Field Guide to the Shelves, Volume Two

Black: The author, never responds to any of the footnotes directly, but writing style can be seen to change.
Orange: Trying to make the book accessible to all patrons, knowledge and interpretations included.
Green: Questioning, curious, ignorant of a lot of general information, but still means well.
Blue: Explorer of the Shelves
Red: Explorer of the Shelves, but enjoys research more than Blue
Pink: Spreads rumors, gossip, etc.


Brown:Skeptic?
Purple:Undercover Jailor of some sort?
Grey:Dislike of staff+hivemind conversion

FORMAT 2 (can be changed, just leaving it here):

+++ TITLE

**Size:** 
**Identification:** 
**Duties:**
**Habitat:** 
**Behavior:** 
**Warning:**

FORMAT 1 (old)

**Species or individual:** 
**Size:** 
**Identification:** 
**Regional Shelf Variants:** 
**Habitat:** 
**Behavior:** 
**Warning:**

Team members: UncertaintyCrossing, Sebarus, Avelon21

Friendly Note from the Authors: We recommend headphones for the sounds. Go get your glasses to read and admire the pretty sketches. Don't be stubborn.


rating: 0+x


FOREWORD

A notice for fellow Wanderers.

Greetings, fellow Wanderer. You've managed to find the Field Guide to The Shelves, Volume Two. Congratulations! Whether it was passed to you, picked up by you, or mysteriously found its way into your possession, you are in for a treat.

This volume aims to document all the variants of staff that have made up residence in the Library. What does that mean? Well, have you ever wondered who you should go to in the event you need help getting around the Library? Or the best entity to contact about finding lost items? The answers to those questions and more can be found in this guide right here!

Please note this is for entities that have always been staff or species revolving around being staff! This volume is not documenting volunteer organizations that you can join, should you have an interest in helping out but don't want to be mutilated into staff. A collected list of the volunteer organizations currently accepting new members can be requested from the Main Desk at any time. Please take concerns, complaints, or applications for volunteer jobs to them, and do not document it here. Thanks!

If you have issues identifying flora and fauna, natural Library phenomenon, or other items that do not fall into the category of staff, please see our other volumes, currently pending.


THE PRIMARY LIBRARIANS


The Primary Librarians are the only Librarians that the Library itself 'officially' recognizes. These staff are created by the Library itself, whether it be from the energy the Library manifests or converting patrons who break the rules. These three classes of Librarians can be found in the oldest records, and have and will always be a constant throughout Library history. It is most important to get familiar with these staff members, as they are the ones that truly enforce the Library's will.

Docents


The Docents are often the first staff any new Wanderer comes across in their journey to the Library. Guardians and protectors of the shelves, the Docents are the first line of combat in the event the Library sees any conflict. Records depict them as "perfectly silent, and in fact have no mouths. Where their left hand should be, a chain grows, connected to a brass lantern that never grows dim." While it is true Docents tend not to have mouths, the statement about the lanterns has grown outdated, as sometime somewhat recently, Docents have began to show varying kinds of lanterns, and more personalization with their lantern and how it attaches to their left limb. Ah, that's right, left limb rather than left arm now, as creatures without arms can also become Docents as well.

The Docent's tasks involve "guiding patrons through the Library, showing them where to find books, as well as stalking the stacks for violations of the rules," once again as describe in the old records. These has largely remained the same throughout the decades; however, they seem to have picked up a few new tasks, the most noticeable of which simply being observing patrons and showing interests in the activities they take part in. Why they observe is unknown, but it is speculated they simply enjoy watching patrons flourish in all that the Library has to offer.

Speaking of, despite their lack of a mouth, Docents have been known to be surprisingly social. Speaking in modified sign language, telepathy, fire writing, morse code, and fire writing, the Docents are great at communicating when needbe. Granted, a lot of their general tasks can be done without much communication, but again it seems they have started to become more social over the years.

All in all, Docents are fine to be around and interact with. As long as you do not break the Library's rule of "Do not take what is not yours", the Docents will leave you alone.

Pages


The Pages are often the last, or rather, rarely seen group out of the the three primary staff. High up among the shelves, the Pages reshelf books in the Library, and hardly ever touch the ground. The records depict them as "[having] anywhere from six to ten arms, bowed legs, and squat bodies, making them excellent climbers, able to reach the highest shelves without need for a ladder." This is generally still the case for the Pages; however, how those arms are arranged varies wildly depending on where in the Library the Page is found. Generally, one of the most common forms of Pages, or rather, the most social and thus most often seen Page, is an insect like creature, with segmented limbs and mandibles on its face.

Pages can be a bit finicky to be around. They are not as social as the Docents or Archivists, and spend most of their time working away high above the average patron. While they have been know to climb over and say hello at times, usually it's best to assume they are busy, and let them work away at whatever they are doing. Rarely will a Page be aggressive; however, as their multiple limbs are best suited for climbing rather than fighting.

Archivists

The Original:

The Original Archivists are the oldest we have on record here within the Library. They are described quite vaguely, with "They have no eyes, but they know instinctively where to find any book…behind [their] desk, you'll find they have no legs, but instead are connected directly to the chairs that are rooted in the marble floor." The closest creature I could find to matching this description was in one of the supposed 'original' sections of the Main Desk area. The Archivist I found there was a sort of fungus like creature who was completely fused to the ground. Closer inspection revealed that what could best be described as appendages similar to "mycelium" literally did 'root' them to the floor. I speculate that this mycelium structure has strands all throughout the Library, perhaps even linking up with other Original Archivists, to create a vast network of knowledge that spreads throughout the entire structure.

something something first archivist, species namesake


The Settled:

The Settled are a group of Archivist that have taken up the same role as the Original ones once did; however, there is a much larger variety in species, appearances, and area of focus. All Settled Archivists remain at their desks and choose not to leave them, (or perhaps it can be argued they are bound there in a way), but it seems they've started to specialize in what tasks they like doing. Some focus soley on cards, others on paperwork, and some just on slapping stickers on passing by patrons. Regardless though, they are arguably now the most common form of Archivist within the Library.

some examples


The Roaming:

The Roaming are arguably the newest set of Archivists, with records about them not dating as far back as the other categories. That being said, the Roaming are some of the easiest Archivists to come across when traversing the Library, since as their name suggests, they are not bound to the Main Desks. They instead wander the halls and the shelves, doing tasks not covered by the other staff. This includes providing magical energy, collecting lost items, and running the day and night cycles in the areas where they exist.


The Chief:

The Chief Archivist is the rarest of the bunch, as there is only ever one Chief Archivists in the Library at the time. While records indicate there have been a total of eight, only seven are ever discussed in depth. (correction in regards to the thirds)

Similar to the Roaming, the Chief is not bound to any one desk and is able to roam as it pleases. It serves as a head Librarian, running the staff hivemind (is this true?) and serving as the main authority figure on all major decisions.

(what about the serpent?)



THE SECONDARY LIBRARIANS


Transportation


TITLE

Size:
Identification:
Duties:
Habitat:
Behavior:
Warning:

TITLE

Size:
Identification:
Duties:
Habitat:
Behavior:
Warning:

Navigation


TITLE

Size:
Identification:
Duties:
Habitat:
Behavior:
Warning:

TITLE

Size:
Identification:
Duties:
Habitat:
Behavior:
Warning:

Upkeep


TITLE

Size:
Identification:
Duties:
Habitat:
Behavior:
Warning:

TITLE

Size:
Identification:
Duties:
Habitat:
Behavior:
Warning:

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License