Start Clean The Library with a few minutes of movement practice. The game is not asking you to fight enemies or memorize a build before playing. It asks you to pick up books, carry them, switch through the stack, and place each book at the shelf where it belongs. If those actions feel awkward, every route after that becomes slower.
On PC, use E or click to pick up and place a book, Q to drop a book, the scroll wheel to switch the top book, and right click to zoom. On controller, RT picks up or places, B or O drops, LT cycles books, and the D-pad uses abilities. Spend your first run testing those inputs in a small area. Pick up a few books, switch the top book, place one correctly, then drop and re-pick the stack so you know what happens before the library gets crowded.
Work in zones instead of sprinting after every loose book. If you find several books near the same shelf area, clear that area first. A huge mixed stack is only worth carrying when you know where each book goes. A tall stack saves a trip only when the books belong along the same route. If the stack sends you to opposite ends of the library, you spend more time switching and backtracking than you saved by carrying more.
Use the floor carefully. Books now save even on the floor, which helps if you need to drop a stack and return later. Floor piles still need a plan. Drop books in a tidy pile near the shelf area they belong to, not in the middle of a walkway. A readable pile becomes a staging point. A messy pile becomes another problem to clean.
After the basic loop works, start caring about upgrades, abilities, and keys. Upgrades and abilities exist, and route notes point to jumping, carrying, speed, and magic paths. Chasing every upgrade early usually slows the first clear. Get comfortable with reading shelf letters, carrying a small stack, and finishing shelves first. Then use route guides to decide whether a key or ability saves your next run.
If you play with friends, split the library by area instead of everyone grabbing the same pile. One player can stage books near a shelf zone while another finishes placement. Calling out shelf labels matters more than racing to touch every book. Shared chaos is still chaos, even with more players.
Your first normal goal is simple: finish enough shelves to understand the full cleaning loop. After that, push for Ascend, timed badges, Pro Mode, or no-magic clears. Those goals need cleaner routing and fewer mistakes. A beginner run teaches you where books go, how controls feel, and which mistakes make the library slower to clean.