Legal Opinion

Tai vs Claire: Library War. Claire takes it super seriously, and tries her damndest to win more library patrons to her location. Tai trolls her constantly, but could barely give a fuck. Tai is more successful anyway, and Claire is frustrated by the ineffectiveness of her zealotry.

TubaGinger

DROID 06 NOT VERY DISMEMBERABLE. ONLY TIME DROID 06 EVER LOSE ARM WAS TO ANGRY LADY SOLDIER. SHE APOLOGIZE AND REATTACH ARM NEXT DAY. DROID 06 HOPE SHE GET ANGER ISSUES UNDER CONTROL.

Matt Grayson

In the Field? like as in, an actual librarian, No. I had a history degree and was looking into going for ML&IS for my Masters. Didn't turn out. But I've *lived* in libraries all my life. They are some of my favorite places. I am a Book Person.

Churchill (formerly TeaBear)

<a href="https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3278" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">A gentle reminder of what could happen when people use the "M-word" around the Librarian</a>. See also "Men at Arms" (Discworld #15)

David Paul

I read from Kevin Kelly that after he sold Wired magazine and got rich (at least by normal-people standards) the main change he made in his life was to hire a full-time personal research librarian to find stuff out for him. Life goals, man.

Clifton Royston

The Beinecke Rare Book Library at Yale. From the outside, it looks kind of like a giant egg-crate, but on the inside, you find out the walls are all translucent marble and glow gently with vein-streaked filtered sunlight. The stacks are all in a big glass cubicle in the center that, they say, can be sealed and evacuated of air in case of fire.

William Cole

OOOK.

Why do I get the feeling you're really in the field irl? Haha :)

Kriss Pang

DROID 06 ALSO LEARN ORANGUTAN AND MONKEY NOT THE SAME THING. DROID 06 NOT MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN!

Matt Grayson

OOOOOK! * (*If you don't get this reference, two words... Sir pTerry.)

Boston is the real library town, but NYC does its best.

You win.

Alex Borders

Claire's most promising career path currently will be working for the Federal government. They actually hire the most ML&IS degree holders. I read that while looking into a Masters program. But they live in a heavy-population area: Eastern Mass. The secondary most promising career path is in Academia. I also read there are more colleges per square mile in Mass. than any other state. *somebody* will need a librarian within a few years.

Churchill (formerly TeaBear)

DROID 06 WENT TO LIBRARY ONCE. NOT REALIZE BOOKS ARE SO FRAGILE. DROID 06 VERY SORRY ABOUT THAT.

Matt Grayson

There are all kinds of weird little jobs you can do with a library degree: indexing books, cataloging things other than books (fabric samples, sea shells, beetles, origami, designs, maps, et cetera), putting archives in order, and business document management come to mind. The problem is that they, too, are most easily found in big cities. In the 18th century, you could get a job cataloging a rich person's private library, have an affair with their spouse or offspring, and then be shot or, in out-of-the-way areas, hanged. Maybe Claire could do that.

NYPL Main Branch, 42nd and Fifth. Above the door, a quote from Milton's Areopagitica: "A good book is the precious lifeblood of a master spirit imbalmd and treasurd up on purpose to a life beyond life.” To the left, a quote from Daniel Webster "On the diffusion of education among the people rests the preservation and perpetuation of our free institutions." On the sidewalk along 41st street, among many other quotations, one from E.B. White, “I don't know which is more discouraging, literature or chickens.” Out front, two giant stone lions, Patience and Fortitude. Sometimes late at night they can be seen playing with a censor, sitting solemnly in the middle of Fifth Avenue, the censor writhing under a paw. One will let him go, and he will run a little way, and then the other will pounce on him. The library is covered with the names of millionaire donors, which looks vulgar, and is, but they are like gang graffiti. They convey "These are our protectors. Try to censor our collection at your peril." It is said that Lenox, Astor, and Tilden are entombed behind the marble slabs bearing their names, and when the library is in peril, emerge, hideously decayed but impeccably dressed, bearing walking sticks that wither all whom they touch, but I have not seen this personally. Most of the books are kept underneath Bryant Park, behind the library, in climate-controlled closed stacks. They used to be fetched and replaced by pages, some of whom wore roller skates to move more quickly along the aisles. Now they are fetched by an enormous sorting machine which incorporates the roller skate wheels and nervous systems of some of the more dedicated pages. One whole wing is empty stacks, which had been built open to the air to prevent mold, and so could not be climate controlled to slow high-acid paper's deterioration. They could not be safely converted to any other purpose, because the steel shelves themselves help support the building. The old stacks are haunted by ghost librarians, formerly in great distress at the empty shelves, but now happily set to tending a growing collection of bibliographic ghosts, books that appear in bibliographies but exist nowhere else. Across from the main reading room is an exhibition hall in which there is a painting of blind Milton being read to in Greek or Hebrew by his daughters, who understood neither language. As might be expected, they escape from the picture whenever possible and carry on wantonly with various gods and grotesque figures carved and painted about the library.

