Librarians
The Librarians are a fraternity of North America on Nuclearth devoted to the gathering, maintenance, and dissemination of knowledge, both from before and after the great war, though in most places they focus on the former. In some settlements, they fulfill the literal meaning of their name, collecting or producing books and operating libraries that are open to all visitors—or at least all visitors that have properly registered with the fraternity. In other settlements, they guard their knowledge jealously, treating the results of their research and records as arcane secrets not to be shared with the uninitiated. Overall, however, the Librarians are perhaps the most neutral of the major fraternities, and the one least likely to take sides in interfraternity conflicts—though, as with most things involving the fraternities, there are certainly local exceptions.
The symbol of the Librarians is an open book.
Philosophy
While various subgroups pursue their philosophy in different ways, what all Librarians have in common is that they place great importance on the preservation of knowledge—and, to a slightly lesser extent, in the gathering of new knowledge. The guiding principle of the Librarians is that knowledge is an important ideal in and of itself, and should be cherished, sought after, and protected. At least, this is their guiding principle in theory; in practice, many Librarians care little for such abstract precepts, and pursue knowledge not entirely for its own sake but as a means to an end, be that money, power, or simple self-fulfillment.
As a whole, the Librarians specialize in knowledge retained from preapocalyptic times—be that knowledge of the world as it was before the war, or subjects such as astronomy and chemistry that are still applicable today but were easier to study in depth with the resources and equipment available then. Individual subgroups or local organizations, however, or individual members within a subgroup or localization, may focus on more uniquely contemporary matters, such as mutant biology, postapocalyptic society or geography, or even the psychic powers that some postapocalyptic people are rumored to have. In some settlements, all or most of the Librarians share a particular specialty, but in others Librarians mingle who focus on many different fields of study. When there are no other Librarians of a similar specialty nearby—or often even if there are—a Librarian is likely to keep in communication by correspondence with other Librarians of similar interest all over the continent. This gives rise to networks of Librarians of shared specialization
History
Ironically for a group so focused on knowledge, less is known about the origins of the Librarians than of any other major fraternity. This is probably because the Librarians started as a secret society—or, according to what available evidence does exist, more than one secret society that later joined forces. Two such organizations in particular have been singled out by name as important contributors to the fraternity's foundation: the Acolytes of Truth, and the Keepers in Shadow. There may very well have been other societies beyond these two involved in forming the Librarians, but if so they have remained even farther from common knowledge—and of course it's not impossible that even the two foundational societies that are "known" didn't really have an important role or may not have even existed at all, and that the traditional account of their formation has been distorted over time, or is even a product of intentional misinformation.
Regardless, if they did exist, little is now known of these societies—the names of their founders are mysteries, as well as the nature of their foundation, or even exactly when they existed, and when they first joined forces to create what is now the fraternity of the Librarians. The only information that is known about them—and even this may be inaccurate—is their basic philosophies. The Acolytes of Truth apparently literally worshipped knowledge in a quasireligious manner, or according to some accounts even in a fully religious manner, personifying Truth as a divine or even superdivine figure to whom they owed their devotion. It has been questioned, however, to what extent their rites represented genuine worship of entities in which the Acolytes really believed, or whether they were allegorical morality plays not to be taken literally. As for the Keepers in Shadow, they appear to have seen it as their mission as much to keep dangerous knowledge out of the wrong hands as to discover new, or rediscover old, facts. Widespread rumors have it that among the dangerous knowledge the Keepers secreted was that of how to create the nuclear bombs that devastated the world.
In any case, the Librarians first began to make themselves known around the year 100, by the postapocalyptic calendar. Even then, they maintained a low profile, making themselves known at first as information brokers who would trade in kind for useful knowledge—and usually demand a little financial garnish on the top, on the grounds that the knowledge they were providing was more immediately useful to the recipient than the knowledge they were receiving, so the extra renumeration was necessary to make the exchange equitable. It's unclear just how expansive the organization was at that point; even if it did reveal part of its operation to outsiders, it did still retain much of the nature of a secret society, and kept the full extent of its membership and operations close to its chest. Regardless, it gradually grew in both prominence and openness, to the point that other nascent fraternities became concerned at what mysteries this then nameless cabal might be hiding and what power it might be gathering. Perhaps it was to defuse such worries—and so to forestall any offensive actions that might be taken against it in their consequence—that in 160 the organization finally came out into the light, dubbing itself the fraternity of the Librarians and proclaiming its purpose to be to gather and safeguard knowledge for the presence of all inhabitants of the land. It still took some time after that for the group to really earn the trust of the other fraternities, but since then the Librarians have become a valued part of North American society in Nuclearth—which is, of course, by no means to say that they no longer hide any secrets, or that there is no chance that factions of the Librarians may not have some sinister ends.
Membership
In most places, to become a member of the Librarians it suffices to demonstrate a sincere interest in knowledge and learning. The means of showing this interest vary; to join most branches of the Librarians, one need only express one's enthusiasm, but some require potential inductees to pass examinations—either tests of general knowledge, or trials geared toward whatever subject they claim as their particular specialty. Especially in those branches that are more lenient with their initial entrance requirements, the Librarians may require new members to undergo a probationary period before they are trusted with any sensitive information or access to the fraternity's resources. After a few months to a few years during which the initiates prove their interests and intentions are genuine, they become full members. This process helps to weed out would-be spies and infiltrators who are motivated only by access to the information the fraternity holds and have no desire to help advance its goals, though the filter isn't infallible.
While dual fraternity membership is still rare among the Librarians, it is at least slightly more common than in other fraternities. This is not because the Librarians are less demanding of their members; Librarians are expected to work at least as diligently toward the organization's ends as those of any other fraternity toward theirs. But the local leaders of other fraternities may be somewhat more tolerant of their members splitting their time with the Librarians because it gives them an in who can access the Librarians' accumulated learning.
