Throughout these excerpts, “library” emerges as both a physical refuge and an intellectual hub. Characters find solace there, as in Collins’s The Moonstone, where Mr. Franklin drifts twice to the library in search of privacy [1], and in Pride and Prejudice, where Mary petitioned for its use at Netherfield [2]. Some authors celebrate its grandeur, as Boswell calls one collection “very splendid” and filled with dignified rooms [3]. Others emphasize the practicalities of borrowing and returning books—seen in Joyce’s worry about renewing a Capel Street library book in Ulysses [4] and Eden’s desire to renew books in Martin Eden [5]. In these varied accounts, the library can be a storied archive, as with Alexandria’s renowned collection [6], or simply a much-needed personal trove of knowledge, underscoring its role as an enduring symbol of learning and retreat.