Product Description

In 1992, "Maus", a graphic novel by Art Spiegelman, won the Pulitzer Prize. The genre has been growing ever since, appealing to the visual-oriented Gen-X and Gen-Y, as well as to reluctant readers, those of all ages seeking alternative viewpoints, and anyone willing to take both image and word into consideration. "Graphic Novels Now" helps librarians new to the genre with all the key issues related to these unique books. Expert author Francisca Goldsmith shares smart advice, from how to develop a well-rounded collection by finding reviews and reliable publishers and distributors to shelving, cataloging, and preserving these unique books. This guide also features tips on marketing and promoting the graphic novel collection, as well as how to create dynamic programs such as artist visits and how-to cartooning workshops. Going beyond the comic book, author and YA specialist Goldsmith answers her colleagues' many questions that arise in dealing with one of her favorite kinds of literature: What are graphic novels? How do I create a graphic novel collection development policy? What processing challenges will I face, and how do I address problems? Who are my customers for graphic novels and how do I attract them? Are these titles going to be challenged by my colleagues and the community? How do I cope? Where can I find resources? With passionate advocacy, Goldsmith identifies best practices to incorporate graphic novels into library collections from start to finish. By focusing on monographic works in a practical, in-depth professional discussion, this guide helps librarians grapple with the details of a growing genre and customer base that rarely fits into an easy model. Librarians in public and school libraries, as well as special libraries, will find this book an invaluable resource in maximizing these collections.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1632596 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 124 pages

From School Library Journal
This slim volume packs a lot of information into few pages. Goldsmith begins with a somewhat theoretical discussion of graphic novels: an illustrative definition (literally-Jessica Abel's comic strip provides an introduction to basic concepts, as well as art interspersed throughout some of the text); a brief but informative history of the format; and a number of well-reasoned arguments for bringing the genre into library collections. The latter half of the book provides many concrete suggestions for creating, maintaining, promoting, and defending a graphic-novel collection. Various appendixes list additional resources on the analysis and study of the genre, list some major titles, and provide suggestions for writing collection-development policies. Goldsmith has covered a lot of territory; as a result, this book will be broadly useful to librarians who are starting graphic-novel collections as well as those who are keeping up well-established ones.-Sarah Couri, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Graphic novels, defined in this informative handbook as "fully extended literary works published in a medium that combines text and image to present a narrative," are an important component of library collections that serve young adults and, increasingly, adult fans. In an engaging and lively style, author Goldsmith, a collection management and promotion librarian at Berkeley Public Library, not only makes the case for inclusion of graphic novels but outlines the elements necessary to build and maintain a sound collection. Eight chapters cover the definition and brief history of graphic novels; technical terms; finding reviews and developing a collection; collection maintenance issues, including binding, shelving, and theft; classifying and cataloging, including translation issues; marketing and promotion, with advice on topics from the best way to display graphic novels to readers'advisory; promotional programs; and contending with challenges. The excellent appendixes cover print and online resources as well as providing a list of publishers; a select annotated bibliography in rough subject classification; and a section on collection development policies, giving both samples and the Web sites of libraries with exemplary policies. The index is comprehensive and correct. This is a readable, usable guide to creating and maintaining a high-circulation, carefully chosen collection in a genre that is growing in both popularity and critical regard. Ann Welton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Francisca Goldsmith is collection management and promotion librarian at the Berkeley Public Library. In 1989, she initiated the library's first collection of graphic novels. Her acquisitions, cataloging, processing and promotion tactics became an informal template at several urban libraries throughout California. She currently serves on the board of YALSA and is a popular presenter and writer on the subject of graphic novels. Her articles and reviews have appeared in School Library Journal, VOYA. Library Journal, and Booklist. Her 2002 YALSA pre-conference presentation on graphic novels educated an overflow crowd.

Customer Reviews

A complete and "user friendly" guide for librarians seeking to develop well-rounded and popular graphic novel collections
One of the truly flourishing facets of the publishing industry, graphic novels have truly come into their own and are gaining wide-spread popularity you both juvenile and adult readerships. Graphic Novels Now: Building, Managing, And Marketing A Dynamic Collection by Francisca Goldsmith (Collection Management and Promotion Librarian for the Berkeley Public Library) is a complete and "user friendly" guide for librarians seeking to develop well-rounded and popular graphic novel collections through knowledgeable reviewers, as well as reliable graphic novel publishers and distributors. Very highly recommended as a resource guide, Graphic Novels Now directly addresses basic questions and issues such as what constitutes a graphic novel; how to create a graphic novel collection development policy; shelving, cataloging, and preserving the graphic novel, even how to create dynamic programs such as artist visits and cartooning workshops.