Jedi Archives/Legends

"There is more knowledge here than anywhere else in the galaxy."

- Madame Jocasta Nu

The Jedi Archives was a fathomless collection of ancient knowledge and research dating back thousands of standard years. Located in the First Knowledge quarter of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, the Archives were open at all hours and were accessible to all Jedi in need of information.

History
"If an item does not appear in our records, it does not exist."

- Jocasta Nu

After the world of Ossus was devastated, the Jedi fled the Great Library of Odan-Urr, taking with them what artifacts they could and storing them within the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. In the year 2,519 BBY the Jedi Archives were constructed in order to hold these treasures.

While the founding scripts of the Order would be stored within the Sacred Spire upon its completion, the Archives covered a vast range of criteria, including details on supposedly every planet and species in the Galactic Republic. Their records even included accounts of the Unification Wars that predated the Republic.



Amongst the four main aisles were Bronzium sculptures of some of the most famous Jedi Masters known to the Order; displayed at intervals on stone pedestals. Among these busts were depictions of The Lost, members of the Order that had willingly left the Order. On each pedestal rested a plaque describing the great acts of the displayed master; although, they did not list a reason for leaving. Likenesses of Yoda, Qui-Gon Jinn, Saesee Tiin, and Dooku were only a few of the many depicted.

After discovering information was missing from the stacks, Yoda investigated the missing planet Kamino from the Archives and found at least 37 additional systems that were erased, including Dagobah and Dromund Kaas. He kept the former secret for his eventual exile.



Later on during the Clone Wars, the temple was infiltrated by two bounty hunter: the Clawdite Cato Parasitti and Duros Cad Bane along with the droid Todo 360. They were hired by Darth Sidious to steal a holocron. Parasitti shape-shifted into Ord Enisence to enter undetected and used an information desk to guide Bane and Todo to the Holocron Chamber. However, Jocasta Nu began to question the bounty hunter, only to be knocked out. The Clawdite promptly stole Nu's guise and her lightsaber, and continued to lead Bane through the temple. Soon after she dueled Ashoka Tano, causing damage to some of the library. Tano defeated Parasitti and Parasitti was taken into custody. Unfortunately, Bane succeeded in stealing the holocron.

During the invasion of the Jedi Temple, Sith Lord Darth Vader was responsible not only for slaying all of the Jedi inside, but also preserving, recovering, and securing the Sith holocrons in the Archives. Vader marched into the Rotunda and murdered Jocasta Nu and all Jedi reading amongst the stacks. Unfortunately for the Sith, some of the Jedi succeeded in destroying many bookcases filled with very valuable holobooks, in order to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Sith. Although much was destroyed, some stacks went untouched and the secret data of the Jedi fell into Darth Sidious’ hands. He was known to wander the stacks reviewing knowledge long left inaccessible to him and his predecessors. It is during this time the Great Holocron disappeared, falling out of all memory until it resurfaced over fifty years later. Sidious would later be accused of changing some of the data in the Archives to support anti-Jedi propaganda. However, the Archives were not completely safe from outsiders, especially determined Jedi. Jedi apprentice Ekria hacked the databases from elsewhere on Coruscant and deleted all record of herself, and her fellows, Zonder and Drake Lo'gaan.

During the Temple's silent decades of inactivity, Darth Vader would send his apprentice Starkiller to the Temple to complete the Jedi Trials. After getting past the black doors installed by the Empire, Starkiller entered a damaged hall of the archives. Because of the extensive damage in this wing, the Sith was forced to go through the databank room that contained all of the large supercomputers capable of storing all the information for the holobooks. After reentering the Archives proper, Starkiller was forced to duel the Trials' program, which had taken on the guise of Darth Phobos. After she was defeated, Starkiller left the damaged hall and the Temple. When security crews returned, they quickly locked the Archives down, sealing it off to everyone but Palpatine.

In the later years of the Galactic Civil War, after the retaking of Coruscant by the New Republic, Jedi historian Tionne Solusar presided over the restored Archives, adding to them the history of the Rebel Alliance.

When the old Jedi Temple was finally destroyed by the Yuuzhan Vong, the Archives went with it. Fortunately for the Jedi; all of the data was scanned during the evacuation and placed in the Archives of the Ossus Academy.

