# Minecraft Librarian Trades: Which Enchanted Books to Get First

_Published October 24, 2026_

Which enchanted books to buy from a librarian first (Mending, Unbreaking III, Efficiency V...), why, what each costs in emeralds and anvil levels, and how to cycle a lectern for the exact book.

The best order for Minecraft librarian trades is Mending first, then Unbreaking III, then the big-level books (Efficiency V, Protection IV, Sharpness V, Fortune III and Silk Touch), then the books that finish one build each. A villager book is used up on one item, so the order is set by three questions: how many of your max builds need a copy, whether the enchanting table could give you that book anyway, and what it costs in emeralds. This guide puts 16 librarian books in order with the reason for each, shows how to cycle a librarian until it offers the exact book you want, and compares what each book costs to buy with what it costs to put on an item in the anvil.

Checked against Java 1.21.11, 26.1, 26.3 and Bedrock 1.19.1, 26.52, 26.60 on October 24, 2026.

## Which enchanted books to get from a librarian first

The list covers the books of the 18 max builds in [Minecraft Enchanting Order](/guides/minecraft-enchanting-order), without the three enchantments no librarian ever sells (Soul Speed, Swift Sneak and Wind Burst, so Swift Sneak on the leggings and Wind Burst on the mace need another source). The price in brackets is the calculator's single estimate for a normal villager, the midpoint of the real price range, on Java Edition 1.21.11. The order is our recommendation, not a game rule; the prices are computed.

### Stage 1: Buy these first

1. **Mending** (24 emeralds): A treasure enchantment the enchanting table never offers, so a librarian is the dependable source, and nearly every max build uses it.
2. **Unbreaking III** (28 emeralds): Every max build uses it, and a librarian gives you level III on purpose instead of by luck at the table.

### Stage 2: The big-level books

3. **Efficiency V** (44 emeralds): Mining speed for every digging tool, and one of the priciest books you will buy, so start saving emeralds early.
4. **Protection IV** (36 emeralds): Every armor piece needs its own copy, so this is the book you buy once per piece.
5. **Sharpness V** (44 emeralds): The damage of your main weapon, and the axe and the spear want a copy too.
6. **Fortune III** (28 emeralds): More drops from every ore: one copy for the pickaxe, and again for the shovel and the hoe.
7. **Silk Touch** (12 emeralds): The cheapest book on the list, for the second pickaxe that picks blocks up whole.

### Stage 3: Finish the first builds

8. **Thorns III** (28 emeralds): Reflects damage on the chestplate and helmet builds: cheaper than Protection IV to buy but far dearer to apply, so it comes later.
9. **Looting III** (28 emeralds): More drops from mobs, one copy for the God Sword.
10. **Sweeping Edge III** (28 emeralds): Wider sword sweeps for the God Sword on Java Edition; Bedrock Edition has no Sweeping Edge.
11. **Feather Falling IV** (36 emeralds): Takes 48% off fall damage for the boots build, at 12% per level.
12. **Depth Strider III** (28 emeralds): Faster movement in water for the boots; skip it if you rarely cross water.
13. **Respiration III** (28 emeralds): Longer breathing underwater for the helmet build.
14. **Aqua Affinity** (12 emeralds): Mining underwater at normal speed for the helmet, and the cheapest of its books.

### Stage 4: Bow books

15. **Power V** (44 emeralds): Ranged damage for the bow build.
16. **Infinity** (12 emeralds): One arrow is enough for the bow, and it cannot share a bow with Mending, so the bow is the one build that skips Mending.

One copy of every book in a stage, at the estimate price:

| Stage | Books | Emeralds | Emeralds, cured villager |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1: Buy these first | 2 | 52 | 12 |
| 2: The big-level books | 5 | 164 | 73 |
| 3: Finish the first builds | 7 | 188 | 57 |
| 4: Bow books | 2 | 56 | 25 |
| All 16 books | 16 | 460 | 167 |

On Bedrock Edition (checked on 26.52) there is no Sweeping Edge, so the list has 15 books and one copy of each is 432 emeralds (159 from cured villagers); every price is the same on both editions.

