Hooked on 'Unshelved’

By Staff -- School Library Journal, 7/1/2006

Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes may not be household names, but their e-comic Unshelved (www.unshelved.com)—with more than 30,000 readers—has created quite a buzz. The twosome has attracted a large following over the last four years by bringing irreverent humor to a library setting. The strip’s main character, Dewey, is an ironic young adult librarian; Colleen is an old-fashioned, computer-illiterate reference librarian; and Merv is a 12-year-old who hangs out in the library but hates to read. If you can’t catch Ambaum and Barnes at one of their many library conference appearances, make sure to get a copy of their latest book, released last month.