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[The Dog Delusion]

So in real life, I'm kind of a library nut. I love libraries, and being in libraries, and doing stuff in libraries. So, I wanted to build a library in my current stable fort. The problem, obviously, is that dwarves seem to have little use for books, shelves, bookshelves, and anything that would remotely resemble an actual library.

So I am now determined to build the closest thing to a library that DF will allow.

First, it would obviously have to be designated as a "throne room/study" (emphasis on STUDY). I don't know what "regular" dwarves would do in such a place, but it will be partitioned into different areas so that any administrator/noble who requires an "office" will have it in the library.

Second, I will have a small room off to the side which will be designated living quarters for the librarian (the philosopher). He wasn't doing anything anyways, so I may as well pretend that he's got something to do.

Third, I'm debating between engraved walls/floors (the dwarven choice) or wooden flooring/paneling (the librarian choice). Perhaps I'll do a combination of the two, but I really want some level of consistency in that it should either be all wooden or all stone. I'm pretty sure the furniture will all be wooden, however, and any decorative statues/etc. will also be wood. Heresy for Dwarves, I know, but when you think about it, libraries are probably heresy to them as well.

Fourth, I'm still trying to decide on a layout. I don't think I'll separate any areas in the library with doors (I want a more open feel to it), but I still think that having a more central "library" area and then a few "study corners" for the offices is the best choice.

Last, I'm still undecided on how to represent the actual shelves/books. Engravings (aka the dwarven picture library) seem like an obvious choice, but insofar as furniture goes, I was thinking that perhaps statues (presumably of important historical/fictional dwarves) might also be an adequate substitute. Cabinets seemed like the closest realistic approximation (perhaps they could house scrolls), but a library fool of stray socks and other knick-nacks seems more than a little ridiculous.

Any suggestions on other things to do, or things to change? Anything I missed that might make this more difficult/easy than anticipated?

[OcelotTango]

Im not sure if dwarves will sew images into cloth when you say sew images into clothes, but if they do you could have stacks of embroidered cloth act as dwarven books.

[The Dog Delusion]

Im not sure if dwarves will sew images into cloth when you say sew images into clothes, but if they do you could have stacks of embroidered cloth act as dwarven books.

After a bit of looking into it, I think that they DO sew actual images into items (you can look at the item description to see what it's an image of), but they can only sew images onto either clothing or a bag, not a stack of cloth. But it seems that this idea is worth exploring...

[Kanil]

I seem to recall a fortress using silk ropes with images sewn into them as an approximation of tapestries.

I'd recommend that for your library, possibly with some statues too.

[Glacies]

I use rows of wooden cabinets as the equivalent to bookshelves. The actual process of making an embroidered item to represent a book is a little too, eh, time consuming and it would look weird to me, too. That, and it would be more crap to look after. The shelves sort of sit there. Then I designate a tiny little study and usually a solitary dwarf will eat her lunch in the library.

[Sir Broccoli]

You could turn it into a library/museum and put some of your artifacts on display.

[Maggarg - Eater of chicke]

The more labyrinthine your library, the better.

[elizar]

Now I want someone to mod in tapestries in the game. They can be walked through but it is more expected it to come between walls to act like a door that cannot be locked.

But I can't mod anything. I can barely navigate the init file.

[ragnaroki]

I recall some one digging a bunch of floors into the ground with each room of size 364, then engraving one floor each year so that he had something like a diary for his fortress. I believe that a combination of artifact furniture, Sewn Cloth images and engraved walls would really turn a room into a dwarven library

[Itnetlolor]

I was inspired by someone else's fort that featured a library. Essentially, all you really need to do is smooth and engrave some walls. Unfortunately, it'll only apply to walls that have been mined out, and works best if you hide engraving until you engrave the "books" in. My fort Wavehandle has an example of what I am talking about. Just reveal the "Topic" that's in the middle of them.

Wavehandle's Library

Of course, to make it look more like a real library, you can just engrave the center-most blocks and keep the end points smooth, or at least hidden engravings.

[teloft]

Now I want someone to mod in tapestries in the game. They can be walked through but it is more expected it to come between walls to act like a door that cannot be locked.

But I can't mod anything. I can barely navigate the init file.

tapestries could function like something that blocks miasma.