[the librarian] had been allowed to keep his job, which he was rather good at, although ‘allowed’ is not really the right word. It was the way he could roll his upper lip back to reveal more incredibly yellow teeth than any other mouth the University Council had ever seen before that somehow made sure the matter was never really raised. Guards, Guards, Terry Pratchett
Unseen University is Ankh-Morpork's school of wizardry and one of the most prestigious in the Discworld. The wizards housed there are a... colourful bunch and each and everyone deserves a post. But today, we're going to look at the university's librarian, known as... The Librarian.
The Librarian is a facility member and was once a human, until a wave of strong magic turned him into an orangutan. While most may find this distressing, the Librarian actually prefers it and actively resists any attempts to turn him back into a human.
The Librarian is often drawn as a more youthful appearing orangutan in that he hasn't developed the overlarge cheek pads which are a feature of dominant males. This is because, as a facility member, he regards Archchancellor Riddcully as the dominant male, even though "most Archchancellors do not sit high up in trees with leaves on their heads." He only speaks in eeks and ooks, but wizards of Unseen University have no trouble at translating them.
He is also a very capable goalie for the UU Football team.
The UU Librarian
'A book has been taken. A book has been taken? You summoned the Watch,’ Carrot drew himself up proudly, ‘because someone’s taken a book? You think that’s worse than murder?’ The Librarian gave him the kind of look other people would reserve for people who said things like ‘What’s so bad about genocide?' Guards, Guards, Terry Pratchett
As his name suggests, he is in charge of Unseen University's extensive library. Being a librarian isn't an easy job by any means. But in the Discworld, it can be lethal.
Now, to understand Unseen University's Library, you first have to understand narrative in the Discworld. Words and stories are incredibly powerful. You only have to read The Truth, Thud, Masquerade or Moving Pictures, to see that. Therefore, it stands to reason, a library were billions upon billions of words are kept must be incredibly powerful.
Unseen University's library is an infinite, multi-dimensional, thaumically-charged space where anything can happen. In Night Watch, It causes Sam Vimes, pursuing a murderer across its roof during a thunderstorm, to be propelled back in time. This is referred to as L-Space (literally, Library Space) where all concepts of distance, time and direction are only vaguely defined.
The Librarian is, of course, very much in favour of reading in general, but readers, in particular, get on his nerves. There is something sacrilegious about the way people keep taking books of the shelves and wearing out the words by reading them. He likes people who love and respect books, and the best way to do that, in the Librarian's opinion, is to leave them on the shelves where Nature intended them to be. Turtle Recall, Terry Pratchett
Do Not Call Him A Monkey
I love the Librarian for many obvious reasons. First, look at him. He's adorable. He's also one of the most laid back characters in the Discworld. He has a deep abiding love of books, which I can totally relate to. He's, believe it or not, hilarious in his way.
Having said that, in one respect, he's completely terrifying. You see, orangutans are APES. Not monkeys. Orangutans are part of the family of Great Apes. Do not call him a monkey.
Never call him a monkey.
'Am I alone in thinking, by the way, that it doesn’t add to the status of the University to have an ape on the faculty?’ ‘Yes,’ said Ridcully flatly. ‘You are. We’ve got the only librarian who can rip off your arm with his leg. People respect that.' Interesting Times, Terry Pratchett
Orangutans
Orangutans are hands down my favourite animals. The collective noun for orangutans is a buffoonery, which is simply delightful.
Terry Pratchett was an active trustee of the Orangutan Foundation and presented a documentary on BBC2 called Terry Pratchett Facing Extinction. In it, Pratchett returns to the forests of Borneo to highlight the endangered orangutan. And he did all this while battling his early-onset Alzheimers.
Wonderfully, I managed to find a copy of this documentary on Youtube. However, if this link below disappears, do shout at me in the comments and I'll see if I can find it elsewhere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOhduvF1UGA
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