Storybrooke Free Public Library

"For twenty-eight years, the hand didn't move. Then one day, tick-tock, it bloody did."

- Will Scarlet to Robin Hood

The Storybrooke Free Public Library, also known as the Clock Tower, is a Storybrooke location on ABC's Once Upon a Time and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. It first appears in the first episode of the first season of Once Upon a Time.

Visitors

 * Black Fairy †
 * Cora †
 * David Nolan
 * Elsa
 * Emma Swan
 * Gideon
 * Granny
 * Greg Mendell †


 * Hook
 * Ingrid †
 * Johanna †
 * Leroy
 * Will Scarlet
 * Mary Margaret Blanchard
 * Merida


 * Mr. Gold
 * Peter Pan † (in Henry Mills' body)
 * Regina Mills
 * Robin Hood †
 * Ruby
 * Tamara †

Trivia
On-screen Notes=

On-screen Notes

 * The library and clock tower are featured in the title cards for "The Queen Is Dead" and "Dark Hollow.
 * The closed library during the First Dark Curse represents the way all the stories have been ripped from the fairytale characters lives.
 * The clock has been depicted in some form of broken state in every season of Once Upon a Time apart from Season Four:
 * The clock itself was "broken" until the end of "Pilot" in Season One, when time resumed in Storybrooke.
 * Cora broke the clock face in Season Two when she magically threw Johanna out of the tower in "The Queen Is Dead".
 * Its repair appears confused as it was still broken in "And Straight On 'Til Morning", however, flashbacks in "Dark Hollow" set immediately afterward show the clock repaired.
 * Zelena broke the clock face in Season Three when she magically threw Regina through it during their fight in "It's Not Easy Being Green". It was repaired at some point between "Kansas" and "A Tale of Two Sisters"
 * The clock face was broken again in Season Five when Zelena was sucked out by a cyclone summoned by Regina in "Swan Song". It was repaired at least by "Our Decay".
 * Gideon shattered the clock face in Season Six during a magical fit of rage in "Tougher Than the Rest". It was repaired soon after, by "Ill-Boding Patterns".
 * The clock face was broken for the second time in Season Six when the Black Fairy's curse broke through it to engulf the town in "The Song in Your Heart". It was repaired once the curse took effect in "The Final Battle Part 1".
 * Its address number is 3551.
 * The library's opening hours are from 9 A.M. to 10 P.M. on Mondays to Fridays, 10 A.M. to 8 P.M. on Saturdays and 11 A.M. to 6 P.M. on Sundays.
 * According to the poster behind the front desk, the book categories are general works, psychology and philosophy, religion & mythology, social sciences, languages, natural sciences & math, applied sciences & technology, arts & recreation, literature, and geography & history.
 * Geographically, the library and clock tower are at the center of Storybrooke.


 * -|Production Notes=

Production Notes

 * The top two stories of the clock tower, including the clock, are visual effects.
 * However, some shots of the clock are filmed with a real studio prop.
 * The close-up of the clock face seen when time starts moving in Storybrooke in "Pilot" and "The Thing You Love Most" is reused in "A Land Without Magic", "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and "The Final Battle Part 2". In "A Land Without Magic" and "Darkness on the Edge of Town", the lighting has been changed to daylight and a cloud of magic has been digitally added to the former.


 * -|Cultural References=

Disney

 * When Ingrid enters the clock tower, the clock (seen from inside) is set at 10:15, a reference to the scene from Frozen where Anna and Hans are singing "Love Is an Open Door" in front of a clock tower.
 * When Emma uses magic to handcuff the Snow Queen, the clock (seen from inside) is set at at 12:25, a reference to the time on the White Rabbit's pocket watch in Alice in Wonderland.

Lost

 * During the curse, the time on the clock tower is frozen at 8:15. It is a reference to Oceanic Flight 815 from Lost.
 * When Emma decides to stay in Storybrooke, the clock unfreezes from 8:15 and moves forward to 8:16. 8, 15 and 16 are three of the Lost numbers.
 * The next morning, Regina sees the clock at 8:23. 23 is a reference to Jack Shephard's number on Lost.
 * The clock ticks to 8:15 just as Main Street is engulfed by a cloud of magic brought about by Mr. Gold.
 * The illustration of the clock tower on the postcard that Neal receives shortly after the curse is broken shows 8:15.
 * When Will Scarlet leaves Storybrooke, the clock shows 8:15.
 * When Emma arrives in Storybrooke during the second curse, the clock also shows 8:15.
 * At the beginning of "Darkness on the Edge of Town", the hand on the town clock moves from 8:15 to 8:16.
 * If you watch closely or play it in slow motion when Gideon destroys the clock, you can see that the time is 8:15.
 * When Gideon is inside the clock tower, preparing to release the Black Fairy, the time on the clock is 8:15.
 * After the Final Battle is won, the time on the clock tower is 8:15. The hand on the town clock then moves to 8:16.

