Sunnydale High School library

The center part of the library

The original Sunnydale High School library was located directly above the Hellmouth. It served as the Scooby Gang's base of operations since the librarian, Rupert Giles, was a member of the Watchers Council and employed the use of this area. Giles brought in old supernatural texts and medieval weapons, to provide his Slayer Buffy Summers with training during and after school hours as well as holding a source of demonic research when dealing with various threats. It was destroyed when Buffy planted it with a large amount of explosives and detonated them in the face of the newly ascended Mayor Wilkins, destroying him along with the rest of the school. (The books had already been removed.)

Description

The center of library was octagonal, with a skylight above and a red painted line on the floor below, clearly defining its shape.

The Scooby Gang taking research during Christmas

It included a small balcony that was shaped from half of the octagon, facing opposite to the entrance with a pair of stairs each lying at the end of the balcony which also had stacks located within that held books. It also contained a wooden table with chairs in the center of the octagon. There was also a doorway at the back of the balcony which contained another room which, according to Giles, was an old boarded up cellar.

To the right of the library, in front the balcony was the counter where the books were checked in and beyond that was Giles' office.  

The library was also housed right on top of the town's Hellmouth, leading it to being the site of where a multi-headed demon arose on two occasions.

Book cage

Xander in the book cage.

The book cage was located opposite to Giles' office and resembled a white steel cage with a built-in door and a rectangular slot, for book returns. Inside it housed a cupboard and a window.

It was employed by Rupert Giles to store weapons. It was also employed regularly to contain Oz during his werewolf transformation. The possessed Xander, Philip Henry and the Sunnydale High Swim Team, as well as Vampire Willow, were also held inside in during different occasions.

Rebuilt 

The new library

In 2002, the library was rebuilt along with the rest of Sunnydale High. It retained its octagonal shape and skylight but wasn't directly over the Hellmouth. Instead, this site was then taken over by Principal Wood's office. According to former librarian Rupert Giles, this library was filled with nothing but computers. Though this seemed contradicted by earlier appearances, it was likely the computers where recently installed by 2003.

Books Available from the Library

• Vampyr
• Witches: Historic Roots to Modern Practice
• The Pagan Rites
• Emily Dickinson's poetry
• Writings of Aurelius
• Legends of Vishnu
• Black Chronicles
• Writings of Dramius
• Bristow's Demon Index
• Hell's Offspring
• Biography of Joseph Stalin
• Exploring Demon Dimensions
• The Mystery of Acathla
• Sir Robert Kane’s Twilight Compendium
• The Diary of Lucius Temple
• Blood Rites and Sacrifices
• Hebron's Almanac
• Books of Pherion
• Merenshtadt Text
• Kippler Volumes   

Blueprints

Frequent Visitors

• Rupert Giles
• Buffy Summers
• Alexander Harris
• Willow Rosenberg
• Jenny Calendar
• Cordelia Chase
• Angel
• Joyce Summers
• Daniel Osbourne
• Faith Lehane
• Wesley Wyndam-Pryce

Notable Visitors

• Owen Thurman (to lend an Emily Dickinson book)
• Kyle DuFours (to release a hyena-possessed Xander from the bookcage)
• Heidi Barrie (same)
• Rhonda Kelley (same)
• Tor Hauer (same)
• Darla (to spy on Buffy and Willow)
• David Kirby (attending a computer class taught by Mrs. Calendar)
• Fritz Siegel
• Moloch the Corruptor (after being scanned by Willow)
• Sid the Dummy (brought there by Xander, later telling the Scooby Gang about his mission)
• Hank Summers (when searching for Buffy)
• Hellmouth Spawn (twice, when the Hellmouth was opened)
• The Master (when he was dusted by Buffy)
• Jane (to kidnap Willow, Jenny and Giles)
• Bob (same)
• Walt (same)
• Ned (same)
• Snyder (to escape Spike and his gang)
• Inca Mummy (to give information on the Sacred Seal)
• Julia (to steal the Du Lac Manuscript)
• Winslow (when questioning Giles about Philip Henry's death)
• Ethan Rayne (to find Giles)
• Eyghon the Sleepwalker (when possessing Philip Henry)
• Kendra Young (twice, to investigate on Drusilla's cure and to protect Willow when performing the Ritual of Restoration)
• Bezoar babies (to possess Giles and Joyce)
• Amy Madison (to reverse the Love Spell)
• Jonathan Levinson (to lend books on Stalin)
• Sunnydale High Swim Team (to reverse the mutation caused by steroids administered by coach Carl Marin)
• Drusilla and her minions (to kidnap Giles)
• Sunnydale Cops (when investigating Kendra's death)
• Whistler (to guide Buffy)
• Patches (brought by Buffy so that Giles could determine its nature)
• Pete Clarner (to confront Oz about Debbie Foley)
• Lyle Gorch and Candy Gorch (to attack Buffy and Cordelia)
• Gwendolyn Post (to obtain information on the Glove of Myneghon)
• Michael Czajak (to escape Mothers Opposed to the Occult)
• Quentin Travers
• Sisterhood of Jhe (to open the Hellmouth)
• El Eliminati (to kidnap Wesley and Giles)
• Vamp Willow (to attack her double)
• Shrouded Man (to conclude his pact with Giles)
• Anya Jenkins (to give information on the Ascension)
• Richard Wilkins (to threaten the Scooby gang)
• Vahrall Demon (to open the Hellmouth on the ruins)

Behind the Scenes

• The Sunnydale High School library is the original, and longest running headquarters of the Scooby Gang, having been used as a meeting place for three seasons. The Magic Box is the second longest, having been used for two seasons until its destruction, while Giles's apartment and Buffy's house only served as headquarters for one season.

• The books in the library lend an air of humor and verisimilitude to the mystical, metaphysical, paranormal, and supernatural character of the show. The library provides a convenient means for the characters to discover the true nature of the latest forces and entities that the Hellmouth has unleashed upon them and supports the show's own nature as a Bildungsroman, or coming-of-age story, symbolizing the importance both of growing up and of growing in knowledge and understanding, as many critics have pointed out.
• The Sunnydale Library, as well as the rest of the high school, was the first Buffyverse set to be retired by completely destroying it. This trend would continue with The Magic Box, and eventually on Angel with the Angel Investigations offices and Wolfram & Hart.