{"id":8068,"date":"2023-04-20T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-20T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.playthepast.org\/?p=8068"},"modified":"2023-04-18T14:01:07","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T18:01:07","slug":"the-librarian-in-strange-horticulture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.playthepast.org\/?p=8068","title":{"rendered":"The Librarian in Strange Horticulture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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You receive a handwritten note regarding the whereabouts of the Wandering Bue. It is signed by Simone, the librarian in the game Strange Horticulture<\/em>. Throughout the story, she does what librarians stereotypically do: provide information. She spends so much time working, in fact, that it leads to health decline. It doesn\u2019t help that she knows dangerous information that puts her in potential danger. Is Strange Horticulture<\/em> crafting a dramatic depiction of librarianship, or is it unexpectedly mirroring real-world experiences? Perhaps there is more to librarianship than meets the eye. Let\u2019s investigate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fictional Plants, Black Cats, and Ancient Evils<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Strange Horticulture<\/em> is a 2022 2-D occult-themed puzzle game by developer Bad Viking. The player is the new owner of a plant shop which sells fictitious plants to the people of rainy Undermere. As a player, you spend a lot of time matching physical plants with their descriptions by using clues. The plants and descriptions can range from realistic to fantastical, like the Aguria, which \u201ccan enhance psychic abilities, strengthening the clarity of visions and prophecies.\u201d  As plants\/descriptions are matched and are unlocked, a plant catalog expands, becoming an increasingly helpful resource for further player sleuthing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the game takes place on a screen with a dark wooden table, plant shelves, and a sepia text box. There are old letters and a worn-out map. Some other charms of the game include Hellebore, the shop\u2019s black cat; the \u201cA rising Dread\u201d meter (when filled, you will get flagged with: \u201cA shiver travels down my spine. My mind is broken.\u201d); a foreboding deck of cards describing the past, or the future\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the player meets more people, they learn about \u201can ancient evil\u201d called the Servant, the Woken Dendrew. Some people seek to destroy the creature, others try to control it. The Servant\u2019s release, and the fate of the characters, depend on the player’s decisions. Though it sounds tense and unsettling, Strange Horticulture<\/em> is actually a rather calm, relaxing cozy game where deaths and horrors are treated like gossip through dialogue. It also leans on text-based narration, which the player can take their time reading and re-reading for clues. With multiple endings, choices matter in Strange Horticulture<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Simone Greene, the Overworked Librarian<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Simone Greene is a librarian at Ambleside Library (fun fact: While Undermere is a fictional place, Ambleside is a real town in the U.K. with a real library<\/a>). At first glance, Simone is a stereotypical librarian. She is a conservatively dressed white woman wearing glasses and holding a book (granted, the game is Victorian-inspired). Though she is not as mysterious as the \u201cWoman in the Jade Mask\u201d or \u201cThe Hunter\u201d, she is significant enough to be one of ten characters who have a biography and title (\u201cThe Librarian\u201d), among the dozens of characters in Strange Horticulture<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simone loves reading and is \u201cirritatingly organized.\u201d She provides clues and narrative tidbits that move the plot along. \u201cYou owe me for the hours I spent digging out the information on those plants!\u201d she exclaims. She\u2019s well connected and is able to gain access to the library at Calder Abbey as well as the archives of Lord Fremont. Simone is very passionate about knowledge, enduring sleepless nights in order to gather information. When she visits the plant shop, it is to get plants to help with eye strain or boost energy. \u201cToo many late nights at the library are taking their toll,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is this a realistic depiction of librarians? Is it stereotypical? And whatever it may be, is the depiction itself helpful or harmful for real-world librarians?