I work in a public library system, and a staff member recently voiced concerns about fictionalized dialogue in graphic novel biographies. This person feels that the presence of that dialogue should exclude them from our biography collection, as all books contained in that collection are books of fact, not imagination.
Have you encountered such concerns before? If you do collect graphic novel biographies in your professional capacity, is the presence of fictionalized dialogue a factor you consider when making purchase decisions? And do you know of any review guidelines for biographical graphic novels?
- a public
I’m looking for some advice regarding the teen anime club…We started fine without any problems but within the last few months I’ve had the yaoi fandom take over the club. It’s just 6 girls out of around 15 members, but they really tend to dominate and make the others uncomfortable…Nothing I say seems to have any impact beyond a few minutes of toning it down, then they’re right back at it. Has this issue ever arisen in your club? — A teen librarian at a public library in Colorado
First, for those who don’t know, yaoi refers to manga… Read More
It’s that time of year again when I take a good, hard look at my circulation figures and decide what’s been popular, what’s holding steady, what needs a bit of hand-selling, and what might just need to be jettisoned from the collection.
I am thus sharing a few conclusions and wishes gleaned from my stats. I’m counting the number of circulations in the past two years for stand alone titles and the number of circulations per volume in a series for series titles.
The top 20 titles/series of 2011 by circulation are:
That photo to the right is what greeted me today when I got to my Teen Room. We all know how well-loved our graphic novels are—we can see them loved to bits, literally. Given that every library eventually runs out of shelf space, and titles slowly fall to bits, no matter how popular a collection may be, the dreaded question of how best to weed graphic novel collections is asked on many a listserv and in many a workshop. With thanks to all the discussions I’ve had… Read More
Graphic novels and comics, just like other formats in kids and teen media, still have a ways to go to be a medium that consistently reflects the diversity and variation in our world, but I am always happy to see titles that broaden our views. In reading Craig Thompson’s Habibi (very much not for kids) this past week, however, I was struck by how powerful the graphic format is in giving readers mirrors, reflecting themselves in the wider world, and windows, entering into cultures and communities that are outside our immediate experience. It made me ask myself: what are my favorite… Read More
Given the engaging discussions we all had last week in the Question Tuesday column, I thought I’d follow up this week with a snapshot of where age ratings and recommendations are right now. Many readers commented on how they look for age ratings, questioned how they’re explained, and struggled with how much weight to give them.
For all of our edification, here’s the lowdown on who has age ratings, what they say they mean, and what other systems publishers may be using.
First off, let’s start with the major comics publishers. Almost all of the mainstream comics… Read More
This week, I’m not so much answering a question from our readers but instead asking a question OF our readers.
I am currently teaching an online continuing education class for the Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science. It’s always a fun time, and I always learn just as much if not more from my students as I hope they learn from me. One issue that comes up every time I teach this course, related to last week’s Question Tuesday post about where to place particular titles, is age ratings and what we librarians need… Read More
Is the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series ok for my middle school, for 7th to 9th grade readers? Do you have any comments on the series Death Note for a high school?
As a graphic novel fan and expert, I get asked about the appropriateness of all kinds of series. Different age ranges and different institutions, especially schools, are working under various restrictions and in communities with different standards. I am always happy to discuss titles with librarians and educators, but much depends on their own community’s standards… Read More
How can I find out about new juvenile graphic novels and upcoming titles? How can I keep up with juvenile series (gn)? - C. A., from Virginia
There are a few different tacks to take when it comes to keeping track of upcoming titles.
There are, of course, the usual sources: Library Journal, School Library Journal, Library Media Connection, VOYA, Publisher’s Weekly. All of these journals maintain excellent reviews, but they do have trouble keeping up with the stream of titles that are coming out every month.
The easiest is series. Set up standing orders through a… Read More
As this is Banned Books Week, here at Question Tuesday I thought I’d put together some basic thoughts on what to do if a graphic novel is challenged in your library. This is not from a specific question from a librarian, but more a general response from years of being consulted about challenges to comics and graphic novels.
