Updated 25 October 2026. Facts on this page come from minecraft.wiki, minecraft.net and the live Artemis PvP server; sources are listed at the bottom.
Lecterns in Minecraft: Recipe and Uses
A lectern holds a book and quill or written book so everyone can read it, and it is the job block that turns a villager into a librarian. Craft it from 4 wooden slabs and a bookshelf. Turning a page sends a short redstone pulse, and a comparator reads which page is open, which makes lecterns useful for redstone locks.
How do you make a lectern?
4 wooden slabs of any wood and 1 bookshelf. Break it with an axe; it drops itself and its book. It burns as furnace fuel for 1.5 items. Bookshelves: books and bookshelves.
How does it make a librarian?
Place it near an unemployed villager, not a nitwit, and the villager may take the job. Before you trade with a new librarian, breaking and replacing the lectern rerolls its first trades, a common way to hunt for an enchanted book such as Mending. See librarian trades.
Which books can it hold?
Only a book and quill or a written book, one at a time. Enchanted books and normal books cannot go on it. Several players can read it at once, which makes it handy for server rules or map instructions. Take the book back with the button in the reading screen on Java, or by punching the lectern on Bedrock.
How does a lectern work with redstone?
Each page turn gives a 2 tick pulse at full strength. A comparator behind it gives a signal based on the page, from the first page to the last, so a book can be a combination lock: open to the right page and a door opens. Comparators: comparators.
Where are lecterns found?
In village libraries, up to two in some, and one in the secret room at the center of each ancient city; see ancient cities.
Frequently asked questions
Can a lectern hold an enchanted book?
No, only a book and quill or a written book.
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against these pages; the wording is ours.