Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics

The setting of Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics is Alexandriaville, Ohio: The name of the town, an allusion to the famed Great Library of Alexandria, indicates from the beginning that the importance of libraries will be a major thematic focus. The Great Library of Alexandria was a critical storehouse of knowledge and information, a site of scholarship in the ancient world. Its decline was partially due to the persecution of intellectuals and partially due to declining public support. The novel’s allusion to this historical library foreshadows the novel’s thematic claims that libraries function as critical centers of community and learning, but are always in danger from those who seek to censor knowledge.

Of the two main locations in the story, one is an enormous, technologically advanced library where all the sympathetic main characters feel at home and spend time learning and adventuring. This aspect of the novel’s characterization portrays libraries as community centers that foster the intellectual and emotional growth of patrons. Mr. Lemoncello’s challenges emphasize teamwork, and he is a strong advocate of sharing resources and knowledge. Although the library has video games and other technological innovations, and many of the adventures the Library Olympians have there are designed to be silly fun, the intention behind all these aspects of the library is primarily educational.