To say that graphic novels, comics, and other forms of sequential art have become a major part of popular culture and academia would be a vast understatement. Now an established component of library and archive collections across the globe, graphic novels are proving to be one of the last kinds of print publications actually gaining in popularity.
Full of practical advice and innovative ideas for librarians, educators, and archivists, this book provides a wide-reaching look at how graphic novels and comics can be used to their full advantage in educational settings. Topics include the historically tenuous relationship between comics and librarians; the aesthetic value of sequential art; the use of graphic novels in library outreach services; collection evaluations for both American and Canadian libraries; cataloging tips and tricks; and the swiftly growing realm of webcomics.

Robert G. Weiner is the popular culture librarian at Texas Tech University. His work has been published in the Journal of Popular Culture, Public Library Quarterly, Journal of American Culture, International Journal of Comic Art and Popular Music and Society, and is the author/editor/coeditor of numerous books related to popular culture.

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments     

Foreword by Elizabeth Figa     

Foreword by Derek Parker Royal     

Introduction (Robert G. Weiner)     


Part One: History

1. A Librarian's Guide to the History of Graphic Novels

ALICIA HOLSTON     

2. Manga in Japanese Libraries: A Historical Overview

DAVID HOPKINS     

3. How Librarians Learned to Love the Graphic Novel

AMY KISTE NYBERG     


Part Two: School Libraries

4. The Development of a School Library Graphic Novel Collection

HEIDI K. HAMMOND     

5. Balancing Popular High-Circulation Works with Works of Merit in Elementary School Library Collections

DIANA P. MALISZEWSKI     


Part Three: Public Libraries

6. Creative Shelving: Placement in Library Collections

AMY HARTMAN     

7. Graphic Novels at Los Angeles Public

RACHEL KITZMANN     

8. Teen-Led Revamp

ERICA SEGRAVES     


Part Four: Academic Libraries

9. Selection and Popular Culture in Large Academic Libraries: Taking the Temperature of Your Research Community

CHARLOTTE CUBBAGE     

10. Maus Goes to College: Graphic Novels on Reserve at an Academic Library

ANNE-MARIE DAVIS     

11. The Library After Dark: The Promotion of Collections and Services

GWEN EVANS     

12. So Many Options, So Little Money: Building a Selective Collection for the Academic Library

LIORAH ANNE GOLOMB     

13. The Spinner Rack in the Big Red and Ivory Tower: Establishing a Comics and Graphic Novels Collection at the University

Nebraska-Lincoln

RICHARD GRAHAM     

14. Comic Art Collection at the Michigan State University Libraries

RANDALL W. SCOTT     

15. Interview with Randall W. Scott

NICHOLAS YANES AND ROBERT G. WEINER     


Part Five: State Libraries/Archives

16. The Perils of Doctor Strange: Preserving Pennsylvania-Centered Comics at the State Library of Pennsylvania

WILLIAM T. FEE     


Part Six: Audiences

17. Graphic Novels and the Untapped Audience

RUTH BOYER     

18. Comic Relief in Libraries: Motivating Male Adolescent Readers

KAREN GAVIGAN     

19. "Forty-one-year-old female academics aren't supposed to like comics!" The Value of Comic Books to Adult Readers

SARAH ZIOLKOWSKA AND VIVIAN HOWARD     

20. Graphics Let Teens OWN the Library

CHRISTIAN ZABRISKIE     


Part Seven: Nomenclature and Aesthetics

21. The Only Thing Graphic Is Your Mind: Reconstructing the Reference Librarian's View of the Genre

AMANDA STEGALL-ARMOUR     

22. What's in a Name: Nomenclature and Libraries

FRANCISCA GOLDSMITH     

23. The Ontology of Art and What Libraries Should

RUTH TALLMAN AND JASON SOUTHWORTH     


Part Eight: Meta-Comics/Webcomics

24. Meta-Comics and Libraries: Should Libraries Buy Them?

ADAM J. NOBLE     

25. Webcomics and Libraries

AMY THORNE     


Part Nine: Cataloging

26. Cataloging and Problems with Dewey: Creativity, Collaboration and Compromise

LAUREL TARULLI     

27. An Example of an In-House Cataloging System

ROBERT G. WEINER     


Part Ten: Evaluation of Collections

28. Drawing Comics into Canadian Libraries

RACHEL COLLINS     

29. Graphic Novel Holdings in Academic Libraries

ERIC WERTHMANN     


Afterword by Stephen Weiner     

About the Contributors     

Index