable: city officials stealing a library’s elevator. Horrendous.

Elizabeth Brown in The Library by Sarah Stewart, illus. by David Small. From the moment this debuted in 1995, book lovers everywhere found a kindred spirit in Brown. Not only does she love reading more than anything in the world, but she actually creates her own library. Thus did Stewart originate a new fantasy for little readers everywhere.
 

The Midnight Library Illustration by Kazuno Kohara (Roaring Brook, 2014)

The little librarian in The Midnight Library by Kazuno Kohara (not to be confused with the book by Matthew Haig of the same name). What’s better than having your own library? Having your own library AND getting to stay up all night! Throw in three owl assistants (haven’t YOU always wanted owls as assistants?) and the adorable wildlife clientele, and charming doesn’t even begin to describe this book.

Also Read: What Librarians Can Learn from ‘Abbott Elementary’ | Read Woke

Library Lion Illustration by Kevin Hawkes (Candlewick, 2009)

Ms. Literati in The Night Librarian by Christopher Lincoln. I think some of us always hoped, somewhere in the back of our minds, that when we earned our MLIS, we’d learn there was an entirely hidden branch of librarianship where you got to deal with magical books and their characters. Set in the Schwarzman Building of the New York Public Library, this graphic-novel librarian character faces down a slew of literary villains, all while dealing with an administration that doesn’t understand her importance. That latter part, we can relate to!

Miss Merriweather in Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen, illus. by Kevin Hawkes. Though she looks head-to-toe the very epitome of librarianship, Miss Merriweather’s playful attitude toward rules and large predatory cats bely her somber image. Walk into the New York Public Library’s gift shop and you’re sure to find multiple copies of this book on the shelves. It just makes good sense.

Top 10 librarians in movies and TV

Wan Shi Tong from Avatar: The Last Airbender. If you watched the first season of the new live action version of the classic Nickelodeon show, then you probably saw the early appearance of Wan Shi Tong, the formidable giant owl librarian of the Spirit Library. He even has little fox-like assistants called Knowledge Seekers that act like library pages, fetching information. Granted, he’ll kill you if he thinks you’re using the library’s information for evil ends, but that’s a spirit librarian for you.

Rupert Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Undoubtedly one of the most famous of pop-culture librarians out there. Long before he became known for a very different “Rupert” role (Ted Lasso, anyone?), Anthony Stewart Head portrayed the Watcher librarian, dedicated to assisting the latest vampire slayer, Buffy. It’s amazing he never got a spin-off of his own.

Lucienne from The Sandman. Though the character of “Lucien” started off in comics, actress Vivienne Acheampong brought this librarian of the Dreaming to rip-roaring life. And how cool is the job of cataloguing every book ever written or dreamed? Sign us up!
 

Wong from Dr. Strange. Credit: Marvel

Wong from Doctor Strange. Considering that the opening of the first “Doctor Strange” film consists of a librarian getting murdered, you’d think no one else would be keen on the job at Kamar-Taj. This is probably the only film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to include library fight scenes and copious moments when characters are in need of books. Sounds like a fun place to visit, if you can keep your head.

Tammy II from Parks and Recreation. Admittedly, she’s probably not the best possible advocate for the library sciences, but Tammy II, as deputy director of library services of Pawnee, knows a thing or two about empowering libraries. As Leslie Knope says, “The library [sic] is the worst group of people ever assembled in history. They’re mean, conniving, rude, and extremely well read, which makes them very dangerous.”

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Credit: Netflix

Amity Blight from The Owl House. I’m including this character even though, if we want to get technical about it, Amity has yet to attain her library science degree in the Boiling Isles. But as a library worker, there are few as competent. After all, how often do you see someone conducting a rather good library story time in a cartoon? And as a strong LGBTQIA+ proponent and a badass library worker, Amity isn’t afraid to stand up for her girlfriend against the powers that be.

George and Lance from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Imagine not only getting to live in a library, but raising 12 kids there? As gay dads in kids cartoons go, it’s hard not to adore George and Lance, Bow’s parents. Are they overprotective? Sure they are. But they’re also making librarian history.

Bunny Watson in Desk Set. No list of librarians in popular culture is truly complete without including Bunny Watson in it somewhere. Katharine Hepburn stars as Bunny in this 1957 film about librarians fearful of being replaced by technology. It’s somehow both prescient and a time capsule. Don’t be surprised if the reference questions sound pretty contemporary, though. Some things never change.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Sony Pictures.

Marian the Librarian from The Music Man. Another classic librarian of the past, Marian even got a librarian-related song to boot. And who can resist such lines as, “It’s a long lost cause I can never win / For the civilized world accepts as unforgivable sin / Any talking out loud with any librarian / Such as Marian...Madam Librarian.”

The librarian in Ghostbusters.... No. Not that one. When I say “librarian” and “Ghostbusters,” many members of my generation will want to hide under the covers because they can still remember that scary lady from the old 1980s film. But if you saw the recent “Ghostbusters” movie Frozen Empire, then you know that there’s a new librarian town, Dr. Hubert Wartzki , and he’s played by Patton Oswalt. Maybe his presence can finally exorcise that ghost’s face from our nightmares once and for all.

Betsy Bird blogs at “A Fuse #8 Production” (slj.com/Fuse8).