BOOOM: Graphic Novel Explosion @ Your Library

Randall Scott is both a librarian and a renowned commentator on comic books. It seems that every piece of library literature has to quote him on the subject... He recalls a story told to him by Professor X about his duties as a library assistant in 1936: "I was the one who had to go through the newspapers every morning and rip out the comics, before the papers could be put out in the reading room." (Scott, 1990: 11). Comic strips simply were not appropriate material to be found in the library.

Scott published frequently throughout the 1980s and 1990s on the need to include comics in libraries. But even before this, certain advocates were fighting for inclusion of the format. One of these was Will Eisner, a respected artist and cartoonist recognized as having coined the term 'graphic novel' in the 1960s, who was writing on this topic in School Library Journal as early as 1974. Both Eisner and Scott acknowledged that comics and graphic material have been neglected as a valid format in library collections. For this reason, established classification and subject cataloguing procedures for this format continue to be underdeveloped.

2. Libraries Step into the Picture

As comic strips became more popular in the 1930s they spawned the comic book format. This change did not increase their acceptance in libraries. These 'comic books' were rejected from library collections based on the firm belief that they were linked to juvenile delinquency (Scott, 1990: 12). Some libraries, however, would begin actively collecting—the New York Public Library's Center for the Humanities received a large donation of comic books in 1959 and started acquiring them in 1965. (Serchay, 1998: 43). Randall Scott's own library, the Michigan State University library, established a collection in 1970 to support new studies in popular culture.

Despite these moves toward accepting comics as a legitimate addition to library collections, the establishment as a whole was slow to follow suit. One obstacle was the lack of authority records for comics. While an extensive collection did exist at the Library of Congress due to legal deposit, cataloguing records weren't begun in earnest until the mid-1990s (Serchay, 1998: 38). Likewise, bibliographic tools for serials—which the comic format falls under—excluded comics as a matter of policy for decades. (Scott, 1990: 14) This meant that libraries actively collecting graphic materials had to take on the burden of creating original cataloguing copy. (Scott, 1998: 49)

3. Not Your Average Superhero Adventure

Today there is no question that comics can be a vital part of a library's collection. The awarding of the Pulitzer Prize to Art Spiegelman's Maus in 1986 was a fundamental turning point in the evolution of the comic industry. A biographical account of the author's parents as survivors of the Nazi death camps, Maus takes the traditionally 'low' genre of the comic strip and turns it into a strong rereading of the survivor's tale while at the same time transforming the generic possibilities of the 'comic' itself. A library that did not add this title to their collection risked being perceived as irrelevant by their reading community.

Support for comic or graphic novel collections coalesced by the early 1990s, however significant obstacles still existed. For instance, it was hard for graphic novels to find their way into the cataloguing department, as the comic industry's distribution system differed from that of regular publishing houses. (deCandido, 1990: 51)

4. Legitimacy

Other notably popular and critically lauded titles appearing in that year, including Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen. The mature content of these titles, made explicit through graphic illustrations, gave some libraries pause about accepting them into their collections. These works demonstrated in a vivid manner that the stories were far more complex than the average superhero adventure. (Weiner, 2002: 55) But it was this very aspect that ultimately began to change the minds of librarians in charge of collection development: graphic novels did indeed fit their collecting mandate, as examples of quality literature. Titles such as Maus were afforded a legitimacy that simple comic strips and books lacked. Hollywood also contributed to their popularity by adapting underground hits Ghost World and American Splendor for the big screen in the early 2000s.

5. If We Collect Them, They Will Come

As popularity for the format increased, both production and distribution was improved and streamlined, making it easier for libraries to acquire and process book-like publications that had otherwise been too flimsy to last a normal circulation cycle. This practical consideration, combined with the emergence of several more recognizable authors, heralded a graphic novel explosion on library shelves in the late 1990’s and early 2000s. (Weiner, 2002: 55) Not surprisingly, this caused a similar explosion in the professional literature on the topic of how to develop a graphic material collection and market the collection to a wide audience.

But while collection development was benefiting from more efficient means by which to find and obtain graphic materials, there still existed the problem of getting them on the shelves in a way that enabled users to find them as they would other library materials. Graphic novels pose unique challenges when it comes to analyzing and assigning effective subject headings, and assigning appropriate classification numbers.

1. Issues

Cataloguing methods have been designed, ideally, to provide access points to the library collection. Subject headings provide a primary access point to both users and staff searching the library catalogue. Where libraries can go wrong in approaching this material is to focus too much on the 'graphic' in graphic novel—the term designates a format, not a genre. Comics and graphic novels have historically appealed to a relatively homogeneous core audience and, at first glance, both would appear to be similar items.

But it is far too easy to judge a graphic novel by its cover—literally—if a cataloguer recognizes the comic style and does not analyze the work further. This results in two problems: it ignores the fact that graphic novels are complex narratives dealing with both fiction and non-fiction subject matter; and, it makes the assumption that all graphic novels are meant for children or young readers. As has already been shown, many graphic novels are not intended for young audiences. Classing graphic novels in this manner can cause problems when a child comes across a title that incorporates mature themes, like Hellblazer. (St. Lifer, 2002: 9). Conversely for the format's core audience, the children's collection would not be an obvious place to find titles.

