A final questionnaire response and a review of Notes for a War Story by Gipi

I have a final questionnaire that was answered by David Dunkerton who runs a Young Adult Review blog for the Clarion Free Library.

Hi Brittany,

I would be happy to help you with your project! I'll have to get back to you about the statistics you asked for, because we're working with a relatively new system, so I'll have to find out from the director how to look that kind of information up. Off the top of my head I would say about 1/4 of the Graphic Novels (GN) in our collection are Manga.

I think that the only libraries that are reluctant to include GN (and that would include trade paperbacks) in their collection are places in which the librarians don't see them as valuable literature. There is so much literature written recently about the place of GN in the library, though, that I don't think it's as much of an issue as it once was. Sometimes librarians might be concerned about parents' response to them, but I think the only people who don't like GN are people who have never read one!

I definitely believe they are sincere forms of literature! I personally belong to the mainstream audience where most of the GN I read have to do with superheroes, but GN are not a genre--they are a format that can be about any topic and fit into any genre. For instance, we have a Manga version of Romeo & Juliet, and soon we will be ordering GN of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.

I don't think price has had any impact in our purchasing of GN for our collection, but I don't order the books myself, so I don't really know. As I understand it, library budgets typically are divided up where certain amounts are specified for certain things, and I think we get a grant that can only be used for Young Adult materials, so some of that would be GN. I don't think we ever pay full retail price for them, anyway.

Our main GN collection is located in its own spot nearby the Young Adult section, but there are some that are written for younger readers and are included with the Junior Fiction, or Junior Nonfiction under J741.5, and some others are shelved with the Adult Nonfiction under 741.5.

As far as our choice of GN, I think that's something that the young adult librarians decide (that would be me and the 2 before me) based on what we find from reviews, etc., but if any of the teens asked for one specifically we would almost definitely add it to the collection. As far as I know they circulate well (I'll have to get back to you when I find that out for sure). I think probably as many adults check them out as young adults!

I hope this was helpful to you, and when I find out the other information you asked for I'll get back to you. Let me know if you need anything else!

Dunk
[Dunkerton, David. "RE: A few questions about graphic novels..." Email to Brittany Makufka. 23 Oct. 2009.]

I thought it important to gather some information from a library that is close to campus so I was glad to receive some answers from David. What he has to say is a lot of what I've been finding from some the other questionnaires answered on here are saying. Clarion Free does seem to have less manga than the other libraries, but that could simply be because of the community and it not being as popular here as it is elsewhere.
I also liked how he said that graphic novels are not a genre, but a format of story telling. I don't think a lot of people realize this, but it's true.
I was happy to see that just as many adults check out the graphic novels as young adults do. I think that shows that they influence of graphic novels, and their fan bases, are not only young adults and children but adults too. This will work to break the stereotypes of graphic novels and hopefully elevate them up to where they belong in the literary world.

Notes for a War Story is a graphic novel written by Italian writer/artist Gipi. It's a story about three friends, Giuliano, Christian, and Little Killer, are trying to survive in a war torn society. They eventually run into another gang that Little Killer is accepted into. The three boys eventually form their own gang and become prosperous. These boys become men in this post war country. The story is told through Giuliano, who comes from an upper class family, and who is the only boy with a family. Even though he is in the same situation as his comrades, he is still singled out among them as being upper class. The story end with Giuliano going home to his parents and leaving his friends behind after he's decided to leave the gang behind.

I had originally gotten this graphic novel to read for this blog, but after reading it decided against it being a part of it. But after a while, I realized how the story had stuck with me and how really profound it really was. The story is engaging and makes you want to keep reading. You also become connected with the characters and become emotionally involved with them. I, personally, fell in love with Christian because of how sweet and innocent his character is. I think this is important because the story is much more profound if the reader can connect with the characters. (Right hand picture shows characters from left to right: Giuliano, Little Killer, and Christian)

I think that the young adult crowd would like this book because it's a rough 'n tumble story. There is a lot of action as the boys struggle to survive. I think they can take more away from the story because of how it sticks with you. I always find the best books will always linger after you read them. This book is probably more for the older teens because of some language, but I don't think that this is a book that anyone can pass up.

So you're a librarian who wants to start a graphic novel collection...

So you want to introduce graphic novels into your collection, but where do you start?
Now I am by no means a professional librarian yet, but I do have my suggestions on starting places. Also since I am not an education student, I do not plan on giving suggestions for starting a graphic novel collection in a school setting. I'm looking mainly at public libraries.

