The Newberry's Pop Culture Library Bracket

It’s time to determine the best fictional libraries and librarians in pop culture history. In honor of National Library Week 2020, we’re unveiling the Newberry’s Pop Culture Library Bracket to do just that. (View a PDF of the full bracket here.)

The bracket covers a range of characters and cultural texts. All the contenders stand a chance, depending on the criteria you use to judge them.

Do you value centrality to a given plot or wider cultural impact? The libraries at the Citadel and at Hogwarts contained valuable information for defeating evil in Game of Thrones and Harry Potter, respectively. But the Elwood City Public Library (from the Arthur TV show) gave us the catchy—and eminently GIF-able—jingle “having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card.”

Do you value characters who uphold the ideals of librarianship or who undermine stereotypes in spectacular fashion? Bette Davis embodies the former, as Alicia Hull in Storm Center, while Megan Mullally embodies the latter, as Tammy Swanson in Parks and Recreation.

One thing’s for certain: you decide the winner.

Here’s how it works…We’ll go round-by-round, March Madness-style. For each round, voting will be open for 24 hours. You can vote on our website or on the Newberry’s Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram accounts.

Round-by-round voting schedule:

  • Round 1: Sunday, April 19, starting at noon
  • Quarterfinals: Tuesday, April 21, at noon
  • Semifinals: Thursday, April 23, at noon
  • Finals: Saturday, April 25, at noon