"A Day in the Life of a Librarian" is a VR experience that simulates the daily work scenarios of public librarians, in which players take on the role of the “One-Day Librarian.” Through a series of requests from patron NPCs and conversations with librarian NPCs, players can learn about the major domains of public librarianship, including responsibilities that typically remain behind the scenes. The project primarily serves as an experimental platform for examining the mechanisms of empathic VR, while also demonstrating its pedagogical potential. In particular, it is designed to distinguish the contribution of narrative-based sense-making from the effects of sensory stimulation and emotional arousal in VR. By providing only a baseline level of immersion, excluding embodiment-based tasks, and using emotionally neutral stimuli, its design foregrounds the contribution of contextual learning, problem-solving, and sense-making. Findings from the participant study suggest that, even with the core affordances of empathic VR deliberately constrained, contextualizing librarians’ work supported participants’ sense-making and led to a significant increase in state empathy.