Potterversity Episode 68: When in Doubt, Go to the Library

We're heading to Hermione's favorite place in this episode: the library!

Ian McLaughlin, an PhD student in English who also holds an MLIS, joins Katy and Emily to reflect on libraries and librarians in Harry Potter, following up on his recent presentations at the Harry Potter Academic Conference. Hogwarts librarian Madam Pince is portrayed as extremely strict and irritable, but is she unfairly maligned, and is she actually a good librarian?

While books are portrayed as important in the series, theoretical knowledge is not sufficient, as demonstrated by the need to form Dumbledore's Army to learn practical defense skills when Umbridge only allows reading. Books aren't the form of media in the series - Ian compares the Mirror of Erised and two-way mirror to smartphones, which leads us to think about how wands function as technology.

Back to librarians, we discuss the issues with censorship and limiting children's access to books, including Harry Potter. We also touch on yet another of Ian's HPAC presentations, exploring the significance of double-casting in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.