One of the first things I would suggest is to talk to other librarians who already have an established graphic novel collection. The most effective way I've found to do this is to join a listserv that deals with the topic that you are concerned about. I have learned a great deal from the GNLIB-L listserv that I joined for this project. Listservs are great ways to have a conversation with people from all over the world. They are kind of like a forum, but instead of posting a topic on a board, topics and responses are sent through a mass e-mail system. Everyone who is in the group can post topics and responses. You can gain valuable information from a source like this because of all of the other members giving their input as to what has or hasn't worked for them in their libraries.

You could also try talking to the local school librarians to see if they do have a graphic novel collection for their students. You may not be a school librarian, but the patrons who are coming to your library are students. The school librarian may have some insight as to what types of graphic novels that her students are requesting or taking out.
Keeping on topic with how a school library can help the public library, the ALAN Review has recently published an article titled Inserting Graphica into Your Curriculum: Recommended titles for grades 6 - 12 written by Peter Gutierrez. I think this would be a great starting place for a library who wants to create a graphic novel collection. Guiterrez says he compiled his list based on "an overview of titles that contain significant literary merit and can accomplish multiple curricular goals. They should should hold appeal, both in content and theme, for middle and high school students, is of course, another important consideration." He also said that he was not going to include such classic titles as Art Spiegelman's Maus or Jeff Smith's Bone because they are classic and he wants to introduce new titles. Along with those titles he now wants to include American Born Chinese, Persepolis, and Watchmen because of their recent spikes in popularity. In this article he offers a list of 14 graphic novel and manga titles of both fiction and nonfiction, each accompanied by a review as well. I think this would be a great article to read for a librarian because of the good reviews and, if you're keeping in mind that your patrons are students, it provides a great list of titles to supplement the information they're learning in school.
[Gutierrez, Peter. "Integrating Graphica into Your Curriculum: Recommended Titles for Grades 6 - 12." ALAN Review. Fall. (2009): 68-72. Print.]

Another route you could go in is by checking out what the library journals have to say. I subscribed to Library Journal for a while my last semester here and I enjoyed reading it. There is also School Library Journal which offers more titles for student aged kids, so that may be a batter choice to look at rather than the more adult orientated Library Journal. They do have a graphic novel section filled with upcoming books and reviews. Now if you can't get a hold of these journals mentioned, there is always the databases out there filled with articles. Most public libraries in Pennsylvania subscribe to Access PA Power Library which has a numerous amount of databases. These articles can be very informative and help get you started in the right direction.

Thanks to a new discussion on the GNLIB listserv, I have some online tools to help a library make selections for their graphic novel collection.
Manga
This is an about.com website all about manga. It offer's Deb's Manga Blog. Deb Aoki is a manga artist and she offers her insight into the manga culture through her blog. This website offers a ton of information about manga and is very helpful if you're having trouble understanding this different form of graphic novel.
Graphic Novels: Resources for Teachers and Librarians
I was very impressed with this website. It's run by Michael Lavin from the University of Buffalo. He's very qualified to run this sort of site because he is a librarian. This site offers much information about formats, publishers, genres, reccomended novels, internet resources, and most importantly tips for collection development and putting graphic novels in libraries.
Graphic Novel Archive
I think this is a great website for reviews for graphic novels. It offers age ratings, reviews, and links to buying options. This site could be useful when you want to gather a quick overview of a title before deciding to purchase it or not. It also offers a nice FAQ about graphic novels that answers some persistent questions.
Comics Worth Reading
This website is another blog that reviews graphic novels. It is run by Johanna Draper Carlson who has a long history of judging and reviewing comics for notable publishers. She also has help from a few other people who both work in comics and review them as well. This site also reviews movies that are coming out that are geared towards young adults.
Teen Reads
This website is full of more reviews not just on graphic novels, but also on other young adult books. It's run by Carol Fitzgerald who also runs the Book Reporter and many more book related websites. It offers a wide variety of information and lists that could appeal to young adults. Some lists include books into movies, the ultimate reading list, series, cool and new, and coming soon. I think this would be a good way to keep up with what's going on in the young adult literature world and see what is popular.

