Enchanting Table

Enchantment Table is a block. Notch has stated that Enchanting will work in three stages and the effects will be based on the spell you choose, but a random loot element will be included as well. Each spell will cost the player experience levels but in turn allow the player to enchant armor and swords so that they will last longer, be more powerful and give their color more of a gloss look.

History
Notch first tweeted about the Enchantment Table on September 30th 2011.

Bugs

 * Enchantments are disabled/do not work in Beta 1.9 Pre-release 3's SMP. If a player attempts to enchant an item, it will appear enchanted for the client, but will update with the unenchanted status once the player logs out and then back in again.
 * In Beta 1.9 Pre-release 3, if a potion in the enchantment slot is right clicked, the game has a chance to crash.
 * If you shift click a diamond sword into the enchanting table the game will crash. (both creative and survival modes)

Trivia

 * Notch commented on Reddit "Oh, it's more magical than that! It automatically opens up and turns towards players who get close to it. When nobody is around, the books is closed and spins slowly. Because magic."
 * Notch comments on other book animations. "Yes, the pages flip randomly every now and then."
 * On October 1st 2011, Notch tweeted an image of the enchantment screen, with enchantments written in the Standard Galactic Alphabet. The first enchantment translates onto "Well Played Internets You Are Good", the second translated into "These Names Will Be Random And Confusing", and the third translates to "Each Spell Costs Experience Levels". The Standard Galactic Alphabet or SGA was originally created by Tom Hall for use in the Commander Keen series of computer games.
 * When an Enchantment Table is nearby a Bookshelf, SGA letters will come from the shelves to the Enchantment Table.