2. Library of Congress Subject Headings

Different cataloguing methods attempt to strike a balance between these two issues and offer libraries the means by which to effectively place their graphic materials within the collection. Currently the most favoured system, the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) provides the headings of Graphic novels and Comic books, strips, etc. The latter can be appended to a topical heading, e.g. an entry for Art Spiegelman’s Maus would read Spiegelman, Art—Comic books, strips, etc. or Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945)—Poland—Biography—Comic books, strips, etc.

Pros:

Integrates easily into current LC cataloguing practices, including union catalogues
Experienced library users will be most familiar with these headings
Assists users searching for graphic material by format.

3. LCSH Continued...

Despite LC being the current standard, however, there are some significant problems associated with its use.

Cons:

Favours format over content
May discourage users who would reject the format but would otherwise be interested in subject matter content in fiction is not easily derived from a title or back of the book contents, nor from such information sources as readily found in non-fiction works, like a table of contents.
Fictional works cannot be given appropriate treatment as standard LC subject headings are largely developed for non-fiction, and so cannot address the different nature of works of fiction.

4. Alternate Subject Heading Schemes for Fiction

Alternate schemes do exist, such as the widely used Olderr's Fiction Subject Headings and ALA's Guidelines on Subject Access to Individual Works of Fiction, Drama, etc. Both provide lists of subject headings and guidelines for assigning them. A good supplement for this is Unreal! Hennepin County Library Subject Headings for Fictional Characters and Places. As the cataloguer will likely encounter recurring characters living in imaginary settings, these alternate tools are indispensable for the job.

Pros:

Allows for treatment of distinctive elements, eg. fictional places (Gotham City)
Improves access by genre, eg. "Autobiographical fiction" found in Olderr’s

Cons:

Integration of different subject cataloguing procedures into existing procedures
Need for development of in-house subject headings, since alternate schemes are primarily for regular fiction rather than graphic materials

5. MARC 655: Genre Headings

The 655 field in MARC is used for inserting genre/form headings into an item's bibliographic record, used to further clarify the use of topical subject headings and genre headings to describe a work.

Pros:

Differentiates between form and content for searching purposes, allowing users to locate works on a subject as well as indicating a preference for the graphic novel format
Can be used in conjunction with alternate subject heading schemes to locate subgroups within the format, such as "Graphic non-fiction" and "Superhero comic books"

Cons:

Not useful if catalogue doesn't return separate results from 6XX fields, or if 655 cannot be searched separately
May be difficult for inexperienced users relying only on subject search to find graphic novels

1. Issues

Classification, like subject analysis, assists the user in determining what the work is about by shelf-listing items in relative categories. Graphic novels have been traditionally classed with books about drawing, to distinguish graphic non-fiction from traditional text non-fiction—but this reduces the works to simple graphic representations rather than complex narratives. For example, Persepolis: A Story of a Childhood is a memoir about growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution; this should be among books about the history of Iran and not with those about drawing. However, if one was searching for graphic material as a format the expectation might be to find all titles under one classification number, regardless of content.

This demonstrates how the aims of classification can often conflict. A single classification range would increase ease of access if looking for format, but would lose any inherent subject relationships between titles concerning content. However, considering the subject for the primary classification would also result in titles being dispersed among the shelves. Fortunately there are several ways in which to organize graphic materials on library shelves, of which using an established system like LC or DDC is only one approach.

2. DDC: 741.59xx and LC:PN6700–6790

Traditionally, all graphic novels, regardless of their intended audience, have been classed in the 741.59xx category of DDC, which represents Drawing and Drawings—Cartoons, caricatures, comics (Collections). Similarly, in the LC schedule it's Comic books, strips, etc. or Graphic novels as headings.

Pros:

Inter-operability: applying a consistent classification standard for all materials will ultimately benefit patrons
One standard is less confusing for both the cataloguer and the reference staff

Cons:

No clues are provided to the user about the subject content; e.g. classing Maus simply as 741.5 or a variation thereof would not indicate that this book is actually a biography.

3. Interfiling

A library may choose to include graphic novels with other items as part of the regular collection. When interfiling graphic novels with the regular collection, a library can mark the format as distinct from the regular books by using a designation like GN rather than FIC on the spine labels. This would facilitate browsing both the shelves and the catalogue.

Pros:

Gets readers into the stacks, and graphic material is still easy to find
Emphasizes that graphic novels aren’t just about superheroes—or for kids—when placed among other related subjects
Graphic novels are a tie-in for the regular collection; readers will be exposed to new literature and different treatments of subjects.

Cons:

A small graphic novel collection loses visibility when shelved within a much larger fiction collection, resulting in poor circulation and readership.

4. Separation

All graphic material, both novels and non-fiction, are shelved together in their own section.

