The Grand National Library

The Grand National is the largest library on Acciphere and is located in the Ice Kingdom. It was originally built as a personal library for the Hulkord family, but the ever-expanding collection of books made it quite popular among the educated masses. Amazed at the size of the library, it was officially declared as the National Library. From its birth many centuries ago, its collection has grown from containing just books to other items like maps, papers, official documents to all the various pigments that are present and a vast collection of every type of tooth of every animal in the world!

Purpose / Function

The library was originally built as a personal library for the Hulkords. By nature, most of the family were avid readers, and so had a lot of books. As they read more and more books their library increased; both in size and knowledge. Finally, by the time Aria Hulkord  was 21, there were just so many books that she bought a completely different warehouse to store all those books. After her seizure of the throne, she re-opened the sealed-off West Wing of the Palace of Prosperity and relocated her personal library there.

Alterations

The alterations were numerous; the location of the library had to be changed as the collection expanded throughout the ages. But perhaps the most important and major alteration was the construction of a separate building to house the library.  It was a major project. Aria Hulkord had just taken control of the throne. One of her dream projects was to see her ancestral library flourish. Hence she set forward for the construction of a building that would house the library. After a long four years of careful planning, it was completed in 1076. The staff back then were 1000 staff keepers and 300 librarians. But as the library expanded, many people showed interest in collecting things other than books as well. After thoughtful consideration the idea was put to work, giving birth to a new building called the Collections Wing. In the future this was going to be divided into the Geography Division, the Colour Division, the History Division, The Rare and Exotic items Divison, the Pop Culture Division and so many more.

Architecture

The style of construction used while building this library was purely Neoclassical. Large geometrical shapes make up the majority of the building. An interesting phenomenon related to the massive roof of the building is that it actually acts as a sundial. Under the dome rests the Reading Room or the Atrium. It is only from here that all the floors of the library are visible.
If you look carefully in the library some interesting things can be noticed. For example, the librarian's desk located right in the middle of the Reading Room has tiny markings that tell the time according to the sun's shadow. There are also some secret sections of the library that only open according to the sundial. For example, the Time Division (it's a secret division, and they maintain and regulate the world's clocks) is opened only when the sundial is rotated according to the secret combination. It usually takes two people to do this.
As to interiors, the building is adorned with the royal banners of the Ice Kingdom. The warm-coloured rugs and wooden finishings to the walls make the library feel homely. This pattern is followed throughout most of the library, except the Atrium, where the room is filled with a light blue light from the outside. So this room is decorated with light blue hues rather than the routine warm colours used. The place is lit up by ceiling LEDs, and the Atrium is lit up only at night and that too, by a huge chandelier.

Founding Date

721 KE

Type

Library

Parent Location

Palace of Prosperity

Owner

Aria Hulkord

Owning Organization

Ice Kingdom