Unshelved

Having a long day in the library? Tired of another person asking for the red book on a high shelf they took out last year? Looking for a laugh, and for some understanding of the highs and lows of working in a public library?

Then check out Unshelved, a comic strip by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum set in the public library of "Mallville."

Just like your public library, Mallville has Reference Sampling Week:



Its patrons like the Internet:



And the library has a summer reading program:



All images used with permission.

To find out more about the cast of characters -- the Branch Manager, the Reference Librarian, the Children's Librarian, the Young Adult Librarian, the Mascot, and assorted patrons -- there is a handy primer.

You can view the daily strip on the website; get it daily via email; and catch up on the comic strip from the very first by either looking in their archives or buying one of the books or other tie-in merchandise. I am the proud owner of the no longer available "What Would Dewey Do" T-Shirt, and I want to get the "Book Club" T, complete with Book Club rules (the first rule? You Do Not Talk About Book Club.)