Finally, if you really want to understand how comics work and want an in-depth look at them, then I recommend reading Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. I have just finished this book and found it very informative, but also pretty academic. It takes a very in-depth look at comics and how they work. It explains how time works in comics, the importance of the space between the panels, different forms of art and their respective meanings... just to name a few. Since it was written in 1994, it is a bit dated, but the information presented is still relevant to graphic novels today. This book is written in graphic novel format so it is could also be a nice reference book to get you started on graphic novels if you haven't ever read one before.

As I final note, I would also suggest that you poll your patrons, they being the young adults who use your collection. Find out what they want more of in the library and what they're interested in. It could be something as simple as asking the patrons if they would like more graphic novels in the collection as you are checking them out, or as formal as creating a committee of young adults to come up with a list of titles or authors that they would like to see more of. I've noticed in the questionaires that I've gotten back that libraries are starting to have a teen group that meets at certain times and that is where they get their suggestions for new material from. Like I've always felt - the patrons are the most important thing in the library. Without them, you simply wouldn't have a library. So why not listen to them?

DragonBall and American Born Chinese

I recently finished reading American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang and couldn't help but notice a small similarity to the beloved DragonBall series by Akira Toriyama. This is probably because the beginning of DragonBall is loosely based on the Chinese Monkey King story, and this Chinese story is part of the plot of American Born Chinese. So I thought that they would work well in a review together as well as possibly generate new readers who enjoy one of these books.

Reading the DragonBall series is a serious undertaking, not to mention the continuation of the story with DragonBall Z. This story is an updated version of the Monkey King myth, with the character of Son Goku as the Monkey King. Goku is a small boy with incredible powers who has a monkey tail, a flying cloud, and a magical staff. He meets up with Bulma who is searching for the 7 Dragon Balls. She tells Goku that if you collect the 7 Dragon Balls a powerful dragon comes and grants you one wish. So here the adventure begins for Goku. Thankfully the publisher for DragonBall, Viz, has started releasing it in larger volumes called VizBig that collects three volumes of the original manga.

Most people probably know, or discover, DragonBall and DragonBall Z by seeing the anime first. Anime is a Japanese cartoon that has become widely popular along with manga. This happens a lot in the world of manga, because if there is a manga, then there is also probably an anime version of this out there. I base this on the fact that this is how I discovered manga and graphic novels when I was younger. I had caught an episode of DragonBall Z and was hooked, and this lead to me discover that it was based on a manga. So if other young adults are following this pattern as well, then should we not encourage them to find the mangas that their favourite animes are based off of?

Now this story is more of a lighthearted one. It's full of action, potty jokes, and cliff hangers that author Akira Toriyama is infamous for. Amazon.com recommends the reading age for this book as ages 9 - 12, which I see to be reasonable, but Viz has a rating of Teen on the back of it. I think the main thing that needs to kept in mind is that there is some nudity and plenty of sexual jokes found throughout. So this is a classic example of checking reviews for the book and possibly even getting a copy of it yourself and reading it (gasp!) to see what you want to do with it.

In the past posts we've seen that mangas are widely popular among young adults, especially the action packed ones. DragonBall and DragonBall Z have even been mentioned as popular titles. With 16 single volumes of manga in the DragonBall collection and 26 single volumes of DragonBall Z this series offers a long series for young adults to read. The story usually ends on a cliff hanger in between chapters and volumes, so I think that this could keep a reluctant reader's attention and help them to want to continue reading.

Now next we have American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. This is definatly more of a serious story than DragonBall is. There are three plot lines that all come together nicely a the end. It starts off with the Monkey King story being told as the Chinese myth, next the main plot is introduced with the character of Jin Wang coming to America, and then the third story line is sort of like a sit-com called "Everyone Ruves Chin-Kee." These stories come together as Jin has trouble accepting his identity as Chinese when one of his fellow classmates tells him that he can't ask the girl he likes out on dates anymore because it could hurt her reputation being seen with an Asian guy. He has to come to terms with Asian and the constant racism and stereotypes thrown at him during school. The Chin-Kee story line is a blatant stereotyping of Chinese people in a comedy sense, but it all fits into the ending story.

American Born Chinese has won many prestigious awards - most noteably the Prinz Award and it was also a National Book Award Finalist. Some other awards are ALA Best Books for Young Adults, Publisher's Weekly Best Book of the Year, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, and amazon.com Best Graphic Novel/Comic of the Year. So obviously it is a well received book.

