How to Build a Villager Trading Hall

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Cure zombie villagers (splash Weakness + golden apple) for 1-emerald trades, assign each villager a profession with a workstation (lectern = librarian), and lock in their trades by trading once - then line them up in cells with their workstations. Cured librarians sell any enchanted book, including Mending, for 1 emerald.

What you need

Brewing stand + blaze powder
Splash Potions of Weakness
Golden apples
Workstations (lecterns, composters...)
Boats/minecarts + rails
Name tags
Building blocks, torches, fences

Step by step

Gather supplies: brewing stand, fermented spider eyes (sugar + brown mushroom + spider eye), splash Weakness potions, golden apples (8 gold ingots + apple each), boats or minecarts for transport, beds and workstations.
Find zombie villagers at night (5% of zombies) or in an igloo basement, or let a zombie convert your own villager on purpose (100% conversion on Hard difficulty, 50% on Normal, 0% on Easy).
Cure them: throw the splash Potion of Weakness at the zombie villager, right-click it with a golden apple, and wait 3-5 minutes (Java) as it shakes and converts.
Transport each cured villager to its cell (1-wide space with its workstation in front). Boats on land, minecarts on rails, or nether portals for long hauls.
Assign professions with the workstation: lectern = librarian, composter = farmer, blast furnace = armorer, smithing table = toolsmith, grindstone = weaponsmith, fletching table = fletcher, cartography table = cartographer, stonecutter = mason.
For librarians: check the first trade BEFORE trading. If the book is wrong (not Mending etc.), break and replace the lectern to reroll - trades lock permanently after your first trade with that villager.
Trade once to lock, then name-tag villagers you want to keep. Light everything, wall it in, and add beds + a bell if you want them to survive raids.
Optional (Java): zombify and re-cure villagers to stack discounts - after 1-2 cure cycles, most trades cost 1 emerald.

Java vs Bedrock

Java: discounts from curing stack with multiple cures (up to 5x), and villagers need no bed - just a workstation. Bedrock: curing discounts apply once, villagers need beds to keep professions, and workstations must be reachable. Igloo basements always contain one zombie villager with a brewing setup nearby.

Versions: Curing mechanics stable since 1.14 (Village & Pillage). The 1.20.2 experimental librarian rebalance (biome-locked books) is optional and off by default - normal worlds keep the classic lectern reroll. Current as of 26.3.

Frequently asked questions

How do you get Mending from villagers?

Cure a zombie villager, give it a lectern, and check its first book trade. Break and replace the lectern to reroll until Mending appears (any price), then trade once to lock it. Cured librarians sell Mending for 1 emerald.

Why won't my villager take a profession?

It cannot pathfind to the workstation, or it already locked a profession by trading. Break the old workstation, place the new one within reach, and never trade before you like the offers. Nitwits (green coats) never take jobs.

Do villagers need beds to trade?

In Java, no - only a workstation and access to it. In Bedrock they need to be linked to a bed to keep their profession over time. Beds are also required for breeding and iron farms.