Welcome to Mallville Library

Several months ago I was lucky enough to attend the American Library Association's annual conference. There were a lot of amazing seminars and fantastic resources put on display that weekend, but a definite highlight of the conference was the chance to meet Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes -- and to thank them for their awesome online comic, "Unshelved."

"This comic improves the quality of my life!" I gushed to Gene Ambaum as he was signing my book of collected "Unshelved" comics, prompting a smile from Ambaum.

"We like to hear that," said Barnes, who had already signed my book, along with drawing a picture of Merv (one of my favorite "Unshelved" characters) for good measure. I'm hardly the only librarian to be a big fan of "Unshelved" -- although, as Ambaum and Barnes like to point out, their comic strip is definitely not meant just for librarians.

"Unshelved" is a daily comic strip which chronicles the adventures and misadventures of the library staff members at the fictional Mallville Public Library. Characters include Colleen, the "old school" reference librarian who doesn't care for all this suspicious new technology; Buddy, the library page (who was originally hired to be the summer reading mascot and still wears his beaver costume to work); and my favorite, Dewey, the comic-book-loving teen services librarian. (Can't imagine what would draw me to him.)

"I'd like to check out some Spider-Man comics."

New strips are released Monday through Friday, with "rerun" comics featured on the weekends. Despite its central cast of librarians, however, "Unshelved" is something which can be read and enjoyed by anybody who loves their local library.

The writing is sharp and witty; I've laughed out loud at punchlines more often than I can count. And the artwork matches up to the writing; I love the cartoony aspects of the characters, particularly their more exasperated and exaggerated facial expressions.

Stephen King observed in his writing memoir that "people like to read about work. I don't know why, but they do." (I suspect it has something to do with the fact that we spend so much of our time at our jobs!) One need only to look as far as the success of a show like "The Office," which is all about the awkward and hilarious dynamics of the workplace.

"Book Returned 47 Years Late."

What makes "Unshelved" so special is that it manages to combine the workplace humor that so many people enjoy with a genuine love of books, reading, and libraries. This must be due in large part to the fact that Ambaum is a librarian himself, and both Ambaum and Barnes are clearly book-lovers (they review their latest reads every Friday).

Their affection for the world of reading -- and for the world of libraries -- adds a dash of heart to their comic strip, making it a truly unique read. So if you're a library-lover, be sure to check it out.

… no pun intended, of course.

Check out more "Unshelved" by checking out their collections in our Catalog!

Unshelved
What Would Dewey Do?
Library Mascot Cage Match
Book Club
Frequently Asked Questions
Reader's Advisory
Large Print

Staff Recommendation #2: "After the Golden Age" by Carrie Vaughn

"After the Golden Age" by Carrie Vaughn

Staff Review by Ms. B

I love superheroes. I've been a devout fan of Batman and Superman since childhood, I get excited for each and every big blockbuster superhero flick to come to the summertime movie screens, and I have a ever-expanding pull list of comic books on reserve for me at the local comic book shop. Lois Lane was my childhood heroine -- and the Joker is my all-time favorite villain, not just from comic books but from fiction in general.

So I really enjoy comic books, but it's also true that I enjoy superhero tales in just about any format. And, as I love reading novels, I'm always on the look-out for books that use the novel format to tell stories about these super-characters which are more often reserved for the comic book format. Carrie Vaughn's new, comic-book-inspired novel "After the Golden Age" is a surprisingly wonderful book that fits the bill exactly. Although, don't get me wrong -- it's not just for fans of comic book superheroes like myself, but for anyone looking for a well-written, character-rich coming-of-age story.

The book stars Celia West, only child of Suzanne and Warren West -- or, as her parents are better known, Captain Olympus and Spark, the leaders of the Olympiad (the story's Fantastic-Four-esque band of superheroes). Celia, however, has inherited no superpowers of her own, meaning that the child of Commerce City's greatest superhero duo is herself ... an accountant.

She's also a frequent kidnapping victim (the city's supervillains like to use Celia as leverage against her parents), a disappointment to her father (who, in addition to being super-strong, has anger management issues), and she's hiding a horrible mistake in her past that she's still trying to put behind her (this of course does not work). But as Celia is hired by the D.A.'s office in order to prepare a case against the Destructor (the city's most notorious criminal mastermind), it's not really to the city or her parents that Celia needs to prove herself.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book's humor and world-building detail, as well as by the intricate mystery plot that unfolds during Celia's determined digging for details into the court case she's working. But I was stunned by the depth of character development that Celia undergoes, as she struggles to forgive herself for her past, and decide who she is and what it is that's truly important to her. Most twentysomethings -- or anybody who has ever been twentysomething -- could relate to a character like Celia West, who has a lot of self-doubt and anger but is still filled with determination to find herself and fight for what she believes in.