I enjoyed reading this book. I though the art was wonderful because it kept me lingering over pages. It's also a clear form of art, so if there is a reader who is new to graphic novels, the art won't be confusing or hard to follow. I also found the story lines engaging to where I wanted to keep reading and not put it down. The racism issue is not heavy handed, but it is an important part of the story. I also liked how Yang put a lot of humor into the story as well. I found myself laughing out loud at certain parts, so there is also a lightness to the big issues addressed. Overall, I was really glad at how this book worked out.

Now why do I think these two books work well together? I think that the Monkey King story is what ties them together. I was pleasantly surprised at how Toriyama based Goku off of the Monkey King and was glad to find out the real story of the myth. I think that if a reader likes one of these books, then they would enjoy the other as well. Chinese culture is so rich, either of these books could also open up a new area of learning for readers as well. You never know what a reader is going to take away from a book that they've read.

Another questionnaire answered and a review of Swallow Me Whole by Nate Powell

I received another answer to my questionnaire from Bonnie Svitavsky who is a young adult librarian at Puyallup Public Library. She writes:

1)How large is your library?

We serve a city of roughly 36,000, as well as areas of the surrounding county.

2) How many graphic novels do you have in collection? How many of those are manga?

We have about 1100 graphic novels. I would guess that at least half of that is manga.

3) Do they circulate well among the YAs?

Yes! There is also a great deal of in-house use.

4) Do you receive any input from YAs concerning graphic novels?

Yes, I receive input via requests from teens, from my TAG, and from my teen volunteers. They make recommendations to me and alert me to what is popular.

5) Why do you think some libraries are reluctant to purchase graphic novels?

It can be an area where not a lot of librarians are familiar with the format, authors, and art. People often think of reading comics as not counting as “real reading” or just a bridge to get readers to “real books.”

6) Do you believe graphic novels are sincere forms of literature?

Absolutely. For more information on why, you should check out Scott McCloud’s book “Understanding Comics” if you haven’t already.

7) Do the higher prices of graphic novels a major deciding factor when purchasing titles for your collection?

I don’t feel that most graphic novels have a higher price compared to YA fiction in hardback or reinforced copies, and definitely not compared to YA non-fiction. I do have to replace GNs more often, because of the amount they get read or insufficient bindings. I’m more concerned about my available shelf space than the cost, though.

8) Where are your graphic novels located? Are they in the general collection or in a spot of their own?

They are a part of the Teen Zone, next to the YA Fiction. However, the nonfiction graphic novels are shelved with the nonfiction materials.

9) Are there any graphic novel titles are currently very popular among YAs?

Naruto, Fullmetal Alchemist, Death Note, Fruits Basket

[Svitavsky, Bonnie. "Re: [GNLIB-L] Seeking help for a young adult literature class." Email to Brittany Makufka. 26 Oct. 2009.]

We're seeing the usual trends here at this library as we've seen in the other libraries who have answered my questionnaire. But, this library is a much larger library, so they most likely have a lot more patrons and a lot more variety.

I am still surprised at how popular manga is, seeing that about half of every collection that I've seen is made up of manga. So this is clearly a major trend in YA literature and should be noted. Even all of the popular titles Bonnie has noticed are all manga titles.

I was glad that Bonnie mentioned Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics. I have not gotten the chance to read this book yet, but I will add it to my list to review for this blog.

Swallow Me Whole by Nate Powell was the winner of the 2009 Eisner Award in the category of Best New Graphic Novel. It was also nominated for YALSA's Great Graphic Novels for Teens 2009 list as mentioned in the previous post. So I figured this would be a good graphic novel to read and review for this blog.

This is a story of two step-siblings, Perry and Ruth, who are schizophrenic. Perry sees a tiny wizard who sits on top of his pencil and demands him to draw. Ruth is plagued by insects and her respect for all life forms. The main story is mostly told through Ruth, who seems to be the main character of this book. The kids struggle through family issues, the terminal illness of their grandmother, and first romances. The artwork fits the story perfectly, told in stark black and white with swirling, flowing lines and movement.

The topics that this graphic novel hits on are wide. There is the whole problem of the novel which is the kids' mental illnesses. There is also the illness, and implied mental illness, of their grandmother who Ruth finds dead in their home after taking her in. There is also the plot of Perry and Ruth's first romances. Since a lot of these problems are plaguing young adults, they may find a connection with the characters in the book or simply find these topics interesting.

