It's a lot more than a man-made structure full of books. It can be eclectic collections of all assortment and mannerisms. Arcane knowledge and cookbooks deserve to sit side-by-side, but they are nothing without readers. Without a head to sit in writing is just the pretension of abstract shapes seeking meaning.

Ultimately, libraries are those groups treasuring what little anyone can truly know.

In my younger days, I failed to accomplish my dream. Becoming a library unto myself, seizing all which could be known and fitting it within my own person. Despite my best intentions I've snuffed out the life of more ideas than any Bookburner could ever dream of incinerating.

Unleashing the damnation of fire and forgetting on so many of my fellow patrons is my penultimate regret, before allowing hubris to make me who I am today. So as you browse all the knowledge you could possibly ask for there must always be that voice whispering in your ear to remind you that mortality is a virtue.

Let the Library be the one which keeps all that which cannot be remembered. Else then you may never be able to forget.

— The One Who Knows

Well, you're standing in it. Go ahead and gawk. Everyone does, their first time. Don't worry, the shelves aren't going to fall down anytime this century. It just feels like it because they're so high and narrow. The Library is… I suppose the best way to describe it would be a hub. Kind of like this hub, except instead for worlds. The Library is at the root of every world, universe, and timeline that has ever existed, or will ever exist. You guys have that saying, right? "All roads lead to Rome"? Yeah, it's kind of like that. No matter where you are in reality (or sometimes out of it), you can always find a way back here. Get it? A Way?

Oh. Man, they don't even tell you what Ways are anymore? Alright, well, a Way is a kind of wormhole — the labcoated fucks at the Foundation probably have some technojargon name for it, but we call them what they are - Ways. Of course, all Ways have Knocks — a kind of trick to get in. There's one in New York where you have to pour chicken blood over a manhole. This one's easy, though. You just need someone who's been inside to invite you. So long as I'm here, you can get though. Next time, you can let yourself in.

Yeah, go ahead. Of course you can read them, don't be stupid. Be a pretty shit library if you couldn't read the books, right? But you won't be able to read all of them, so don't bother trying. I know guys who have spent lifetimes trying to complete just one shelf. And there are countless shelves in the Library — that's not an expression. As far as we know, the place is quite literally infinite, in every direction. At night, try looking up — you can see the stars. Sometimes you come across entire clouds forming at the tops of shelves. Don't ask me where the light comes from — I couldn't tell you. Matter of fact, there's a lot about this place nobody knows. Nobody knows when it was founded; it just seems to have always been here. Nobody knows where the books come from; they just appear. And, of course, nobody knows who created it, if anyone.

Well, nobody who can talk knows. Maybe the Librarians do.

Oh, right. See that tall cloaked guy, with the lantern? Don't stare, it's not polite. Yeah, he has no mouth. He's a Docent, one of the guys who works here. If you need to go somewhere, the Docents show you where it's at. They also make sure no one does anything they're not supposed to. They're one of the three major kinds of Librarians — you also have Pages, the spidery-looking fellas who organize all the books — look, there's one now. There are also Archivists, but those are much less common. You can only find them at the front desk - they're the ones without eyes. That doesn't stop them from knowing where every book is at any given time, though. If you want to check out, you'll need this card to show them. Hold onto the card, by the way. It can act as your ID in a lot of places. And if someone else gets ahold of it, they own you. Another thing to remember — always return your books on time. You don't wanna know what happens to overdues.

We're in the main hall right now — it's a bit emptier this hour, only a hundred people or so. It looks cozy, but don't be fooled - space in here is…. weird. It can expand to fit more people without changing dimensions. It's hard to explain, but you'll see. Feel free to grab a desk or seat and just start, y'know, reading. Everything is shared property in here; we're all Wanderers in spirit. I think there's an Orientation happening in a little while, might wanna hit that up.

Well, I won't take up any more of your time. Happy reading, Wanderer.

— L.S.

