The Sunnydale High School library was located directly above the Hellmouth.[1] It served as the Scooby Gang's first base of operations since the librarian, Rupert Giles, was a member of the Watchers Council and employed the use of this area. Giles brought in old supernatural texts[2] and medieval weapons to provide his Slayer Buffy Summers with training[3] and to hold a source of demonic research when dealing with various threats.[4]
Description[]
The Scooby Gang taking research during Christmas.
The center of library was octagonal, with a skylight above and a red painted line on the floor below, clearly defining its shape.[2]
It included a small balcony that was shaped from half of the octagon, facing opposite to the entrance with a pair of stairs each lying at the end of the balcony which also had stacks located within that held books. It also contained a wooden table with chairs in the center of the octagon. There was also a doorway at the back of the balcony which contained another room which, according to Giles, was an old boarded up cellar.[5]
To the right of the library, in front the balcony was the counter where the books were checked in and beyond that was Giles' office.[2]
The library was also housed right on top of the town's Hellmouth,[1] leading it to being the site of where a multi-headed demon arose on two occasions.[1][6]
The library was destroyed when Buffy planted it with a large amount of explosives and detonated them in the face of the newly ascended Mayor Richard Wilkins, destroying him along with the rest of the school. The books had already been removed.[7]
Book cage[]
Xander in the book cage.
The book cage was located opposite to Giles' office and resembled a white steel cage with a built-in door and a rectangular slot, for book returns.[2] Inside, it housed a cupboard and a window.[8]
It was used by Rupert Giles to store weapons and some special volumes. The cage appeared to be really strong, as it was usually employed to contain supernatural beings, in particular Daniel Osbourne during his werewolf transformation.[8][6] The hyena-possessed Alexander Harris,[9] Philip Henry,[10] the Sunnydale High swim team,[11] as well as vampire Willow[12] were also held inside in during different occasions.
Rebuilt[]
The new library.
In 2002, the library was rebuilt along with the rest of Sunnydale High. It retained its octagonal shape and skylight but wasn't directly over the Hellmouth. Instead, this site was then taken over by Principal Robin Wood's office.[13]
According to former librarian Rupert Giles, this library was filled with nothing but computers.[14] However, this was likely an exaggeration, as a library with books was the place where Dawn Summers befriended Cassandra Newton and the base of the Cult of Avilas.[15]
Books available[]
- Biography of Joseph Stalin[16]
- Black Chronicles[1][4]
- Blood Rites and Sacrifices[17]
- Books of Pherion[6]
- Bristow's Demon Index[18]
- Diary of Lucious Temple[4]
- Du Lac Manuscript[19]
- Emily Dickinson's poetry[20]
- Exploring Demon Dimensions[8]
- Hebron's Almanac[6]
- Hell's Offspring[18]
- Kippler Volumes[7]
- La Nature[21]
- Legends of Vishnu[22]
- Merenshtadt Text[23]
- Moloch's book[21]
- Mystery of Acathla[8]
- The Pagan Rites[24]
- Twilight Compendium[25]
- Vampyr[2]
- Witchcraft[24]
- Witches: Historic Roots to Modern Practice[24]
- Writings of Aurelius[20]
- Writings of Dramius[26]
Frequent visitors[]
Notable visitors[]
- Owen Thurman — to lend an Emily Dickinson book[20]
- Kyle DuFours — to release a hyena-possessed Xander from the bookcage[9]
- Heidi Barrie — same[9]
- Rhonda Kelley — same[9]
- Tor Hauer — same[9]
- Darla — to spy on Buffy and Willow[3]
- David Kirby — attending a computer class taught by Mrs. Calendar[21]
- Fritz Siegel[21]
- Moloch the Corruptor — after being scanned by Willow[21]
- Sid — brought there by Xander, later telling the Scooby Gang about his mission[27]
- Hank Summers — when searching for Buffy[28]
- Hellmouth spawn — twice, when the Hellmouth was opened[1][6]
- Master — when he was dusted by Buffy[1]
- Jane — to kidnap Willow, Jenny and Giles[29]
- Bob — same[29]
- Walt — same[29]
- Ned — same[29]
- Snyder — to escape Spike and his gang[5]
- Inca Princess — to give information on the Sacred Seal[30]
- Julia — to steal the Du Lac Manuscript[19]
- Winslow — when questioning Giles about Philip Henry's death[10]
- Ethan Rayne — to find Giles[10]
- Eyghon the Sleepwalker — when possessing Philip Henry[10]
- Kendra Young — twice, to investigate on Drusilla's cure[26] and to protect Willow when performing the Ritual of Restoration[31]
- Bezoar babies — to possess Giles and Joyce[18]
- Amy Madison — to reverse a love spell[32]
- Jonathan Levinson — to lend books on Stalin[11]
- Sunnydale High swim team — to reverse the mutation caused by steroids administered by coach Carl Marin[11]
- Drusilla and her minions — to kidnap Giles[31]
- Sunnydale Police Department — when investigating Kendra's death[31][33]
- Patches — brought by Buffy so that Giles could determine its nature[34]
- Peter Clarner — to confront Oz about Debbie Foley[8]
- Lyle Gorch and Candy Gorch — to attack Buffy and Cordelia[35]
- Gwendolyn Post — to obtain information on the Glove of Myhnegon[25]
- Michael Czajak — to escape Mothers Opposed to the Occult[17]
- Quentin Travers[36]
- Sisterhood of Jhe — to open the Hellmouth[6]
- El Eliminati — to kidnap Wesley and Giles[37]
- Willow Rosenberg (Wishverse) — to attack her double[12]
- Shrouded Man — to conclude his pact with Giles[23]
- Anya Jenkins — to give information on the Ascension[38]
- Richard Wilkins — to threaten the Scooby Gang[38]
- Vahrall demons — to open the Hellmouth on the ruins[39]
Behind the scenes[]
- The library, as well as the rest of the high school, was the first Buffyverse set to be retired by completely destroying it. This trend would continue with the Angel Investigations offices, the Magic Box, Sunnydale itself, and the Wolfram & Hart Los Angeles branch.
