Interlibrary Loan Sharks and Seedy Roms: Cartoons from Libraryland

Sit down, my dear, says the fortuneteller. Let’s see what the future holds. She draws her robe around the chair, addresses her crystal ball. You’re a librarian? she says, rubbing the ball. Your future? You will enjoy – oops, its changing…. You will go on a long – oops, it’s changing again! Sound familiar? It’s just one of the many wry observations from cartoonist Benita Epstein. One could say that she sees the libraryland as a place full of offbeat characters, from interlibrary loan sharks to patrons who need references – for their resumes, of course. Or as a technological jungle where signs read Beware of the DOS. In short, she sees a land with which we are all familiar, a place called libraryland, where we can always enjoy a good chuckle and sometimes even a belly laugh.