Looking forward to this arc. Got a few librarians in my life. And for those who are optimistic, think about how well we fund libraries in this country…

Bruce Steinberg

Calling it now: Claire will get a job in CoD. Not having to look like a librarian will let out a little more of her love of the punk aesthetic.

Ben Russell-Gough

Claire, Clinton is reaching out to you. Even in good financial times, gaining employment (especially in a field you are passionate about) is not easy. Don't waste this opportunity!

David Paul

*Hands Bagge a brown paper bag* Breathe deeply into this.

Ben Russell-Gough

It's a college town; there are probably several just on the Smif campus.

Ben Russell-Gough

Claire doesn't work in a library, present tense. She had a summer internship which is now over.

Ben Russell-Gough

Claire, seriously, I know that he can be a bit of a brat and that you've never liked him as much as much as most people would assume siblings should like each other but he IS trying to help. Denial really does nothing to help in these circumstances! IMO, Jeph using the infamous 'This is fine' meme in the footer text is clearly foreshadowing that things are NOT going to be fine. Claire is in for a struggle to find her way post-graduation (possibly because she's deliberately not thinking about it).

Ben Russell-Gough

She's still got a better shot than some of the others with college degrees. At least she's willing to start at the bottom of her career tier.

Brent Catherman

But what if she never gets a job and her education turns out to be worthless and she will have to sell dirty limricks for a living and never be allowed into a library again and an alligator bites her body in two... OMG, WHAT IF ALIGATORS???!!!

Bagge

There surely is more than one library in that town.......

She could get a local librarian job, fixing that issue. Having him and her move farther away would be a major change in the small QC world... which might be something Jeph wants to try. Interesting thoughts. Yes, it's also interesting how Marty has gone from "depressed and alone" to surrounded with friends. I could really use some of that in my life.

Joshua Thomas

Oh no, Martie is going to have to decide if he's going to move with Claire to her dream librarian job. He's already stepped down as the protagonist, so this is a smooth exit/justification for him to appear less or to introduce a new location. I think he'll propose first as he doesn't want it to be his last move all over again.

Potato Moses

He was studying AI as recently as two years ago in real time, which is I think last week in the QCverse?

Cody Renton

Speaking of libraries: best library you’ve been in? For me, there is a private library on the University of Missouri - Kansas City called Linda Hall Library. Formerly a swanky residence, and it shows. It’s a science and technology library which I understand is kinda unusual.

Miyaa

...what does Clinton do for a living again? Is he still in school?

Seth Aaron Hershman has they she pronouns

Claire is adorable no matter what she does

Nicholas Lopez

The claire cuteness levels continue to rise

Colin

My mom worked in a library. Once she had her masters in Library Sciences she just got promoted to be a Librarian in the Library she already worked in. I'd think that since Claire already works in a library she's sitting pretty.

Mitchell Sealy

And he’s really worried about her. :)

Erin Hartshorn

HA! My comment from yesterday seems to have been reflected in Jeph's alt text today! HUZZAH 😆

Tim Eldred

Torches on the Left. Pitchforks on the right.

Joshua Roberts

k

Adam Friedlander

If this arc ends with Claire’s dreams getting crushed, we riot.

Will Weaver