The Wanderer's Library is a writing community spun off from the SCP Universe almost a decade ago by two SCP administrators. It remains as the only official SCP sister site. It's a collection of stories that explore strange and fantastic corners of the world, hidden from ordinary eyes. Some of the stories take place in the distant past, taking the form of legends and fables. Others are from the modern day, hiding in the shadows just out of sight. The basic premise is that there are strange things that are not quite of our world. Some are dangerous, some are merely fascinating. They are all in some respect extraordinary.

Unlike SCP, Wanderer's Library stories have no set format; entries, as they are called, can be prose, epistolary, multimedia, or anything else you can dream up. The genre is similarly fluid — we have everything from high fantasy to urban horror. The only consistent theme, if there is one, is that stories in the Library should try to evoke a Sense of Wonder, a sense that there is a larger world beyond the one we know. In the world of the Library, these wonders are hidden, but never truly far away. But never forget that this is a wilder world than our own, and it's never entirely safe, either.

The Library's contents are a sort of Venn diagram with the larger SCPverse. Entries are free to be set in the larger universe, and use Groups of Interest or characters from the universe at large, but standalone works in their own universes or worlds are also perfectly fine — indeed, the majority of entries are of the latter sort. Reading works on the site is the single best way to get a feel for the tone.

As previously stated, reading is the best way to get a feel for the Library and the tone of the stories, but here's some additional information to help you get acquainted with actually finding those stories and learning about your new home away from home.

The Library is an infinite space for all intents and purposes, and should be treated as such. It is quite easy to lose one's way, but don't fret - typically a friendly docent will guide you to the place you are looking for. Additionally, regardless of size, the Library remains well organized, divided into wings with many shelves full of stories tucked between, and halls where the non-written stories find a home. Wing One is the oldest section of the Library, known as the Hidden Nest, and is typically where all newcomers will find themselves. Wing Two is relatively newer, and known as the Sea of Words, is an actual ocean (or lake, or puddle, no one knows!) featured in the Library's center. Finally, Hall One, while both smaller and newer than the two shelves, features all of the artistic content within the Library - from drawings, to music, to reshaping the look of the Library itself.

The layout of the Library, while infinite and constantly changing, is surprisingly one of the most well known parts of the Library. The actual history, structure of the staff, what they do, and how the Library functions and why is much murkier, but many Wanderers have their own thoughts and theories. Generally though, new Wanderers are pointed towards the staff run Orientation, which covers the basics all newcomers should know. Once you've read the Orientation, you can make your way towards becoming a Patron yourself.

The Gatekeeper's Sketchbook

What appears to be an older, completed sketchbook sits on the table in front of you. The ink stains that tarnish the cover tell you that it's been well loved over the years. A quick flip through of the pages confirms your thoughts - every page is filled to the brim with art. Looks like the artist has written some commentary on each of the pieces as well. Perhaps you take a closer look inside? There's no need to hurry, the artist has to have moved on to a new sketchbook by now.

Memocide

One day, perhaps, you saw someone chewed up by a gear the size of a building, moving too fast to see. And then the next day you saw them at their post again, skin pink and shiny. Oddly wet. They looked at you and smiled blankly, and you left too fast to pack your bags.

Groups of Intrigue

Others have come before, others will come after—doors were meant to be opened.

Notable Wanderers and Characters

The Library is accessible to countless worlds and realities, and that means the clientele are generally as varied and strange as one might expect.

Field Guide to the Shelves, Volume One

Greetings, fellow Wanderer. You've managed to find the Field Guide to the Shelves, Volume One. Congratulations! Whether it was passed to you, picked up by you, or mysteriously found its way into your possession, you are in for a treat.

Volume One of 'Lost Wanderers'

You may, if you wish, contact us again when the inventory is finished. We will be done, by my estimations, around 2431 A.D., using the time scale of your home.

Until then, please let us work.

An Abridged History of Chief Archivists

The final type are Archivists - while all Librarians differ enough to be told apart, whether through color, size, or other distinguishing features, Archivists can take almost any appearance.