Reconstruction


When the new Jedi Temple was erected, the Archives were fully restored to their former grandeur, with every bust and pedestal being replicated. Jacen Solo used the depths of the stacks as a starting point when he flow-walked back to the time of the Great Jedi Purge.

When the Temple once again fell to the Galactic Alliance, under control of Darth Caedus, apprentice Seha completely drained the Archives of knowledge to prevent it from once again falling into Sith hands.

After reoccupation of the Temple occurred after the war, Archivist Solusar continued her work out of the Archives. In 43 ABY, Jedi Healer Cilghal accessed the stacks in order to obtain a lead on the condition plaguing Valin Horn. Searching for any mention of an illness with an unusual result on an electroencephaloscan she came across an audio recording compiled by a Jedi of the Old Republic doing research on the different species with members in the Jedi Order. The recording was of Kel Dor Master Plo Koon, who knew of a technique to negate the scan's results. Reporting this to Master Skywalker, they concluded that it was a technique developed by the Baran Do.

While studying amongst the stacks on a separate occasion, Master Cilghal was forced to attempt to apprehend Jedi Jysella Horn, who showed signs of the same Psychosis as her brother. Alerting Temple Security Forces, the Mon Cal called on other Jedi in the Archives to help, including Radd Minker and Natua Wan. Leaping over the rails of the walkways, Jysella ran to the main entrance of the Archives and sealed the door. Minker and Cilghal were forced to slowly slice through with their lightsabers, though by the time they were finished, Jysella had made it to the Processional Way.

Layout


The Jedi Archives consisted of many levels of shelves and computers. The main archives area was located in a two story chamber arranged in four long halls that all met in a large rotunda in the center. Each of the four halls had a central aisle that ran its length, with several tables topped with computer terminals that were linked to the main index catalog. Off of these main aisles were hundreds of smaller ones that divided the stacks. Each stack contained trillions of datatapes and datacards, carefully sorted and arranged in categories and subcategories. Ringing the cross-shaped general floor was a walkway with stairs leading to a floor directly below. This pillared area was used as a hub for navigating between the general information and the stories beneath it that held more broad ranges of information in the library. Accessed by a turbolift bank in the center of each outer wall, curious Jedi could delve through several stories of shelves and computers that housed great amounts of knowledge. Ranging from artifacts to small ships, these stories were used for further analysis and a more detailed research.

The Rotunda
The Archives were accessed via the First Hall which would deposit a visitor in the Rotunda from where they could access any of the other halls and terminals. A massive, circular chamber; the four walls had vaulted terminals that emptied into the four main halls. The center point of this chamber was the Great Holocron; the Archive’s greatest treasure. Only accessible to the most powerful Jedi; it was kept on a pedestal in the center of the rotunda.

The First Hall
The first and most visited hall, contained great records on philosophy and the records of the Republic. Personal journals of over a billion Jedi were also held here. While on missions, Jedi sometimes recorded their thoughts and would turn them over to the Archives. Many of the more in-depth works were restricted from Padawans, unless they were granted permission from the Chief Librarian.

The Second Hall
Running perpendicular to the first and third halls, the second hall contained data dedicated to mathematical and engineering science. Works related to the topics on hyperspace and how to achieve it and construct engines and vehicles capable of such feats were among the blue-glowing stacks. Floor-plans of the Galaxy’s government buildings and other points of interest were found here, along with many manufacturers’ weapon designs. The computer systems here had readouts on all Temple activities including a databank dedicated to the Jedi Council's current seating arrangements.

The Third Hall
The third hall was directly opposite the first and was filled with information on the geography and culture of each and every known planet in the Republic. Starmaps of interstellar and planetary regions and detailed analysis on specific civilizations were updated and stored here.

Just before the Clone Wars, somewhere between 32-22 BBY, information within the third hall’s scope of knowledge concerning the planet Kamino, the Kaminoans, and their cloning industry was erased. It was done by the former Jedi Master Count Dooku, in order to conceal the creation of the Clone Army from the Jedi Council. This was uncovered by Obi-Wan Kenobi when he tried to identify the origin of Senator Amidala's attacker, who used Kaminoan saber darts. This discovery eventually led to the uncovering of the Separatists' plans for war, putting into motion the start of the Clone Wars.