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The article \u201cVocational Awe and Librarianship<\/a>: The Lies We Tell Ourselves\u201d discusses how people expect libraries, and librarians, to do an extraordinary amount of good and important work. Librarians are pressured to sacrifice a lot to provide quality service, and if they fail, the blame ends up on the librarian, instead of the library system (or society in which it resides). As a result of this mistreatment, librarians experience job creep, under-compensation, and ultimately, burnout, while the flawed system remains unchanged. Let\u2019s look at how much of that lines up with Simone\u2019s experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simone\u2019s perpetual exhaustion is mentioned in a casual off-handed tone, but it echoes reality. For one, public librarians often experience things like irregular shifts<\/a>. \u201cLibrarians, especially public librarians, typically do shift work, covering some evenings and weekends, often on a rotating schedule. Even more disruptive to regular eating and sleeping patterns, those shifts tend to be irregular from day to day and week to week. Studies on the effects of shift work have found negative impacts on <\/a>mental health<\/a> as well as physical health. The two are often intertwined, such as when disrupted sleep cycles contribute to stress.\u201d Simone expressed these sentiments herself, \u201cI’ve been burning the midnight oil again and could use some Common Trouse.\u201d Plant description: \u201cIts leaves have been used for centuries as a balm against eye strain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Librarians also typically perform beyond their job description. People expect \u201csomeone who can offer emotional support, reassurance, sociality, answers, and interventions at points of pain or need\u201d ( the mommy librarian<\/a>\u2014note the gendering). Luckily, Strange Horticulture<\/em> doesn’t imply this kind of relationship. If anything, Simone and the player are friends and Simone herself is approachable and friendly. Simone\u2019s fond of the shop cat (\u201cHellebore! Always a pleasure my feline friend.\u201d) and the player knows Simone\u2019s mother, \u201cMy mother’s had me looking into this Servant creature for you\u2026\u201d Instead, Simone performs beyond her job description in other ways. Another \u201cpositive\u201d for her depiction is that she is enjoying her work. Her biography states, \u201cIn the meantime every day yields new discoveries – buried fragments of ancient knowledge resurfacing to the light like arrowheads to archaeologists.\u201d It seems her curiosity, not an abusive work environment, is the source for her crazy work schedule (though passion should not be exploited for unreasonable labor). But for real-world librarians, especially women who have to deal with all the issues described above, \u201cburning the midnight oil\u201d every night will just lead to burnout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Well-Read Woman is a Dangerous Creature<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Though stereotyped to be a feminine field, librarianship wasn\u2019t always a \u201cwomen\u2019s profession.\u201d In fact, Victorian era<\/a> male librarians thought the job was actually too much for women. \u201cThe belief that long hours or excessive intellectual stimulation could make women sick presumably led some women to avoid seeking additional responsibilities. In other cases supervisors\u2014both male and female\u2014held them back for the sake of their health.\u201d This was a time when men thought even reading was bad for women (Madame Bovary<\/em>, anyone?).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a nineteenth century woman, Simone is pretty radical. She overcomes the sexism of her time by being well-read on a wide range of topics. She works hard and \u201chas begun the overwhelming task of rearranging the library at Ambleside.\u201d That said, Simone may not seem extraordinary feminist today because players see Simone through a contemporary lens, not a historic one. How does she hold up to the modern woman?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though her work ethic is admirable in the game, she somewhat plays into certain expectations, described by \u201cThe Stereotype Stereotype<\/a>,\u201d  \u201cBy 1900, the passive, submissive, and plain librarian stereotype we recognize today had emerged. Women were hired to take over the less desirable aspects of librarianship and were paid low wages because they had no leverage.\u201d Simone\u2019s intelligence actually plays into that stereotype. \u201cAdministrators endeavored to hire women because they were better educated than men attracted to the profession and were unable to demand comparable wages.\u201d Of course, pay inequality is a problem today. A 2020 study<\/a> shows that, at least in research libraries, \u201cWhile better than the US overall pay gap, males at every level make significantly more, both statistically and in terms of lost wages during the course of a career, than their female colleagues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s explore Simone\u2019s intelligence a bit more. Simone is smart (as librarians are portrayed), but this is depicted in a realistic way. She says things like, \u201cI have no idea what any of this means,\u201d or \u201cSorry, I’ve not heard of it, but I’ll keep an eye out for you,\u201d or even \u201cI’m drawing a blank when I try to find anything.