Appearances[]
Canonical[]
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 1 | |||||||||||
| "Welcome to the Hellmouth" Appears |
"The Harvest" Appears |
"Witch" Appears |
"Teacher's Pet" Appears |
"Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" Appears |
"The Pack" Appears |
"Angel" Appears |
"I Robot, You Jane" Appears |
"The Puppet Show" Appears |
"Nightmares" Appears |
"Out of Mind, Out of Sight" Appears |
"Prophecy Girl" Appears |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 2 | |||||||||||
| "When She Was Bad" Appears |
"Some Assembly Required" Appears |
"School Hard" Appears |
"Inca Mummy Girl" Appears |
"Reptile Boy" Appears |
"Halloween" Appears |
"Lie to Me" Appears |
"The Dark Age" Appears |
"What's My Line? Part One" Appears |
"What's My Line? Part Two" Appears |
"Ted" Appears | |
| "Bad Eggs" Appears |
"Surprise" Appears |
"Innocence" Appears |
"Phases" Appears |
"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" Appears |
"Passion" Appears |
"Killed by Death" Appears |
"I Only Have Eyes for You" Appears |
"Go Fish" Appears |
"Becoming, Part One" Appears |
"Becoming, Part Two" Appears | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 3 | |||||||||||
| "Anne" Appears |
"Dead Man's Party" Appears |
"Faith, Hope & Trick" Appears |
"Beauty and the Beasts" Appears |
"Homecoming" Appears |
"Band Candy" Appears |
"Revelations" Appears |
"Lovers Walk" Appears |
"The Wish" Appears |
"Amends" Appears |
"Gingerbread" Appears | |
| "Helpless" Appears |
"The Zeppo" Appears |
"Bad Girls" Appears |
"Consequences" Appears |
"Doppelgängland" Appears |
"Enemies" Appears |
"Earshot" Appears |
"Choices" Appears |
"The Prom" Appears |
"Graduation Day, Part One" Appears |
"Graduation Day, Part Two" Appears | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 4 | |||||||||||
| "The Freshman" Absent |
"Living Conditions" Absent |
"The Harsh Light of Day" Absent |
"Fear, Itself" Absent |
"Beer Bad" Absent |
"Wild at Heart" Absent |
"The Initiative" Absent |
"Pangs" Absent |
"Something Blue" Absent |
"Hush" Absent |
"Doomed" Appears | |
| "A New Man" Absent |
"The I in Team" Absent |
"Goodbye Iowa" Absent |
"This Year's Girl" Absent |
"Who Are You?" Absent |
"Superstar" Absent |
"Where the Wild Things Are" Absent |
"New Moon Rising" Absent |
"The Yoko Factor" Absent |
"Primeval" Absent |
"Restless" Absent | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 6 | |||||||||||
| "Bargaining, Part One" Absent |
"Bargaining, Part Two" Absent |
"After Life" Absent |
"Flooded" Absent |
"Life Serial" Mention |
"All the Way" Absent |
"Once More, with Feeling" Absent |
"Tabula Rasa" Absent |
"Smashed" Absent |
"Wrecked" Absent |
"Gone" Absent | |
| "Doublemeat Palace" Absent |
"Dead Things" Absent |
"Older and Far Away" Absent |
"As You Were" Absent |
"Hell's Bells" Absent |
"Normal Again" Absent |
"Entropy" Absent |
"Seeing Red" Absent |
"Villains" Absent |
"Two to Go" Absent |
"Grave" Absent | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 7 | |||||||||||
| "Lessons" Mention |
"Beneath You" Absent |
"Same Time, Same Place" Absent |
"Help" Appears |
"Selfless" Absent |
"Him" Absent |
"Conversations with Dead People" Absent |
"Sleeper" Absent |
"Never Leave Me" Absent |
"Bring on the Night" Absent |
"Showtime" Absent | |
| "Potential" Absent |
"The Killer in Me" Absent |
"First Date" Absent |
"Get It Done" Absent |
"Storyteller" Absent |
"Lies My Parents Told Me" Mention |
"Dirty Girls" Absent |
"Empty Places" Absent |
"Touched" Absent |
"End of Days" Absent |
"Chosen" Absent | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 12 | |||||||||||
| One Year Later Absent |
Future Shock Absent |
The Reckoning Absent |
Finale Vision | ||||||||