The Fourth Hall
The hall running on the same plane as the second was dedicated to zoological research relating information on every known species of flora and fauna.

It was within these stacks in the year 990 BBY, that Darth Zannah, disguised as Jedi apprentice Nalia Adollu, researched the crustaceous orbalisks, a task she had undertaken in order to save her master, Darth Bane's, life. With a reference disk provided by then-Chief Archivist Barra-Rona-Ban she was able to uncover the secret to their removal in a text written by Dr. Osaf Hamud. The visiting Darovit, Zannah’s cousin, discovered her, and because she had found what she was looking for, she kidnapped him and fled. In her rush, she had forgotten the datadisk with all of her information, and the Jedi were able to track her back to her master on Tython.

Archives Library
Situated near the main floor of the Archives, the library was a vast collection of reading material collected from all corners of the galaxy. Containing holobooks, datasticks, and a variety of other modern and ancient storage devices, the library also sported information that was restricted to only members of the Jedi High Council, including the highly defended Holocron Vault.

The Analysis rooms


Located two stories below the main hall of the Jedi Archives, the analysis rooms were staffed exclusively by the SP-4 and the JN-66 droids. Sealed off to organics, the chamber hosted state-of-the-art polysensitive graspers and multispectral readers capable of detecting symbols, odor, and skin deposits. This collection of chambers was separate from the general collection of wisdom and required permission from the Chief Librarian in order to visit.

Study halls
The Archives were equipped with private rooms used for diligent researches that went days without sleep. The Chief Archivist would also present information here for Jedi preparing for missions. Service hallways ran adjacent to all of the halls allowing members of the Temple Security Force to patrol without being seen.

The Holocron chamber and Vault
The Archives, located in the quarter of the Temple that was crowned by the Tower of First Knowledge, used this tower to store the most potent of the Jedi holocrons in a chamber sealed off to all but masters. Master Astaal Vilbum was the fourteenth Caretaker of this chamber. The Chamber was located across from the rooftop entrance to the Tower, with a bridge spanning the central shaft of the tower accessing it. The less powerful of these artifacts were kept in the main Archive hall for general use.

In addition to the chamber in the Tower, the Holocron Vault, located in the Archives library also contained many of the more sacred holocrons and was only assessable to Jedi Council members. In 22 BBY bounty hunter Cad Bane infiltrated the vault succeeded in stealing a holocron and memory crystal from within.

The Chief Librarian’s quarters
The Chief Jedi Librarian who oversaw the Archives night and day had their own private office off of the main halls of the great collection of knowledge. During Master Barra-Rona-Ban’s time as Chief Librarian, he had a small desk covered in neat piles of notes and datacard. Along one of the walls was a viewscreen and terminal with hook-ups to the main index catalog: allowing Master Barra to reference any material at will.

The Chief Archivist was also responsible for briefing Jedi who were preparing for missions, gathering data before hand and presenting it in a quick session. From their quarters they could quickly created a portfolio and transmit it to the Jedi High Council for review and to help them reach a more informed decision.

Staff
The Archives Library was run by a staff of Jedi scholars and Jedi archivists under the control of the Chief Librarian. At the end of the Old Republic, the Archives was under the control of Madame Jocasta Nu, a former Jedi Council member who was assisted by several JN-66 and SP-4 analysis droids. These droids operated the Jedi Analysis chambers and wandered the stacks in the main hall assisting those Jedi in need of direction. The Archivists prohibited any original source to be taken from the Archives. All information had to be copied in some way in order for it to pass through the library’s doors.

Behind the scenes
The appearance of the Jedi Archives in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is an almost exact digital reconstruction of the Long Room of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. Its imitation extends to the busts of the Lost Twenty which, in Trinity Library, are busts of alumni, including writer Jonathan Swift.

According to Pablo Helman on the Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones DVD Commentary, the bronzium busts that are shown in the room during the scene where Obi-Wan Kenobi speaks to Jocasta Nu include busts of himself, George Lucas, Rob Coleman, and John Knoll. The novel The Clone Wars: Wild Space erroneously states that the Jedi Archives are located within a third of Tranquillity Spire.