For comic book fans, there's no denying that this book -- with its in-jokes and references (I have no doubt that Vaughn's Hawk is a nod to Batman) -- is a special treat. But for anyone looking for a quirky mystery story with a strong, relatable, developing central character, you can't do much better than "After the Golden Age."


Request "After the Golden Age" by Carrie Vaughn

New @ ... EIN?? -- Part II

Hello again! We're back to talk a little bit more about Monroeville Public Library's official merging with the eiNetwork and The Catalog -- the countywide connection of libraries. Hopefully our last post about The Catalog helped to answer a few of your questions and give you a good idea of what the eiNetwork is all about.

Today I want to take a moment to explain to you one of the best benefits of MPL now being a part of The Catalog: how to request an item.

Reading Counts @ MPL

If you're the parent of an elementary school or middle school student, then you probably know all about Reading Counts, an educational program designed to promote children's literacy. Gateway school district students in grades K-6 all take part in a Reading Counts program; students read books from the Reading Counts list and then take a short quiz about what they've read. If they successfully complete the quiz on the book they've read, the student receives Reading Counts points. (Books are individually assigned a number of points based on difficulty or lexile.) Once the student earns enough points, they are eligible for various prizes.

What you may not know is that Monroeville Public Library carries many of the books from the Reading Counts list. The Children's Room staff is in the process of searching through the collection for such titles. A sticker listing the lexile level and points is being placed on the first page of each book.

To make it easier to find these books, many of them have bookmark "flags," and there is even a display set out in the bins as you enter the Children's Room. Not all the books have been checked yet, so if you are interested in a book that does not have sticker, just ask the Librarian to check to see if it's eligible for Reading Counts.

For more on how Reading Counts is used in our local schools, check out some additional information here:

Ramsey Elementary School's Reading Counts Page

Dr. Cleveland Steward, Jr. Elementary's Reading Counts Page


-- Contributed by our Children's Librarian

New @ ... EIN??

So we've missed a couple of blog entries over the last week and a half. If you're wondering what could be so important as to keep us from our promised prompt updates, I've got two words for you: Catalog merger.

Yes, that's right. Monroeville Public Library has officially joined the eiNetwork and The Catalog!

Now, let me back up and explain this a bit.

Reliable Consumer Health Information on the Web?

Last week I turned 45. While I still feel like I’m about 30, I know I’m not getting any younger. It also made me realize that I am due for a routine checkup with my doctor. And though I am not in the greatest shape I’m not doing too bad either especially since I don’t have to take any prescribed medications. But when I have, I’ve always wanted to find out as much information about the drug as I can and why I’m taking it. But of course, that’s why I’m a reference librarian!

So, have you ever been to see your family doctor and left the office wanting to know more about the diagnosis you’ve just received? Hopefully your doctor provided you with all of the information you will need to comply with his instructions. If not, or even if you want to learn more, please don’t turn to Google! While Google is still the leading search engine on the Internet, it doesn’t mean that all of the results are reliable.

A simple search for the term “diabetes” returns over 43 million hits! How many of those can possibly be reliable?

A better place to check for health information online is MedlinePlus. The National Library of Medicine created it and their staff of librarians and health professionals chooses the most current, accurate and reliable health information on the web to make your life just a little bit easier. So instead of weeding through the 43 million results on Google you can do one search on MedlinePlus.

MedlinePlus has easy-to-read pages to help you better understand diseases, conditions and your medications. There are interactive tutorials, videos of surgical procedures along with a medical encyclopedia. It’s also a great site if someone in your family has a health related school assignment.

So, please, the next time you need health related information from home, please use MedlinePlus. Also, you can always stop by the Monroeville Public Library and any one of our reference librarians would be thrilled to help you find accurate and reliable information online and in print.

Stay healthy!

Riding the eBook Wave

Any time I'm making small talk with someone -- a new hairdresser, a nurse in the doctor's office, someone at a party -- and the question of what I do for a living comes up, the same follow-up question is inevitably asked. "So what do you think about these new ebook things -- are they going to be the end of libraries?"

The question always kind of amuses me, in part because I wonder if people are ever concerned that they'll give me something new to worry about. ("What if ebooks are the end of libraries?? Oh no!") It also, at least in the beginning, left me rather speechless -- because I honestly didn't have an answer for them.

But in my opinion, the real mystery is not so much a question of ebooks being the end of libraries as it is a question of ebooks being the end of physical, printed books, period. Are eReaders the next stage of evolution, similar to the invention of Gutenberg's printing press? Is this the end of an era?