'The Library functions as a powerful figuration of power and knowledge in the western cultural imaginary, and the stories that circulate about libraries are gendered stories that link power and knowledge to masculinity and femininity in particular ways. Through an analysis of literary and film narratives, author demonstrates that stories of lost libraries, representations of libraries as labyrinths, and narratives of library destruction are closely related to the stereotype of the female librarian, as both engage profound anxieties concerning rationality, subjectivity, desire and embodiment. Author argues that the figuration of the library in the western imaginary is profoundly gendered, and that the problematic stereotypical representation of the female librarian cannot be understood, let alone corrected, outside of the context of the cultural representation of libraries. Author takes as a starting point that libraries are currently undergoing profound transformations as they are becoming increasingly digitalized, and propose that this offers opportunities for reimagining librarianship in radically different and feminist ways.'