Private libraries and the rune guild library

Table of Contents

Rune guild briefing—Use of the library

Written by Madame Solène de Nivers for the rune guild.

On the advantages of having access to such an amazing libraries of ours—& on how to treat its books & journals in consequence!—A reminder that has been unfortunately judge necessary by our Lady Director to put in front of all of the members of the rune guild...

Private libraries and their consequences

Private libraries

Private libraries from old noble Houses have a lot of unique works:

Ancient tomes copied by hand & only existing in a limited number.

Old research journals whose value was dismissed for too many centuries & that have had most of their exemplars thrown away.

The private diaries of esteemed scholars, unique and invaluable.

All the more mundane books that never the less cost a fortune to assemble all in one place.

Advantages

All the old & forgotten magic found in private libraries, the magic that has been invented & never shared, the family secrets, the treasure of unpublished research...
This is arguably an advantage for any dueller or politician wishing to curse their rival with some unknown, undetectable, & unstoppable magic.
Private libraries are a great way for a few of the old House to keep their dominant role in society!

Consequences for us

Any scholar or researcher worthy of the name need to have access to the full corpus of works that constitute the acknowledge background of their field.
Unfortunately, very few have individuals the good fortune of having been born in a family with enough wealth, history, & good sense to have constituted such a library, let alone of being in good enough term with the head of their House to get unfettered access to this treasure...

Thankfully for all of you, you are members of the amazing rune guild!

The library of the rune guild is very ancient and has benefited from:

Donations from all of its past members & patrons.

The support of the monarchy, with laws making all publishers offer an exemplar of their new books to the relevant guilds.

Thanks to this amazing library, you will be able to enjoy all the benefits of a special private library without even having to move very far from your lab!
With some unique perks of being members of the rune guild, including sort & search magic unequal in the whole of Nélannie!

Therefore, you better treat the library of the rune guild like the treasure it is!

Treat the works with the delicacy and respect they are due
Do not write notes or doodle in them
Do not even think of eating or drinking anywhere near them!
Do not practice magic at them or expose them to any of it—our library is perfectly able to cast preserving magic on them on his own, thank you very much.
Do not take them away from the rune guild building
Do not hog them in your office from months on end and inconvenience everyone else who needs them
And above all, if you have a private funder, politely request access to their private library to help with your research, and once you are in there, do not forget where your first loyalty lay and where it should lead you and practice your knowledge of printing and copying artefacts...

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Related Articles

Rune Guild

Locations The Kingdom of Nélannie · Esteille, the capital · Rune guild building Employees Mistress Alina Lange · Madame Solène de Nivers · Master Sérénius de Coroy · Master Jean Lannoie · Mistress Lanton · Mistress Norine · Rune Guild Members · Guild directors · Ingredient procurers Culture Education system (Universities and higher education system, The University of Brauchat) · Rivals (The enchanting guild) · Events (Summer interviews for the yearly research funding applications, Mastery viva) · Resources (Private libraries and the rune guild library)