Graphic Novels in the Library

Graphic Novels in the Library

"The format appeals to different types of readers and lends itself to a variety of genres including history, fantasy, and education. Goldsmith feels graphic novels also "require active, critical participation by the reader, who must not only be able to decode text, but also follow its flow and grasp essentials of narrative, mood, character or plot through images." Teens who are exposed to these types of materials will be better able to develop critical thinking skills. Some reluctant readers will gladly pick up a graphic novel over a typical novel, and since the illustrations support the text,graphic novels also help encourage literacy." Mooney, Maureen. "Graphic Novels: How They Can Work in Libraries." Book Report (November/December 2002): 18 - 19.

Professional Resources:

Overview

Comic Books for Young Adults: A Guide for Librarians (contains good overview of some of the genres, like superheroes with links toexamples of them, good information but site has not been updated since 2001.)

Griffin, Jane K. "A Brief Glossary of Comic Book Terminology." Serials Review 24, no. 1 (Spring 1998): 71 - 76.

Kan, Katharine. "Comics And Graphic Novels in the Library : A Collection Development Guide." Voice of Youth Advocates Oct., 1999 p.252-3

The Librarian's Guide to Anime and Manga

Lyga, Allyson A. W. and Barry. Graphic Novels in Your Meia Center: A Definitive Guide." Libraries Unlimited, 2004.

Weiner, Stephen. "Beyond Superheroes: Comics Get Serious." Library Journal, February, 2002. p. 55-58

Words and Pictures Museum (Provides a history of comics and graphic novels)

Collection Development

Brugeman, Lora. "Zap! Whoosh! Kerplow!: Build High-Quality Graphic Novel Collections with Impact. "School Library Journal. January, 1997. p. 22-27.

Ching, Alison. "Holy Reading Revolution:Developing A Graphic Novel Collection for Young Adults." YALS, Summer, 2005. p. 19-21.

Crawford, Philip. "Graphic Novels: Selecting Materials that Will Appeal to Girls." Knowledge Quest 31 (November/December 2002): 43 - 45.

Goldsmith, Francisca. Graphic Novels Now: Building, Managing, and Marketing a Dynamic Collection." American Library Association, 2005.

Miller, Steve. Developing and Promoting Graphic Novel Collections. Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2005.

Programming

Gorman, Michele. "getting Graphic: Using Graphic Novels to promote Literacy with teens and Preteens." Linworth, 2003.

Leckbee, Jodi. "I Got Graphic! Using Visual Literacy Works!" YALS, Summer, 2005. p. 30-31.

Snowball, Clare. "Teenage Reluctant Readers and Graphic Novels." YALS, Summer, 2005. p. 43-45.

Teen Read Week 2002 (YALSA's annual event focused on Graphic Novels in 2002)

Using Graphic Novels in the Classroom : A Guide for Teachers and Librarians (link to a pdf file of the publication by Scholastic)

Welch, Rollie, and Julianne Brown. "The Rapid Rise of Graphic Novels and Their Place in the Cleveland Public Library." YALS, Summer, 2005. p. 22-26.

Awards:
Great Graphic Novels for Teens Sponsored by The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) of the American Library Association (ALA). First winners to be announced at ALA's Midwinter meeting January, 2007.

Bibliographies

Weiner, Stephen. "The 101 Best Graphic Novels." Nantier, Beall, Minoustchine, 2005.

Reviews

Voya , School Library Journal , Library Media Connection and Booklist regularly review graphic novels for young adults. They are good sources for acquiring new titles.

Graphic Novel Review (reviews book-length comics for the casual reader)

No Flying! No Tights! (A website reviewing graphic novels for teens, classified by genre as well as age appropriateness.)

Comics Worth Reading (reviews the full range of comics available)

Bookshelf (Sponsored by Diamond Comics and created as an aid for those who wish to learn more about the benefits of incorporating graphic novels into library collections and classrooms.)

Knowledge Quest ( a column by Librarian Philip Crawford appears 5 times a year and explores the world of graphic novels for K-12 librarians and educators. First one appeared Nov/Dec, 2002)

BWI Title Tales (once you join ...it's free...you can access thousands of GN titles...read reviews and view covers)

Intellectual Freedom Issues:

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

Discussion List

Listserv name: Graphic Novels in Libraries (to join send an email to GNLB-L-subscribe@topica.com.)

Graphic Novels | Introduction to Graphic Novels | Graphic Novels in the Library | Graphic Novels in the Classroom | Graphic Novels on the Web

Dr. Pamela P. Barron
ppbarron@uncg.edu
Date Last Modified: 10/2/2006
Created by Dr. Pam Barron with additional content contributed by Dr. Carol Doll, Old Dominion University. Graphics from ALA Graphics (http://www.alastore.ala.org/).