Thank you for a fantastic follow-up strip, Carol. You rock!

regards,

karla

(librarian in training)

It's not new. Try reading my book RUNNING A MESSAGE PARLOR (1977).

Hey, I thought the original one was hilarious... and having worked in this industry for 10 years now, its not exactly far from the truth at times ;) Loved the tongue-in-cheek apology as well. Keep up the top work Carol!

Stylish is not the word that would come to mind. Sensible? I guess in a Tag Sale sort of way. That is where I buy my "sports" jackets. Had to pay $10 for the last one. As you can see I'm still outraged by the price.

During our recent reign of terror, domestically speaking, librarians have shown one of the many ways they are invaluable to our free society. That we have earned our sereotype is not mutually exclusive.

I would much rather be known for "sensible!?" attire and prudish appearance, then for slavishly following fashion trends that piss away resourses which could be used for other more worthy endeavors. My sereotype of "them" is a brainlessly shallow person more concerned with what others think of their public superficial appearance than even one thing important to the world.

I'll take my sereotype with glee. 35 years in libraries and still not styling.

A classy (and humorous) apology from Carol. Weirdly "Amends" was the name of a Buffy episode that highlighted librarian icon Giles. Coincidence? Probably. But it added to my geeky enjoyment of the strip.

...and damn straight librarians seriously oppose the so-called PATRIOT Act (named such only in order to get an emotional acronym)!!

As a 25-year veteran of the War on Intellectual Freedom, I appreciate your clarification. To paraphrase Pogo "We have met the enemy, and he is (sometimes) us." As with anything "Banned in Boston" this book break publishing expectations, so we should thank those were so concerned about it as to deny access to it.

Jeff, a male Librarian who wears confortable shoes, and doesn't have a bun. I have a roll, but that's further south.

You shot from the hip 2 weeks ago and took your well-deserved lumps...and this week responded with class and humor, winning back the hearts and minds of those-whom-we-must-obey (never mess with a librarian). Now, if only Joan Walsh could take the hint, maybe we'd see a lot less racism (from the black writer) and sexism (from the Broadsheet writers), let alone a lot less yellow journalism (from the editor-in-chief).

Love the cartoon, but not ALL librarians wear sensible shoes! I tend to wear heels and my kick-ass red cowboy boots on a regular basis to my job as a Catholic school librarian (talk about the sterotypes I am breaking!)

Thanks for the amends Carol, this librarian here accepts it! And I do have a sense of humor. Really. To help explain why librarians can be a little touchy and so fiercely protective of what we care about it, here's a quote from Michale Moore, talking about his encounter with free-speeching advocating librarians, who helped him a few years ago launch his book "Stupid White Men:"

http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/2002/03/Michael_Moore_031302.html

MICHAEL MOORE: ....I really didn't realize the librarians were, you know, such a dangerous group.

BUZZFLASH: Subversive.

MICHAEL MOORE: They are subversive. You think they're just sitting there at the desk, all quiet and everything. They're like plotting the revolution, man. I wouldn't mess with them. You know, they've had their budgets cut. They're paid nothing. Books are falling apart. The libraries are just like the ass end of everything, right?

Here's a Salon article that helps explain how librarians helped him out:

http://dir.salon.com/story/books/feature/2002/01/07/moore/index.html

Always a class act! And, librarians rock.

I liked both strips, btw.

Both strips were great and quite amusing. Thanks!

DKM (a librarian for 25 years)

As a librarian, I wish we did have such an effective spokes group. :-/

I had despaired that the art of the apology was as dead as the button hook, but Way Lay comes through with class! I've had some dealing with librarians and always found them to be fiercly protective of free speech, erudite and certainly no crazier than archivists.

Heh - okay, you're forgiven. I'll take your name off the list-of-those-whose-books-shall-not-be-shelved-properly.

...although I could not technically call myself a 'librarian' for lack of a degree. I really enjoyed the work and have often thought of returning to it in the years since. Personally, I enjoyed both strips enormously.

As for stereotypes, I'm male, 6'2", and wore my hair well past my shoulderblades back then. Yes, I did hear the "Conan the Librarian" joke. More than once. ;)

continues to burn brightly, Carol Lay.

By the way, stuck watching the overlong (among other things) gay pride parade in Vancouver this past summer, the best-best-best part was the gaggle of librarians - all women - marching in the parade, carrying books, wearing glasses, dressed quite primly on a hot summer day, saying 'shh!' to the crowd.

Lord, they were sexy.

...for the strip. It was funny and made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

As for "Yawn." If someone ever tries to sum you up in an outdated and unfair stereotype that you've spent a career fighting, we'll see if you are still as blase. Calling all librarians "censors" is like the conservatives who claim the ACLU wants to take away all of our rights. It's like saying Planned Parenthood wants to knock up all women under 25. Or that the United Negro College Fund exists to prepare young African Americans for careers in the fast food industry. Where does hyperbole end and insult begin? One of the reasons librarians exist is to fight censorship. Some have lost their jobs fighting your battles.

As someone who spent her break the day after the "scrotum" story broke with the rest of the children's department composing songs about the silliness of the uproar to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle," I can definitely appreciate the comedy of the situation. And the shape of the librarian's handbag in the strip was absolute genius. But that doesn't stop me from feeling just a little bit maligned at unjustly being the butt of the joke.

Carol did a good thing. "Yawn," my friend, you are welcome to your lazy, hyperbolic humor. But the next time you show up at my library looking for copies of "The God Delusion," "And Tango Makes Three," and "Mein Kampf" and that librarian doesn't bat an eye, (much less call the police), think about it.

Next.

Shrilly,