Thanks so much to all of you who answered my email.
Here are the responses for how to classify and catalog the graphic
novels. Below that is a list of recommended graphic novels for middle
school students.
Karna Antoniw, Librarian
Instituto San Roberto
Monterrey, Mexico
kantoniw@sanroberto.edu.mx
IDEAS FOR CATALOGING GRAPHIC NOVELS
**We place graphic novels under Fiction and graphic nonfiction under the
appropriate Dewey number. We also have a neon green sticker abover the
call number that says Graphic novel or nonfiction depending on which it
is. They are all filed on a kiosk we had built for them and we list a
notation on the online catalog as to where they are located. It seems
to work well for us. I think placing them in the 741 area will hide
them from kids.
**In our hs we have cataloged them as GN 741.5 and then GNF (non-fic)
with the appropriate catalog #. We have a separate section of the
library for these novels for easy access and many times students will
just read them in the library.
**I made a separate section for my graphic novels because they are so
popular and I plan on buying more. I catalog them using GN for Graphic
Novel and then by series or author name.
**I have made a new prefix GN so I use GN 741.5. The only ones I do
not use 741.5 is a beautifully illustrated edition of the Hobbit. I put
that in GN TOL because the original story is from fiction.
**I am quite involved in the graphic literature/sequential fiction
"world" and the great majority opinion there is that they should be
classified in the proper area. A book like "Undertanding Comics" by
Scott McCloud *belongs* in 741.5, because that's what it is "about".
But a graphic novel like Jeff Smith's "Bone" series should be in fiction
(or separate fantasy section if you had one) because that's what it's
about. We don't catalog all videotapes under 384.558, so why should we
ghettoize graphic works?
**I just started collecting them this year. I put them in their own
category: GN and the first three letters of the author's last name.
They are near the magazines. They circulate very well. I have some
superhero gns that are very popular with the boys.
**I process books for 26 school libraries. The consensus from our
schools is 741.5 and a subject heading Graphic novels.
Shelving is done in various ways in the schools. All 741.5 interfiled.
At the 741.5 shelves section of graphic novels followed by the rest of
the 741.5s. A separate display/ permanent shelving area for graphic
novels.
**It's great to hear that other people are starting graphic novel
collections! I just started one at my school this year and decided to
catalogue them in 741.5. Part of this is because it's what has been done
in every library I've been in and part of it is because it's a sneaky
way to get the kids into the non-fiction section of the library!
**I went around about this also, switching locations in an effort to
find the right place for them. They get lost in 741 with the studio art
books. They weren't really E or F books in many cases, too. After some
errors in my trials, I decided to catalog them as 800 items and house
them there. I decided to use their popularity to boost traffic to the
800's section. Frankly, as a marketing technique, I put them in there.
The plan is working. 800s circulation is up. The books are easily
accessible and identifiable as graphic novels, and the kids are
discovering the riches of the 800's section due to the browsing that
happens as a result of proximity.
**We catalog our graphic novels in fiction-we wanted the easiest place
for the kids to find them.
**We have just a few and I am also looking to expand the collection -
most of the reviews I read say high school/adult or are too babyish.
The ones we have are housed near the circ desk (hopefully to stop
"shrinkage.") The call number is GN FIC AUT (first three letters of
author's name) or GN Dewey # Author
**They've gotten so popular at our school that we've given them their
own category (Material Type - we use Sagebrush) and are housing them in
a shelf space all their own. We call them GF (Graphic Format) and then
either FIC or whatever their non-fiction number might be followed by the
author's name (first 3 letters).
**We added a small collection of around 25 copies earlier this year. I
decided to create a new section whose call number prefix is GN then the
3 letters from the main entry (which might be the title, author, editor,
or illustrator). These are the comics themselves, like a Spiderman
novel. The books I bought on how to draw different styles of comics
(Marvel, Manga, etc) we still put in 741.5.
**We actually have them in a separate bookcase near the couches and they
are organized by series. If they're not in a series they go by author.
**I just started to buy a few Graphic Novels. Right now I have them in
741.5, but did consider putting them in a seperate section. They are
flying off the shelf so fast that I usually just set them out on one of
our tables and they are gone.
RECOMMENDED GRAPHIC NOVELS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL
-City of Light, City of Dark: A Comic Book Novel by Avi
-Fallout: J. Robert Oppenheimer, Leo Szilard, and the political science
of the atomic bomb by Ottaviani, Jim
-Good-bye, Chunky Rice Thompson, Craig
-Superman: Secret Identity
-Maus: A Survivor's Tale "My Father Bleeds History" and "And Here My
Troubles Began" by Spiegelman, Art
-Naruto series by Kishimoto, Masashi
-Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Satrapi, Marjane (great read,
advanced readers, kids who like graphic novels, historical works or
memoirs would enjoy it)
-Safe Area Gorazde: The War in Eastern Bosnia, 1992-95 by Sacco, Joe
-Shaman King series by Takei, Hiroyuki
-Black Tide: Awakening of the Key by Bishop
-Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 1 by Jemas
-Stan Lee presents Black Panther by Lee
-Groo and Rufferto by Aragones
-Ultimate X-Men: the Tomorrow People by Millar
-Young Justice: A League of Their Own by David
-Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Miller
-The Hobbit by Tolkien, J.R.R.
-Death: At Death's Door by Thomspon
-Amy Unbounded by Hartman
-The Way of the Rat by Dixon
-Aushwitz by Croci
-Ultimate Spiderman (cannot keep on the shelf)
-Ultimate X-Men (cannot keep on the shelf)
-Rave Master (several libraries recommend)
-YuGiOh
-Demon Diary
-Clan Apis
-Bone series (very popular)
-Sandwalk Adventures
-Dragon Ball
-Dragonball Z
-Fruits Basket
-Archie
-Calvin & Hobbes
-Zits
-Marvel
-Yu Yu Hakusho
-Mars
-Usagi YoJimbo Grasscutter
-Grasscutter II
-Courtney Crumrin (but it has taken a little introduction/pushing to get
that one going)
-Robota by Doug Ching and Orson Scott Card (Great writing and great
illustrations.)
great book by Michelle Gorman Getting Graphic! Using Graphic Novels to
Promote Literacy with Preteen and Teens
You can get some help with your questions at this website -
bookshelf.diamondcomics.com
They are one of the largest distributors of graphic novels and comic
books in the country and this part of ther website is for librarians and
teachers interested in using/ordering titles. They give cataloging
information as well.
You are welcome to look at our catalog at http://lib.splendoraisd.org to
see what we choose. Our drama teacher is a long-time comic collector and
was able to advise us on which titles would (and would not) be
appropriate for Junior High kids. We used the Follett Graphic Novel
flyer to select from.
Our high school collections are good, but the middle schools have a more
difficult time finding age appropriate graphic novels. If you are
interested in seeing what we have, our catalogue is online
http:libcat.sjsd.net Login In (No password needed) Search Keyword
graphic novels As you can see we catalogued a few before stadarizing to
741.5 With our online catalogue we are limited to its default search
fields.
Unfortunately this means to search our middle school collections you
need to do each separately as there is no option for Branch and it needs
at least 2 characters before you can truncate. Three of our middle
schools have graphjic novels in their collection Search Keyword graphic
novels 330 Repeat Search Keyword graphic novels 340 Repeat Search
Keyword graphic novels 345.
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