[Plan the Fortune pickaxe with these books →](https://anvilcalc.com/#eyJpIjoiZGlhbW9uZF9waWNrYXhlIiwiZSI6W10sInAiOjAsIm4iOiIiLCJ0IjpbWyJlZmZpY2llbmN5Iiw1XSxbImZvcnR1bmUiLDNdLFsidW5icmVha2luZyIsM10sWyJtZW5kaW5nIiwxXV19)

## Why this order: copies, the enchanting table and the price

A villager book is not a recipe you learn once. It is one physical book, and it is used up when you put it on an item. So the first thing that sets the order is how many copies you will need over all your builds, counted from the presets behind the [enchanting order](/guides/minecraft-enchanting-order) list:

| Book | Builds that use it | Price range (emeralds) | Estimate | All copies | All copies, cured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mending | 17 | 10–38 | 24 | 408 | 68 |
| Unbreaking III | 18 | 11–45 | 28 | 504 | 144 |
| Efficiency V | 6 | 17–64 | 44 | 264 | 144 |
| Protection IV | 4 | 14–58 | 36 | 144 | 64 |
| Sharpness V | 3 | 17–64 | 44 | 132 | 72 |
| Fortune III | 3 | 11–45 | 28 | 84 | 24 |
| Silk Touch | 1 | 5–19 | 12 | 12 | 1 |

Two books are in 17 and 18 of the 18 builds, which is why they are stage 1: you will buy them over and over, so the first copies are the first step of nearly every build, and a cured villager turns their 912 emeralds into 212. The bow is the one build without Mending, because Infinity and Mending exclude each other.

The second question is whether you need a librarian at all. According to the Minecraft Wiki, treasure enchantments such as Mending cannot be obtained at an enchanting table, so a librarian (or luck from fishing and loot, see [Fishing for Enchanted Books](/guides/fishing-enchanted-books)) is the only way. Books the table can roll, such as Unbreaking or Protection, can be gambled for there; a librarian lets you choose the level, which is what makes Efficiency V and Protection IV worth the emeralds.

The third question is the price. The wiki gives a librarian's price as a random pick from `2 + 3 × level` to `6 + 13 × level` emeralds, doubled for treasure enchantments, and capped at 64 after it is picked. That is the range column above; the estimate is its midpoint, capped, which is what [Emerald Cost for Enchanted Books](/guides/emerald-cost-for-enchanted-books) uses for every price in the calculator. A level V book can reach the cap, which is why Efficiency V and Sharpness V are the books to save for first among the big ones.

## What each book costs to apply, not just to buy

Emeralds and XP levels are two separate bills. The table shows the anvil levels to put each book on a fresh diamond item (prior work 0, nothing else on it), computed with the same rules as the calculator. The first step of a build is cheap; the later steps cost more because prior work grows (see [Minimum Prior Work](/guides/minimum-prior-work)).

| Book | Put on a fresh | Levels |
|---|---|---|
| Mending | Diamond pickaxe | 2 |
| Unbreaking III | Diamond pickaxe | 3 |
| Efficiency V | Diamond pickaxe | 5 |
| Protection IV | Diamond chestplate | 4 |
| Sharpness V | Diamond sword | 5 |
| Fortune III | Diamond pickaxe | 6 |
| Silk Touch | Diamond pickaxe | 4 |
| Thorns III | Diamond chestplate | 12 |

The books that are dearest in emeralds are not the dearest in levels: Efficiency V is 44 emeralds and 5 levels, while Thorns III is 28 emeralds and 12 levels. That is why Thorns III sits in stage 3 even though it is cheaper than Protection IV to buy: its real price is the anvil step.

## How to get Mending from a librarian (and any other book)

A librarian is an unemployed villager that claims an unclaimed lectern. Its enchanted-book trades are random, so you cycle the lectern until the book you want is on offer, and only then trade. The steps, from the Minecraft Wiki's Trading, Librarian and Lectern pages:

1. Place a lectern next to an unemployed villager (not a nitwit). It becomes a librarian and claims the lectern.
2. Open its trades without buying anything. The wiki lists the enchanted-book trade at Novice level (and again at Apprentice, Journeyman and Expert, never at Master), so you do not have to level the villager to see a first book.
3. If the book you want is not there, break the lectern and place it again. A novice villager that has not traded loses its profession when its job site block is removed, and replacing the block can give it different trades. Repeat.
4. Once the right book is offered, buy it. The wiki says that after you trade once the villager keeps its profession forever and its trades are locked, so do not trade anything else before you are sure.