I must say, initially, I was slightly bored with it. I felt that it only picked up around the middle of the book and I became interested. I was slightly upset with the ending of the book though. I feel as though the entire story confused me, just as the ending did. I do not think that this book is one of my favorite graphic novels, despite many positive, rave reviews for it. So I think that if I had a hard time getting into the story, then it may be even more difficult for young adults to get into it.

Maus I and II Review

Maus is a story drawn and written by Art Spiegelman that details his father's life as a Jew in Hitler's Europe. Vladek, Art's father, lived through time spent at Auschwitz, then a march to Gross Rosen, and finally another march it Dachau where he was eventually liberated from. Vladek eventually dies in 1982 after moving the family to New York in 1951.

The story is told through Art interviewing Vladek in his home in New York. Art starts on Maus in 1978 and the first volume is published in 1986 and the second volume in 1991.

I think that this graphic novel is pretty close to the top of the pile of the best graphic novels. I think that it really shows that graphic novels are not simply kid stuff and can hold a great meaning within it, just like normal novels. Generally I find this graphic novel in more libraries, and ones that usually don't have many graphic novels to begin with. I think this would be a fine way to start someone up with graphic novels because it is so widely acclaimed.

I think this would appeal to young adults because it is a true story of the Holocaust. It's a raw, emotional story of survival during one of history's toughest times. There is the struggle between the Jews and the Nazis, but also a father/son struggle throughout the book, which I think young adults can connect with. Vladek and Art do not have the best relationship and this is clearly shown through the plot of the book. But even through this, Art still completes the book for his father. There is also the struggle between Art and the book itself. He struggles with the subject matter and how to deal with it.

I also think that Maus clearly shows literary elements that could confuse readers when these elements are presented in a novel. The symbolism is very profound by Art making the characters different animals. The Jews are Mice, or vermin as seen through the German eyes, and the Germans are Cats. This book also clearly shows two different narratives going on at once. I think this could be a useful book to give to reluctant readers so they can have an exciting story to read and possibly understand literary elements better if they happen to be struggling.

Alan Moore, generally thought of as one of the greatest comics writer ever, has said the following about Maus:
"Since discovering his work in the mid 70's, I have been convinced that Art Spiegelman is perhaps the single most important comic creator working within the field and in my opinion Maus represents his most accomplished work to date…Intensely subjective, it manages to encompass subjects as sensitive and diverse as the holocaust on one hand and the yawning emotional gulf between parents and children on the other, all in a fashion that is at once revealing, moving and innovatory. Maus surely marks one of the high points of the comic medium to date. It is perhaps the first genuine graphic novel in recent times, and as such its significance cannot be overstated. Please read it."

Here are some links for further information and resources on Maus because a well researched title is important, especially with graphic novels:
Questions and Resources for Art Spiegelman's Maus
MAUS Study Guide

ALA Great Graphic Novels for Teens nominations and another questionnaire

It has just been brought to my attention that the ALA nominations for their list of Great Graphic Novels for Teens has been posted for 2010. This list seems to be a lot longer their their previous ones, which gives librarians a lot of titles to choose from. I was excited to see a longer list of titles in the nonfiction section with a variety of intriguing topics. R. Crumb's adaptation of Genesis has been included on the list, as well as Michael Keller and Nicolle Rager Fuller's adaptation of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species. The main theme for the nonfiction titles seems to be war though, which makes sense because we are fighting in a war at this moment in time.
On the fiction list, I found a lot of manga titles. I also found Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell's Sandman: Dream Hunters listed, which I think shows that when selecting a title to put in the library that the title should be thoroughly researched before placement. A librarian would not want to place Sandman in an area of younger teens because it is intended for mature audiences. I do not reconize most of the nominations that ALA has listed, but I have picked out Nate Powell's Swallow Me Whole to read and review for this blog.

I have another questionnaire that was answered by Sarah Cody of the Bedford Public Library and is the reference assistant there. She writes:
Brittany,
I'd be happy to help. I make selections for the adult graphic novel collection in my library, so I do not specifically deal with YA titles. However, a large portion of my collection circulation comes from our young adult borrowers. I think this is, in part, due to the fact that our adult collection is cataloged separately from our general collection and stands in its own special location. The few titles in our CYA department are intermixed with the 741.5 non-fiction materials, so they are harder to separate.
To answer your questions:

1) How large is your library?
We have 20,179 borrowers, and are considered a mid-size library.

2) How many graphic novels do you have in collection?
805 in our adult collection

How many of those are manga?
323 manga

3) Do they circulate well among the YAs?
Yes, very well. I don't have any statistics on it, but I can say that the majority of my purchase requests come from YA range 15+.