\u201d Rather than being a know-it all, she\u2019s down-to-earth. These remarks help make Strange Horticulture<\/em> more interesting by enhancing the narrative or creating puzzles while making Simone more relatable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The knowledgeable librarian\/curator\/historian\/archivist is a common trope (think Blathers in Animal Crossing<\/a>) but this stereotype can easily gloss over actual effort. Compare Blathers\u2019 instant monologues to Simone\u2019s research attempt: \u201cIn reference to your question the other day about Long Meg, I’m afraid I do not have an answer but Calder Abbey has a wealth of knowledge on local lore.\u201d This shows the labor of librarianship. It is also realistic for librarians to say \u201cI don\u2019t know\u201d and to recommend a place to start researching. It makes her more believable (unlike Urag gro-Shub<\/a> in the College of Winterhold, who is at his desk 24\/7).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Librarians are seen as knowledgeable because they manage, well, knowledge. Like Simone, many real-world librarians help patrons find information. Reference librarians are generally trained<\/a> to direct patrons resources such as books, shelves, digital repositories, and other libraries altogether. Simone does twice – the first time, she sends the player to Calder Abbey; the second time, to Lord Fremont\u2019s archives. That said, most librarians don\u2019t comb through books and send personalized notes like Simone. That would lean to burn out, and people shouldn\u2019t expect that of librarians. But at least she isn\u2019t playing into the shushing old lady librarian lady trope like Wickerbottom from Don\u2019t Starve<\/em>, another well-read and plant-obsessed librarian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Librarians Under Attack<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

 While Simone\u2019s physical health is casually eroded away by her career, her life is threatened by something much more sinister. Regardless of the player\u2019s choices in the game, there will always be the option midway through to \u201cdrug\u201d Simone on Day 12. That day, Faye (\u201cThe Psychic\u201d) arrives at the plant shop and hands the player Lisle of Neptune. \u201cWhen your librarian friend visits tomorrow, give her this instead of the Palliance that she will ask for. She knows something that she’s not telling you.\u201d The Lisle of Neptune\u2019s description: \u201cAlso called Truthsayer, this plant will force a person to tell the truth when eaten.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next day, Simone visits the plant shop. She requests Palliance, which improves air quality. The player can give her a Lisle of Neptune plant instead – if chosen, Simone suddenly \u201cvolunteers\u201d the recipe for the Elixir of Control. The elixir controls the Servant, and many people want that power. Later, Simone says, \u201cI haven’t forgiven you for whatever it was that you gave me the other day.\u201d Danger is real in Strange Horticulture<\/em>; mysterious disappearances and murders are key to the storyline. But how often do librarians deal with serious matters like threats and death?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When people think of libraries, they usually imagine books and computers. They don\u2019t usually imagine crisis management. Sure, that\u2019s not as exciting as a summoning ritual of an immortal monster, but still pretty serious. Libraries have become complex spaces. Librarians now need to know how to perform de-escalation techniques<\/a> and administer naloxone<\/a>. They also deal with safety issues (or, perhaps, issues are finally coming to light). Library staff get sexually harassed<\/a> and sometimes train to protect themselves from stalkers<\/a>. In 2018, a public library supervisor in California was killed by a gun-wielding patron. An article<\/a> from American Libraries <\/em>Magazineprovides examples of abuse in the library space, and lists other violent moments from 2017-2019. Library staff sometimes have a plan<\/a> in place to deal with workplace violence, but the fact that they have to deal with so many things shows how the expectations\/demands have grown (job creep). Recently, librarians experienced trauma due to a global pandemic<\/a> and dealt with discriminatory protestors (more on that later). Funding, training, salary, and work\/life balance has not kept up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Simone is not as embedded in the dramatics of the story, she does become a passive victim when she is forced to spill the truth. How did Faye know that Simone held this secret? What if the Cultist, who \u201cdedicated his life to the one he