Unshelved by Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes

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Wednesday, November 04, 2009

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I Quit

by Gene ( link to this post | email me | my twitter )

Back in high school, I gave up on my dream of becoming an astronaut. Apparently allergies are a problem – NASA doesn't like snotty astronauts.

But I had other dreams. I wanted to be a librarian. And I wanted to be a writer. I decided that if I became a librarian first, I'd probably be able to eat while I learned to write. (I doubted the opposite would be true). After teaching overseas and going to library school I was lucky enough to get a job with the library system I grew up using.

I've been a librarian for 9 awesome years -- first in teen services/reference then in staff development -- and I've loved every minute of it. But for the last 7 years I've led a double life as Gene Ambaum during nights, weekends, and vacations. There were a lot of things I couldn't help Bill with (thanks Bill!), and even more ideas I couldn't start because I didn't have the time.

So I gave notice. Last week was my last as a full-time librarian. I'll still occasionally work the reference desk as a sub, but it's time to concentrate my efforts on Unshelved, writing projects, and other things that are important to me.

I want to thank those of you who read our comic – this is all because of you. (And I also want to thank my wife who, as we talked about it, said, “Just quit already!” even though she doesn't get our jokes. Thanks Honey!)