Graphic Novels in Graduate-Level Library and Information Studies Literature and Materials Courses

Abstract

Graphic novels and comics have garnered acceptance in recent years, finding their way into library collections, literacy programs, scholarly publications and classrooms. This article examines the use of graphic novels in graduate-level library and information studies programs through a survey conducted of instructors teaching at American Library Association-accredited institutions. The authors wanted to determine whether faculty in library and information studies programs were assigning graphic novels in their literature and materials courses, particularly courses with an emphasis on children's and ‘young adult’ materials, what graphic novels were being assigned, and how they were incorporated into the curriculum.

Keywords:

• children's literature
• comics
• graphic novels
• library and information studies
• manga
• statistical survey
• young adult literature

Notes

¹ The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are presented annually at the San Diego Comic-Con International held in San Diego, California; the Harvey Awards are similar and have been held at the Baltimore (Maryland) Comic-Con since 2005.

² A sequel, Persepolis Two: The Story of a Return was published in 2004. The two books were later published together in 2007 as The Complete Persepolis to coincide with the release of the film adaptation.

³ Book titles are reported as submitted; authors were unable to find a graphic novel by this title searching OCLC WorldCat, EBSCO Discovery or Google.