Interstellar Radio Channel 5

Were they really still airing it?

He turned back the knob and, sure enough, tuned into Interstellar Radio Channel 5, his favorite station from his childhood.

Cave Story

Three days yonder, down my rugged depths, large bodies of floodwater sprawled in.

Nebula Pheonix

This is the creature that started my never-ending project of cataloguing every magical bird I can find. It all started on my journey through space…

How the Ocean Came to Burn

The ship sailed to the edge of the world, and found corpses. They stopped, lowered ladders, sent out a launch. They went to each corpse and slowly, one-by-one, loaded them into the boats.

Standard Issue Withstander Field Guide: The Nihl

Nothing can be allowed to stand in the way of the Islands prospering. We hold this truth to the highest degree of importance and swear that no entity, no single person, no group of individuals will ever stand in the way of it.

I Cannot Recall My First Thought

But I do remember standing in the presence of a Cairn, no taller than my shoulder.

Aliens In America

I might as well have been an alien on my first day of school here.

I didn't look like one, though. My skin wasn't green and my eyes weren't black. I looked just like them.

A Loaf Story

Thoughts of knives ran through his head, knives and cutting boards and cheeses and meats and sandwiches.

The Journal of Aframos Longjourney, Pilgrim

As I read through the journal, I was struck by his sense of wonder in his surroundings. Even the most mundane of the things he saw in the Ravelwoods were fascinating to him... and to me as well, seeing them through his eyes. Everything seemed new to me again.

The Last Will and Testament of Lyle Alan Burnley, Heresiographer

I, Lyle Alan Burnley, presently of the Place Beyond the Wastes, do hereby decree my final will and testament, rendering null and void all previous promises and vows made during death or near-death experiences.

Sludge Thompkins in: The Lair of the Mutant Bubblegum Lizards!

At the bottom of the dusty basin about a half mile away, I can see what the contract meant. Partially, at least. Those are definitely lizards.

The Rise Of The Steam Soul

Alteres was once a land of magic. Now, it is a land of toil, strife, and smog.

Qlippoth and Sefiros

Before, Qlippoth and Sefiros had been alone, singular things from which nothing could be compared. But now, joined within the vast expanse of the Beginning, an awareness fell over them, of things that were and things that weren't.

Eggshells

At the beginning there were seven, and each was given an egg.

How Grandmother Triode Stole Binary From The Sun

a story of people[0xCF36] as told by shaman.Accumulator.Overflows(true)

Letter

You will not find me in your museums
stocked by murderers
thieves
conquerors

A Death in the Universe

Shattered glass,
Or maybe confetti with a bit of snow,
Flew out of my mouth.

An Inescapable Truth

At night I begin to sag.
My eyes become leaden
And my brain turns cotton.

A Cromwell.

The poems below have been collected by Page Tamto in honor of the 100th Library-sponsored cromwell migration, in which the Library and its patrons encouraged the flocks and reduced obstructions and/or distractions in their path.

Glass Apartments (For Janelle)

Those houses that I pass at evening with keyhole windows

seem as other worlds.

Morenita

Dark is your skin, but I do not see in it the desert's harshness, the sands' unquenchable thirst. Your hand holds not the scimitar, nor does the perfume of incense and saffron surround you.

Fifth Elrichian National Party Manifest

Among the pledges and promises of our Party (see section II., On the Various Reasons the King Should Perhaps Consider Legalising The Fourth And Sixth Elrichian National Parties), we wish to make simple, straightforward and reasonable oaths to the lords, aristocrats, monarchs and mages that will be voting for us.

Missed Connections

Simply call our toll-free number, summon our secretarial elemental or emit the proper spectra of radiation at our stellar vector and you too can get in touch with that special entity that caught your notice.

The Green Pages

We know that Ways can be troublesome and hard to remember, so we're providing an easy map of commonly used Ways and Knocks for your convenience.

SCPs

Tales & GoI Formats