calls the Woken Dendrew,\u201d came after her? Instead, Simone brushes it off, which normalizes the strange (on-brand for Strange Horticulture<\/em>) but moves too quickly over a moment of betrayal, both of friendship and of knowledge confidentiality. It is unfortunate that this event can make Simone seem like a passive, helpless woman whose only purposes are to serve others or be victim to the ploys for the sake of plot. But it also be an example of resilience, or perhaps being drugged by magic plants is just a normal part of life in Undermere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The player tricks Simone to get information. Getting information from a librarian is normal (encouraged, even!), but librarians cannot always comply. One example is patron privacy. To protect patrons, libraries can choose  not to record<\/a> information about a patron. If the government asked for a patron\u2019s internet activities or check-out history, libraries might not have anything to give.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simone\u2019s case is strange and hard to compare to real-world situations. First, she\u2019s dealing with the supernatural (there are no regulations for dealing with magical plants). Second, it is unclear whether or Simone was allowed to share what she knew, or that she was even supposed to know. She learned the recipe from Lord Fremont\u2019s private archives. Confidentiality about library materials exists (think the Vatican, the U.S. Capitol, or corporations), but usually there are legal contracts with clear rules and consequences. Simone recognizes the dangers of keeping records, \u201cI should have destroyed that elixir recipe when I had the chance. Whatever happens, you must not allow it to fall into the wrong hands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is worth noting that there is a difference between limiting the sharing of patron information and censorship\/limiting the right to information. A library has no right to invade a patron\u2019s privacy, but a patron has the right to access information at the library. Some public libraries have guidelines regarding intellectual freedom<\/a>. \u201cIntellectual freedom is the right of library users to read, seek information, and speak freely as guaranteed by the First Amendment. Intellectual freedom is one of the core values of the library profession; it promotes access to information and guides the defense against censorship.\u201d This very issue has led to political and physical tension in and around libraries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public libraries have progressed (in the U.S.) since their beginnings\u2014I\u2019ve written about patron discrimination in public libraries in another Play the Past piece<\/a>. As a public space, libraries (ideally) welcome people of diverse backgrounds. It is a place to learn about difficult histories and underrepresented communities. This has become a reason to attack libraries. Librarians, especially public and academic librarians, face issues like racism and sexism<\/a>. Libraries are a space for people to gather and express ideas, which can range from drag queen story hour<\/a> to hate speech<\/a> to book bans<\/a>. It shows the diversity of the communities libraries serve, as well as the complex expectations the public holds about the library space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ironically, though Simone is extremely agile in her research, she is rather clueless about the actual events in the game. In the epilogue, Simone says, \u201cI must admit I’ve been buried in my books and seem to have missed all the excitement. I hear you and your plants had a part to play though.\u201d Perhaps things are calmer at Ambleside Library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Just Another Day at the Library<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

            Simone is a complex character who plays into some librarian stereotypes while resisting others. She works in a way that would cause real-world librarians to experience burnout, but she also demonstrates real-world reactions and choices that are often glossed over in portrayal of librarians. As Simone helps the player through Strange Horticulture<\/em>, she is also exposed to harms that mirror threats to real-world librarians, such as poor work-life balance and literal physical dangers. She\u2019s also treated to the harms that come to librarians when they are protecting and managing information. Though Simone is rather a normal character among a fantastical cast, and pretty down-to-earth in an environment with the strangest and most mysterious things, she is rather dynamic in the way she works, talks, and engages with the Strange Horticulture<\/em> world. Because of this, she\u2019s a useful foil for exploring the complex stereotypes, expectations, and realities of real-world librarianship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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