The Sixteenth International Conference on Books, Publishing & Libraries

Abstract

Contemporary technologies have changed the ways that children encounter information and narratives and also changed attitudes towards books, reading, and libraries. This paper will examine works of contemporary children’s literature that attempt to reimagine the library and convey its value. Children’s books attempt to enchant the library, representing it as a place to find refuge, escape, adventure, and magic. While this motif of the enchanted library is by no means new to children’s literature, it has achieved new poignancy in the twenty-first century as writers reinvent the library and encourage young readers to reimagine libraries, reading, and the act of research. This paper will focus primarily on Chris Grabenstein’s “Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library,” employing a close reading of elements of the narrative alongside theoretical and historical discussions of the ideological import of the library, books, and librarians. Grabenstein’s novel takes place in a library completely reimagined by a genius of game design. Combining Lemoncello’s nostalgic recollections of the library of his youth with game theory, interactive computer information systems, and futuristic technologies (including the helpful presence of holographic librarians), the new library once again becomes a space of adventure, excitement, and magic.