Tony looked down at the puppy sitting at his feet, lifting his eyebrows and motioning to the new set up of temporary shelves around him. They were lower than most of the other shelves in the library, minus the kid's section, but since they were meant to be built and broken down as the need demanded, it made sense that they were not as high as the ceiling.
He was tired enough already, and he had not even stocked the shelves yet.
Dogby seemed impressed, yipping at him as soon as he made eye contact and wiggling her butt excitedly. Her tail was just a nub, so wagging it was hard, but that did not seem to stop her. Her back feet just danced, one foot leaving the ground and then the other, as her butt waved back and forth. The faster it moved and she danced, the happier she was. Of course, all of this excitement was probably due to the fact that her owner was talking to her, and she loved him, but that was neither here nor there.
"Now I've just got to get the books in order," Tony sighed.
The library was open, as he usually did work around the place during business hours while his employees manned the desks and helped with their visitors and patrons. He was setting up near the front of the library, in a nook usually reserved for displays and a comfortable set of a sofa and armchairs. The newest books usually filled one tall bookshelf against the wall, and while that was still there the chairs and small table had been moved to allow for the new displays. On these smaller shelves, much older books were being set out. Books that were no longer in the library's rotation and, with their 'gently used' reputations, in need of a new home.
Their last chance at life, by all means, as after this it was just recycling in their future. But Tony held out hope that someone had need for them, some of them still rather new by publication date standards, just checked out enough to warrant a replacement copy. Nothing was broken or falling apart, but they all had their stories to tell.
And they were free. Above the shelves, against the wall and covering the new release shelf for now, was a sign that read 'Try Something New, and Take Something Old!' With a small description of the event on a poster underneath. There were really no strings: guests could take whatever book they'd like, as they were already out of the system. The only real rule was that someone only took one: but even that was negotiable.
But first, before anyone could take new books, Tony had to get them onto the shelves.