Popular Culture

 * When Belle is cleaning up the library floor, among the books seen are Spies in the Vatican by John Koehler (on a shelf), and Twice-Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne (on the floor). There is also a book on Greek mythology.
 * Among the books seen in In "Manhattan" are:
 * Murder at the Pentagon by Margaret Truman (barely readable)
 * "In Flanders Fields" – the famous poem by John McCrae, written during First World War
 * The Beauty of Britain
 * Fairoaks by Frank Yerby
 * Honor Thy Father by Gay Talase
 * The Uninvited by Tim Wynne-Jones
 * The First Circle by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
 * Cruel Doubt by Joe McGinniss
 * Ottawa Unbuttoned by Dave McIntosh
 * Drop City by T. Coraghessan Boyle
 * The Marriage Prize by Virginia Henley
 * Maestro by Bob Woodward
 * Highly Confident by Jesse Kornbluth
 * Vancouver (where Once Upon a Time is filmed)
 * The War in 2020 by Ralph Peters
 * Competing for the Future
 * In "Smash the Mirror", Robin Hood picks up the children's book The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss. Other books in the library are:
 * Thriving On Chaos by Tom Peters (on the far right when Will asks Robin Hood if he and Regina are still together)
 * Fine Art Reproductions by New York Graphic Society
 * Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament by Joseph Tayer
 * Kunstgewerbeblatt
 * The Complete Printmaker
 * The Encyclopedia of Creative Cooking
 * Audubon Perspectives: Fight for Survival
 * Eyewitness to Disaster by Dan Perkes
 * Great Marques: Mercedes Benz
 * The Great Events by Famous Historians volume VI, XII and XVII
 * Vocabulary of the Greek Testament by James Hope Moulton and George Milligan
 * Cashelmara by Susan Howatch (on the bottom right corner when Robin Hood takes out The Cat in the Hat)
 * When Emma is looking up information on how to defeat Hades, among the books lying next to her on the desk is a 1976 omnibus edition of Sleeping Murder and Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Cristie (seen upside-down).


 * -|Set Notes=

Props Notes

 * There is a tree shaped mirror on the wall that hides the elevator doors, one of many references in Storybrooke to the Enchanted Forest.
 * The author of A Nautical Guide (which Belle consults) is "D. McLean", a reference to production staff member Douglas McLean
 * D. McLean is also the name of a news reporter listed in the newspaper that Isaac reads in "Operation Mongoose Part 2".
 * The illustration of the monkey's fist knot, is a slightly altered version of a picture that can be found on several online websites.
 * One page says:

[image begins]f the sails are ''[image begins]d [image begins HITCH) [image begins] the top is defined [image begins]oks as a rolling [image begins] defined by some [image begins] hitch but is a variant [image begins]not with a Half Hitch" [image beginsottom knot is similar to a [image begins]t line hitch is doubled [image begins]anding part of the line.
 * Most of the text is actually an excerpt from a leaflet called "The Basics of Sailing 2010". The full excerpt, found on page 80, reads:


 * "Rolling Hitch (or Magnus Hitch): In the right hand picture, the knot on the top is defined by Ashley and most US knotting books as a rolling Hitch. The knot on the bottom is defined by some British knotting books as a rolling hitch but is a variant of what Ashley calls a "Awning Knot with a Half Hitch" or a "Midshipman Knot". The bottom knot is similar to a taut line hitch except that a taut line hitch is doubled back on itself and tied to the standing part of the line."

Set Dressing

 * In "Pilot", the sign for "Storybrooke Free Public Library" is a green house-shaped structure, but in "The Thing You Love Most", it is changed to a white rectangular sign. Stock footage appears to have be used briefly in a scene in "The New Neverland" where the Shadow flies past the library and the old green sign is seen.
 * A poster pinned to the wall inside the library, contains an illustration of Titania and Nick Bottom from William Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream".
 * The same poster can be seen on a billboard outside the town hall in "Desperate Souls".
 * Another poster is about a boat for a sale, while a third poster shows an illustration of a house. The latter is also seen in close-up in "Broken Heart", where the headline is revealed to be "Learn how to Protect your Home...". Both posters also appear on the town hall's billboard in "Desperate Souls".
 * The same house illustration can be found on several online websites, including the Exton-based company Bob Murray's Real Estate Marketing, and the Minneapolis-based company D.S. Bahr Construction, Inc.