4) Do you receive any input from YAs concerning graphic novels?
Yes. We do accept purchase requests and gently used donations, so our readers know they can have a say in collection development. I have a couple of kids who make sure I know when new things are coming out.

5) Why do you think some libraries are reluctant to purchase graphic novels?
I think there is still some stigma out there of comics being for children, and not a serious medium. Particularly for an adult collection, it is hard for some individuals to see it as anything but child's amusement. Even with the distinction between adult and juvenile material, they find the visual content questionable and shocking.

6) Do you believe graphic novels are sincere forms of literature?
Yes. I only need to look at titles like "Maus," "Persepolis," "Pride of Baghdad," and "WE3" to see extremely well-written books that have great social import. Some of the art from these books is amazing! Look at Alex Ross..

7) Do the higher prices of graphic novels a major deciding factor when purchasing titles for your collection?
Not to say that I don't look at prices, especially in today's economic climate, but they are not the largest deciding factor. Although, logically, I'm not going to purchase a $99 Absolute Sandman collector's edition either! The major deciding factor for me is the question "Is there interest?" If there is interest, it deserves consideration as per our collection development policy.

8) Where are your graphic novels located? Are they in the general collection or in a spot of their own?
Our adult collection has its own collection "GRA" designation, and stands alone in a shelving unit in our reading room. We have a nearby sofa that our patrons like to use when browsing.

The CYA collection keeps its selections intermixed as regular non-fiction in the 741.5 area.

9) Are there any graphic novel titles are are currently very popular among YAs?
My teen borrowers tend to like manga titles more than traditional graphic novels. Popular titles are: Vampire Knight, Bleach, Parasyte, Fruits Basket, Naruto, Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, Rave Master, Alive: The Final Evolution, and MARS (Fuyumi Soryo)
Cody, Sarah. "Re: [GNLIB-L] Seeking help for a young adult literature class." Email to Brittany Makufka. 23 Oct. 2009.

I see here again with Sarah's library that manga is very popular among young adults, even over traditional graphic novels. I have not read much manga, but I have read Bleach, Dragon Ball, and Dragon Ball Z. I think manga may be more popular because it is so closely tied to it's television counterpart - anime.
I like that, when talking about price, the thought of patron interest is more important than price. Graphic novels get pricey, especially the volumes of manga that come out monthly at about $10 a volume. But it makes sense that price wouln't be a problem if you have enough people who want to read it, but therein lies another problem. If a librarian wants to introduce a new title or series into the collection, they have to take a chance by purchasing that title. This is where donations come in nicely.
I am also glad to see more librarians seeing graphic novels as real literature. Prior to doing this project, I thought that most librarians held the thought that graphic novels are "fluff" but am now finding out that I was wrong. I was also interested in her comment that she thinks some people find the visual content shocking. This makes sense because graphic novels must tell their story visually, so some plot elements, violence for example, have to be seen to understood. To some people actually seeing the offending elements is more disturbing than visualizing them through reading text. But since this is personal taste, I don't think that graphic novels should be censored from libraries. Because, in all technicality, public libraries should not be censoring. As is a reoccurring theme in this blog - I think people's minds need to be changed about graphic novels. And as a librarian, the best of these materials should be made available to them to explore.

Graphic Novels Then and Now

Recently I went home for a weekend and stopped into the St. Marys Public Library, where I work over the summer, and spoke with a co-worker, Liz Baldwin, about this project. She told me that in the 90s she gave a talk about graphic novels, or comes as they were called then, while she worked for the Nashville Public Library and provided me with the research she did for it.
The first piece of material that intrigued me was a posting asking for supporting information for comic books within a library. It reads:
"I am posting for a YA librarian in the area:
"She is in need of supporting documentation for comic books within her library. A patron has filed a complaint and is concerned that the comic books will lead children to become murderers."

Now, when Liz and I first looked at this we laughed. But, some people still hold these ideas about graphic novels. There was a follow-up posting from another librarian that reads:
"... Children will commit murder????? Come now. Just like any other genre of literature, there are comics in questionable taste - that's why we have selection policies and read reviews and spend the public's money as wisely as we can. And anyway...since when did anyone commit a deed after reading about it?
"... Just like beginning-to-read readers absorb clues to words from the illustrations, other readers gain an amazing amount of knowledge from the powerful graphics in many comics and graphic novels. It's a visual society - and readers who have grown up on TV and movies know how look! Readers in my library (young and not so young) love the collection and I would have no trouble justifying it. In fact, our Friends gave me $500 last year to supplement it."