Pros:

Graphic novels may not be read if interfiled with the regular collection—patrons pick them up, think they are comic books and put them back on the shelf
Easier for those who prefer browsing the shelves rather than scanning the catalogue
Circulation will increase if the collection can be highlighted, especially if displayed in an eye-catching manner such as with spinners or face-out racks

Cons:

System often established by a local expert; conventions may be lost with staff changes.
In-house schemes may hinder inter-library cooperation and support
More places to look for material on a particular subject, a problem if the library is large with separate floors; this method also loses all connection with similar subject relationships.

1. Defining the Format

Historically, the Vancouver Public Library collected only the very popular titles for its Children's and Young Adults collection, and classed these in the non-fiction 741+ range following the Dewey schedules. This shelf placement did not adequately represent the 'aboutness' of the titles, nor did it help make the format distinct and separate from the rest of the collection. In order to meet the needs of the readers who were increasingly savvy about the graphic novel culture, VPL made a significant change to its cataloguing practice for this format in early 2004. A memo titled Handling of Graphic Materials in the VPL Collection distinguishes the entire range of the format with the following definition, from the narrower term of 'graphic novel':

Graphic materials include: full length novels told through visual narrative; Japanese comics or manga; superhero comic collections; non-fiction and autobiography told through visual narrative. The term 'graphic novel' applies to any square-bound book with a story told in comics format. (April 2nd 2004)

2. Reclassification

Graphic novels were henceforth to be removed from the Dewey 741+ and reclassed to the general areas of Fiction (FIC), Fiction—Fantasy (FIC FAN), and Fiction—Science Fiction (FIC SF); additionally, non-fiction graphic items would be accorded full subject analysis as well as being classed by content. It should be noted that retrospective cataloguing was not undertaken as this would place a heavy burden on staffing and available budgets.

In tandem with this reclassification, graphic materials were pulled from the regular shelves in favour of the separation model. The spine labels include both the generic term of GRAPHIC as well as the fiction collection code or non-fiction DDC. For example: GRAPHIC YA FIC would be on the spine of Ghost World which is found in the Graphic Materials area of the Young Adult collection; GRAPHIC 955.054 S25Ppa is assigned to Persepolis 2, and interfiled on the non-fiction shelves.

3. In Conclusion

As a result of this change in approach to graphic materials, circulation has demonstrably increased. VPL has succeeded in balancing cataloguing practice and its purpose, which is to meet the needs of its users: dedicated fans of the format can easily locate titles in their own section; and other readers will have access to these materials through the online catalogue by subject or genre search.

This solution may not be appropriate for every library collection; careful consideration of the various approaches listed in this report will be necessary in determining the best way of handling a format for which a demand is increasing with each new blockbuster film adaptation. The case study presented here illustrates how each library must be ready to adapt cataloguing and classification practices in order to create the best path from the user to the collection.

American Library Association. (2000). Guidelines on subject access to individual works of fiction, drama, etc. (2nd ed.). Chicago: American Library Association.

Atkinson, H. (1990). Classification in an unclassified world. In B. Bengtson and J. Hill (Eds.), Classification of library materials: Current and future potential for providing access (pp. 1-15). New York: Neal-Schuman.

Bruggeman, L. (2002). Zap! whoosh! kerplow!. School Library Journal 48 (8), 9.

DeCandido, K. (1990, March 15). Picture this: Graphic novels in libraries. Library Journal, 50-55.

Graphic Novels in Libraries. (n.d.). GNLIB discussion list. Graphic Novels in Libraries webpage. Retrieved March 9, 2005. http://www.angelfire.com/comics/gnlib/.

Hennepin County Library. (1992). Unreal!: Hennepin County Library subject headings for fictional characters and places (2nd ed.). Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company.

Matsuzaki, T. and Wallace, C. (2004). Graphic materials at the Popular Reading Library [Vancouver Public Library]: A collection assessment. Unpublished student paper, School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, University of British Columbia.

Olderr, S. (1991). Olderr’s fiction subject headings. Chicago: American Library Association.

Scott, R. (1998). A Practicing Comic Book Librarian Surveys His Craft. Serials Review 24 (1), 49-57.

_______. (1990). Comics librarianship: A handbook. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company.

Serchay, D. (1998). Comic research libraries. Serials Review 24 (1), 37 – 48.

St. Lifer, E. (2002). Graphic Novels, Seriously. School Library Journal 48 (8), 9.

Weiner, S. (2002, February 1). Beyond superheroes: Comics get serious. Library Journal, 55-58.

1. The Patrons are Coming! The Patrons are Coming!

2. Libraries Step into the Picture

3. Not Your Average Superhero Adventure

4. Legitimacy

5. If We Collect Them, They Will Come

1. Issues

2. Library of Congress Subject Headings

3. LCSH Continued...

4. Alternate Subject Heading Schemes for Fiction

5. MARC 655: Genre Headings

1. Issues

2. DDC: 741.59xx and LC:PN6700–6790

3. Interfiling

4. Separation

1. Defining the Format

2. Reclassification

3. In Conclusion