The wiki describes the book as a random enchantment (anything except Soul Speed, Swift Sneak and Wind Burst) picked with equal chances, followed by a random level. With 40 enchantments that can be sold on Java Edition 1.21.11 (39 on Bedrock 26.52, counting the two curses; the wiki's Bedrock history says curses left librarian trading in 1.4.0 and does not say they came back, so that number may be two lower), any one enchantment shows on a given book offer with a 1 in 40 chance, so you should expect to see about 40 offers before the one you want. The wiki does not say how the level is chosen, so no level-specific odds are given here. The price is also a random pick from the range above, so a cheap roll is something you can cycle for too. In Java Edition a level offers up to two trades chosen from its pool, so a librarian does not always have a book at all; if there is none, cycle again.

## Buying the same book many times

Each trade can be used 12 times before the villager is out of stock, and it restocks up to twice a day while it can work at its lectern (on Bedrock Edition it also needs a bed nearby). Seventeen Mending copies is therefore two librarians' worth of stock, or one librarian across two restocks. The wiki also says demand raises the price of a trade you keep buying, until the trade restocks and demand falls again, so spreading the copies across two or three librarians keeps each price near its first roll.

## Cured villagers and Hero of the Village

A villager you have cured from a zombie villager takes a flat 20 emeralds off every price (the wiki's formula: the price multiplier 0.2 times reputation, and the cure gives 100), never below 1 emerald, which is why the cured columns above are so low. It applies to that one villager, and since Java 1.20.2 and Bedrock 1.20.30 only the first cure counts. Hero of the Village, from beating a raid, takes 30% off all trades plus 6.25% per extra level. Both stack. See [How to Cure a Zombie Villager](/guides/curing-zombie-villagers) for the how-to and [Cheapest Way to Get Enchanted Books](/guides/cheapest-enchanted-books) for how librarians compare with the enchanting table, an anvil and fishing.

Mark each book you have secured as "Available from villagers" in your [inventory](/guides/using-your-inventory), and the calculator plans with an unlimited supply of that book at its emerald price.

## Frequently asked questions

**How do I get Mending from villagers?**

Place a lectern next to an unemployed villager so it becomes a librarian, open its trades, and if there is no Mending book on offer break the lectern and place it again until there is. Buy it before trading anything else, because after the first trade the villager's trades are locked. Mending costs 10 to 38 emeralds, about 24 on average, and about 4 from a cured villager.

**Which enchanted books should I buy from a librarian first?**

Mending, then Unbreaking III, then Efficiency V, Protection IV, Sharpness V, Fortune III and Silk Touch. Mending and Unbreaking III go on nearly every max build, and Mending cannot come from an enchanting table at all.

**Can a librarian sell every enchantment?**

Almost. A librarian can sell any enchantment except Soul Speed, Swift Sneak and Wind Burst, including treasure enchantments such as Mending and Frost Walker, at a random level. Those three come from piglin bartering and bastion loot, Ancient City loot, and Trial Chamber vaults.

**Can I reroll a librarian's trades?**

Only before you trade with it. Break its lectern and place it again, and a novice villager with no trades made loses its profession and can come back with different trades. After the first trade the villager's trades are locked for good.

**How much does an enchanted book cost from a librarian?**

The wiki gives a random price from 2 + 3 x level to 6 + 13 x level emeralds, doubled for treasure enchantments and capped at 64. That is 5 to 19 emeralds for a level I book, 10 to 38 for Mending and 17 to 64 for a level V book. Curing the villager takes a flat 20 emeralds off, and Hero of the Village takes 30% or more.

**Is the emerald price the same as the XP cost?**

No. Emeralds buy the book from the villager; XP levels pay for the anvil step that puts it on your item. Efficiency V is about 44 emeralds but 5 levels on a fresh pickaxe, while Thorns III is about 28 emeralds but 12 levels on a fresh chestplate.