Unshelved
- Posted by Johanna on December 15, 2005 at 8:31 pm
- Category: Digital and Webcomics
- CREDITS: written by Gene Ambaum; art by Bill Barnes
- PUBLISHER: Overdue Media; $14.95 US
Unshelved is a collection of web comic strips about library workers.
The very first strip gives a good idea of the appeal and attitude involved, although the art has much improved from those early days. Dewey is a young adult librarian who has a love-hate relationship with his patrons. He’s happy to help them find a good graphic novel or build a website, but when he works the information desk, he doesn’t always have patience with stupid questions or obnoxious parents convinced their spoiled brats can do no wrong.
Other characters include Tamara, the spunky children’s librarian; Merv, the obnoxious teen non-reader; Colleen, the cranky fixture who’s been a librarian forever; Ned, the naked civil libertarian; and Buddy the Book Beaver, the mascot who never takes off his animal suit.
Obviously, the built-in audience is those who work in libraries and have to put up with just these kinds of frustrations every day. But the characters are funny enough that even non-librarians will get a kick out of the humor. I especially enjoyed the strips about ways to increase teen usage of the library and what happens when you put a dinosaur in charge of the computer stations.
Librarians are on the front line of free speech issues, and I admire the light-hearted way the authors handle issues like concerns about filtering and appropriate reading for kids. I also like seeing how the librarians tease some of the sillier patrons for their own good, challenging them to do their own reading.
December 16, 2005 at 9:52 AM
I’ve been working through the archives, and I’m liking it.
January 13, 2006 at 9:06 PM
[...] The second book concludes with a funny two pages on how the strip is created. This is definitely worth reading for those who love their libraries. [...]
October 4, 2006 at 10:06 PM
[...] This is the fourth collection of the webcomic series about a public library and its workers. (I’ve previously reviewed the first and second volumes, and here’s a link to the third.) [...]
October 26, 2006 at 8:01 AM
[...] (I’ve reviewed the first, second, and fourth collections of the strip. The third was good, too, but I must have been busy that month.) [...]
February 21, 2007 at 4:07 PM
[...] continues to be available for free on its website, and there are four published Unshelved collections with a fifth scheduled to debut this summer. [...]
May 28, 2007 at 8:59 PM
[...] Unshelved, the library webcomic, has a new collection available, Book Club (AUG06 3894, $17.95). [...]
July 13, 2007 at 7:32 AM
[...] previously reviewed the first book, What Would Dewey Do?, and Book Club. [...]
October 8, 2007 at 7:07 AM
[...] published in American Library Association projects. The art is still basic, but when I look back at earlier books, it’s surprising to see how far it’s come. The direct approach works for the material [...]