Shelves and Categories
 * Among the library shelves are:


 * There is a poster inside the library advertising Spanish lessons. The headline says "Habla Espanol?", meaning "speak Spanish?". The rest of the poster includes the text "Spanish Speaking Tutor taking New Students".
 * The same poster can be seen in the hallway in Neal's apartment building in "Manhattan".
 * A poster inside the library contains the phone number 555-0166, which is the phone number of the Storybrooke Convent. Curiously, the headline says "port and marine safety and security certificate".
 * Several members of the production team of Once Upon a Time are listed as authors of a set of nautical guide books:
 * R. Lavigueur, a reference to production staff member Rob Lavigueur
 * G. Venturi, a reference to art director Greg Venturi
 * B. Burd, a reference to property master Bill Burd
 * M. Price, a reference to productions staff member Marc Price
 * N. Westlake, a reference to graphic designer and productions staff member Neil Westlake (listed as the author of two books)
 * Neil Westlake is also listed as a complainant in a police report in "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter".
 * He is also credited as a photographer on the front page of the Storybrooke Daily Mirror in "The Stable Boy".
 * Neil Westlake is also listed as one of the reviewers on the book blurb for Isaac's novel Heroes and Villains in "Operation Mongoose Part 1".
 * Neal Westlake is also the name of the author of the book Robin Hood: Myth & Legend in "Only You".
 * K. Santarosa, a reference to productions staff member Kevin Santarosa
 * A. Hrytzak, a reference to productions staff member Adrian Hrytzak
 * Various members of the production team are also listed as authors of the books on a shelf where Cora finds Mr. Gold's map:
 * B. Chometsky, a reference to production staff member Brenda Chometsky (barely readable)
 * R. Lavigueur, another reference to production staff member Rob Lavigueur (barely readable)
 * M. Joy, a reference to production designer Michael Joy
 * B. Burd, another reference to property master Bill Burd
 * P. Venturi, a reference to illustrator Paolo G. Venturi
 * G. Venturi, another reference to art director Greg Venturi
 * S.B. Edwards, production staff member
 * A. Hrytzak, a reference to production staff member Adrian Hrytzak
 * M. Soparlo, a reference to production staff member Mark Soparlo
 * M. Soparlo was also listed as the news reporter in a newspaper clipping about baby Emma in "True North", "Family Business" and "Firebird".
 * M. Soparlo is also the name of a news reporter listed in the newspaper that Isaac reads in "Operation Mongoose Part 2".
 * A framed map of Storybrooke is hanging on the wall inside the library.
 * Regina and Cora use an almost identical library map with the same kind of frame, to find the location of the Dark One's Dagger.
 * A poster seen in "Broken Heart", focusing on the prevention of child abuse, can also be seen at Game of Thorns in "Last Rites". Note that the poster at the library is illegible.
 * A lamp sitting on a table in the clock tower is the same prop that was used in Zelena's quarters at the Royal Palace of Oz in "Our Decay".


 * -|Goofs=

Goofs

 * In wide shots, the area around the clock face is shaped like a square. In close-ups, the clock face is in the shape of a trapezoid.
 * In an exterior shot of Storybrooke, the computer-generated clock tower is situated at least two streets behind Sara's Old Fashioned Ice Cream, a business located next to Mr. Gold's pawnshop. However, other episodes clearly show that the pawnshop and Sara's Old-fashioned Ice Cream are both located in the same street as the Storybrooke library, with the library on the opposite side of the road.
 * On occasion, the clock tower building has been seen in shots without the clock itself digitally added:
 * When Emma walks Henry to school, as she pauses and stops walking, the clock tower building is reflected in the window, but without the actual clock tower.
 * After a playground scene with Emma and Henry, there is a shot of Storybrooke main street where you can see the clock tower building, but without the actual clock tower.
 * When Moe French steps out of his florist's van, in the background, you can see the clock tower building, but without the clock tower.
 * As David and Mary Margaret are walking through Main Street, the top of the real Nikka Fishing & Marine, which looks completely different from Storybrooke's clock tower, can be seen behind a building.


 * -|Other Notes=

Filming Locations

 * The building is portrayed by Nikka Fishing & Marine, a two-story store on Moncton Street in Steveston Village. A replica of the front of the library, built at the The Bridge Studios in Burnaby, is also used for filming.
 * This building is also seen briefly in the science fiction film Godzilla.
 * The interior of the clock tower and the interior of the library is filmed on a set at The Bridge Studios in Burnaby.

Appearances
Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.