I think this shows that graphic novels were, and most likely still be, a hot topic with libraries. Some people, and some librarians, feel that they are not true forms of literature and are only for kids still persists and will simply not go away. But there will always be that group of people, like myself, who fight for graphic novels and know their true potential.

Another piece of material that I liked was Liz's annotated bibliography of the material that she found on the topic of comics in general and her personal insights. She says that the first thing she wants to "put forth is Mr. Ranganathan's Five Laws of Library Science: 1) Books are for use. *2) Every reader, his or her book. *3) Every book, its reader. 4) Save the time of the reader. 5) A library is a growing organism." She has numbers 2 and 3 starred because they are of the most importance to the topic. As a library science student, I think it's always important to keep these Laws in mind when doing anything related to the library. They ring true, no matter what topic they are being used for.

In this annotated bibliography I found a few titles of articles or books that caught my attention:
Comic Book Evolution. Rolling Stone 3/27/86, p56
In recent years, the comic book field has undergone perhaps the most wide-ranging and meaningful creative explosion of its 50 year-plus history, spawning a generation of storytellers who are among the more intriguing literary and graphic craftsmen of our day.
An Introduction to the World of Children's Books (2nd edition) by Margaret R. Marshall, Gower : Brookfield c1988. Excerpt:
Comics are usually attractive to look at, easy to read, and on themes similar to those found in books: family life, school, adventure, humor, sport, science fiction, war, romance.
Told in a sequence of narrative pictures with succinct captions or "balloon" talk they capture the interest of a large proportion of children and young people. The immense popularity of picture strip for both children and adults is due to the following features:
* The pictures, which tend to be informal, fluid, attracting the attention even in black and white; informative in indicating the next step in the visual story progression.
* The contents, which basically conform to the contents of book plots in the elemental themes of love, hate, greed, pride, bravery, cowardice, good and evil, but all starkly simplified by the constraints of the picture-strip format.
* The familiarity of the regular characters and the familiarity of the formula that enables good to triumph over evil, the hero to win in the end and the emphasis on the moral that goodness pays.
* The regularity of the format and its weekly or monthly availability, which provides something to look forward to.
* Comics being the least middle-class of all reading matter for children, cut across social boundaries in both content and readership.

Liz also goes on to say that she "came across every type of comic book for educational purposes, christian comic books, safety, etc. I spoke with a student teacher on staff and she was totally supportive of them in the classroom. She cited several reasons to use them: vocabulary, English grammar, the science and math, story sequence, plot, characterization, she went on and on about them."

I think this support from a teacher is important because it shows that an educator sees the potential of graphic novels. I too believe that graphic novels could be useful in teaching hard to understand English concepts such as point of view and flashbacks. These concepts are easily seen through the pictures being used to tell the story. I also think they could be used easily to help reluctant readers feel more comfortable with reading. It is stated, in the list above, how graphic novels can help reluctant readers by having something to look forward to since some are released on a monthly basis. This is most true for manga because the newly translated volumes are released once a month. Something like this could really make young adults excited about reading.

Finally, I'd like to end this post with a quote from Stan Lee Liz included in her research on graphic novels. It was found in the newspaper The Tennessean for March 1, 1995. The title of the article was "Holy shotgun! Violence sells with comic book fans."
"When I first got into the business, about 1940, comics were only read by youngsters from the age of maybe 5 to 10. Those were the ages we were trying for.
"We get fanmail today and at least 50% is from adults.
"We've tried to make the stories more three-dimensional, to flesh out the heroes. For instance, our heroes are never quite perfect. They have their own faults, their own personal problems and physical problems.
"... Over the years I've lectured at many, many colleges. I've spoken to professors, deans, students. The one prevailing concept that they keep throwing at me is they consider comic books one of the greatest weapons in the battle against literacy.
"You know, we're bombarded with visual images, television primarily, video games, and yet a kid will sit still read a comic book of his own volition.
"They enjoy the comics, and they begin to equate enjoyment with reading. The more they read comic books, the more they develop a facility for reading. The more the world opens up."

Liz Baldwin is the YA supervisor for the St. Marys Public Library and can be e-mailed at xyberchick@hotmail.com