Activities
The name of the Librarians is not purely figurative; in most towns where they have any significant numbers, the Librarians do indeed maintain physical libraries where their information is collected. The details, however, vary. Some of their libraries are open to the public, the local Librarians happy to share their knowledge with the community. Others are closed to all but fraternity members, and guarded by various means against illicit entry. Still others are hidden, either behind the façades of other buildings or in underground complexes. The libraries often double as the local base of operations of the Librarians, and may even include living quarters for the leading members; in other cases, however, the librarians maintain a separate administrative headquarters, and leave the library devoted solely to its bibliothecarial function.
Different branches of the Librarians may have different specialties. In some places, the Librarians see themselves primarily as archivists; they keep and preserve books and other informational media, and may be happy to accept new materials brought to them, but do not take an active role in seeking out new knowledge themselves. Other Librarian groups are more proactive in generating knowledge, devoting themselves not just to collating and collecting prior learning but to active noegenesis. Some of these groups of Librarians may go out on expeditions to distant lands and explore dangerous areas to look for rare and novel resources, though most will hire adventurers for these tasks, either to accompany and assist the fraternity members or to go in their stead.
Maintaining libraries, buying books and other resources, and funding expeditions takes money, and while the Librarians do collect dues from their members like all the fraternities, they often have additional sources of income as well. Some branches take donations, and there may be enough locals appreciative of the services they provide to let them get by this way—though these branches will seldom attain much wealth. Others charge for access to their libraries, or hire themselves out as advisers and scholars, or both. Some librarian branches own their own printing presses, and manufacture their own books—either copies of books they already possess, or new books written by fraternity members (or sometimes perhaps by other authors). A few branches may make these books for their own use and to stock their own libraries, but it's common for them to sell books to outsiders. Books in general are of course in short supply in Nuclearth, but many Librarian branches produce books that may be especially valuable for their exquisite kalotypography.
There are rumors of some secretive factions within the fraternity that focus on more esoteric subjects. The Dragons supposedly study some sort (or more than one sort) of magic—not the psychic powers that some people apparently manifest, nor the murmurated abilities of the salvage men—or not only those—but other arcana more ancient and exotic. The Chrononauts are said to study the nature of time itself, with a particular eye to achieving time travel—by most accounts, they hope to find a way to go back in time to prevent the war that made Nuclearth what it is, but some would have it that they have already attained the ability to travel through time, and for some reason have chosen not to put it to that purpose—or have been incapable of doing so. The Haggerstones reputedly believe that the Earth is hollow, and seek to find a way into its interior—or, according to some, already know how to reach that interior and focus on exploring and exploiting it. The existence of all three of these alleged factions (and others similarly but less commonly spoken of) is dubious, and even if they do exist they are almost certainly misguided in their beliefs, but stories about them continue to circulate.
Relations
For the most part, relations between the Librarians and other fraternities are civil, if not cordial. While most of the fraternities are involved in deep webs of alliances and rivalries, in most places the Librarians have few enemies. Hedonists often tend to be somewhat cool toward them, thinking that the Librarians' pursuit of knowledge misses the point of pursuing true satisfaction, and some extremist factions of Feudals believe that some of the information disseminated by the Librarians would be better forgotten, but even these resentments seldom flare into open hostility.
This neutrality is not so much due to any perceived affability of the Librarians as to a perceived indispensability. The Librarians, after all, are the primary controllers of knowledge in Nuclear North America, and knowledge is useful enough to all the fraternities that none are eager to get on their bad side. Many Librarians are not above exploiting this advantage; they know the other fraternities need them, and they're skilled at employing leverage to get what they want.
Because they remain on reasonably good or at least nonantagonistic terms with most or all fraternities, Librarians in many communities also often find themselves put into a position as diplomats or moderators. In very few places is this an official function of the fraternity, but when two fraternities want a stightler to resolve some difficult issue between them, it is more often than not a Librarian to whom they will turn—and a few Librarians make a living serving as mediators.
The Librarians are the best known information brokers of postapocalyptic North America, but not the only ones. A number of scavengers specialize in books, though few of them are nearly as concerned with the information inside them as with the money they can get by selling them. A minor fraternity called the Grangers, active primarily in the Lakes area, prides itself on keeping knowledge alive through memorization and oral recitation, and its members are willing to declaim their assigned works for a fee. Finally, the Persibi are a mysterious organization that sells not just general knowledge of the world and of history, but of more intimate matters, secrets that powerful people would rather keep undivulged. All of these groups are often positioned to be rivals of the Librarians, though they have also been known to work with the Librarians on occasion.
Centers of influence
The Librarians' influence is wide and diffuse; they have a presence almost everywhere in North America, but in few places are a dominant force—at least, not overtly. Nevertheless, they do have more power in some places than in others. The places where the Librarians are particularly influential can usually be discerned by the prominent libraries, though it's not entirely clear whether that's a cause or effect of their power there. Communities where the Librarians are particularly pollent include Nineveh, Indiana; Herculaneum, Missouri; Bagdad, Arizona; and Parchment, Michigan.
Probably the Librarians' greatest center of power is in the floating city of Alexandria, Virginia, the site of the Great Library, widely said to be the largest physical library in the world. While in truth there are several other contenders for that title, the Great Library is certainly the largest library in North America. The staff of the Great Library is an exclusive corps that calls itself the Library Company and functions much like a fraternity within a fraternity, and that claims to predate the larger fraternity and to be the main core around which it formed—though other fraternity members dispute that account.