Getting Graphic at the Library
by Diane B. Rice

Ada Community Library is committed to providing a broad range of library services for residents of all ages including popular or printed materials reflecting our changing society. The library offers frequent adult programming to support this goal and one of our newest collection areas is adult graphic novels. After many years of enjoying participation in the "Let's Talk About It" Idaho state series I applied for a grant from the ALA for a national level LTAI series. This article will describe the progress and results from the grant in the hopes of encouraging other public libraries to apply. Attendance at the training in April in San Francisco was very motivational. 

On September 6, the Ada Community Library hosted a program entitled "Drawing Comics ~ Tools of the Trade" presented by local comic book artist Steve Wilhite, who shared some of his experiences in the world of comics. He talked about the process of creating graphics and getting them published and was available afterwards to answer questions. There were 39 attendees with a mixture of half adult and half teens and children, both male and female. It was a kick-off event for the book discussion series. Along with our website a MySpace and Facebook blog were used for publicity and a visit to the Ahavath Beth Israel with the support of Rabbi Daniel Fink. 

The programs evolved in a wonderful manner. A large circular arrangement of chairs was used offering face to face contact. A name tag on all attendees created a comfortable intimate environment for discussions, with each person speaking briefly to a scholar suggested question at the beginning of the event. Some of the participants were part of a local Jewish congregation and the repartee and depth of points brought up regarding religious as well as historical context while discussing the differences in the graphic novels, was much more informative than could have been anticipated when planning the series. 

Degrees of traditional and more orthodox perception versus the modern interpretations of Jewish culture were well-illustrated in the diversity of the graphic novels used; this was reflected through information discussed among the non-Jewish participants as well. We all learned something more about each other and our spiritual focus and a nice diversity of men as well as women with an age range of 25 through 80 years of age made for a more meaningful overall view of the importance of literature in our lives.  

I started with store bought bagels for refreshments which eventually became homemade treats shared by the participants and this expressed the community feeling that developed. Personal reviews of two of the graphic novels written by one of the participants on our blog were a wonderful reflection on the effectiveness of the series. BSU scholar Dr. Beret Norman offered insightful research including articles, interviews shared of the authors and books that showed other aspects of the writer, artistic illustrations or genre; including historical points that helped us to evaluate and develop astute contemplations of the setting from each of the books in the series. She was gregarious and thoughtful, allowing participants sufficient time to express themselves.  

A multi-generational approach was promoted to offer perspectives from younger people attending who might be more familiar with the graphic novel format, to those individuals who may not have been aware of them before attending this MODERN MARVELS series. Posters, flyers, pamphlets were displayed and distributed at the Cabin (a local literary center also on their community events online website link), other libraries, the local university, and at the historic museum downtown. The LTAI series was publicized in the online newsletter for the Human Rights Education Center. I also presented a program in April to Southwest Idaho Library Association annual meeting attendees on Adult Graphic Novels and gave LTAI materials out to many folks, as well as an early Fall presentation for the state-wide Idaho Library Association on "Adults Getting Graphic," promoting the LTAI MODERN MARVELS content and series.  

Graphic novel collection development choices (of which I reviewed several for the local newspaper before and during the series) were titles selected from bibliographies offered in the LTAI materials. They were displayed in a special area along with a lobby display on the Arabian Peninsula which complemented THE RABBI'S CAT. I selected some new titles with good reviews that supported the series including: FROM KRAKOW TO KRYPTON: Jews and Comic Books by Arie Kaplan, DISGUISED AS CLARK KENT: Jews, Comics and the Creation of the Superhero by Danny Fingeroth, ART SPIEGELMAN: Conversations edited by Joseph Witek and THE STORY OF YIDDISH: How a Mish-mosh of Languages Saved the Jews by Neal Karlan. These along with other titles such as THE ADVENTURES OF RABBI HARVEY: A Graphic Novel of Jewish Wisdom by Steve Sheinkin were displayed during the discussions, with many copies being checked out afterwards by the participants.  

We have expanded our budget exponentially to reflect accelerated use of the adult graphic novel collection, and this MODERN MARVELS series offered one on one discussion opportunities of both genre and format which greatly added to our collection development understanding of patron preferences for future collection selection. The purpose of the collection is to offer entertainment, culture and fun to adults with library cards and the addition of adult graphic novels adds community benefits of opportunities to add insight into: human and social conditions, combinations of images and text that increase awareness and knowledge of art and cultural differences, diversity of viewpoints offered in global social issues and giving a service that reflects increasing patron demand.  

This was one of the main goals we reached, showing the mainstream book discussion group participant another type of literary format to enjoy and appreciate. This opportunity to showcase the ever increasing diversity and popularity of this collection at our library occurred while sharing and appreciating cultural diversity and history together in our library community. This libraries presentation of ALA and Nextbook's "Let's Talk About It!" MODERN MARVELS: Jewish Adventures in the Graphic Novel was a positive and successful program series with a regular attendance of interested and involved community members. I would personally encourage other small public libraries to experience this excitement together.

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Diane is currently a Reference Librarian/Program Coordinator at the Ada Community Library in Boise, Idaho. Working for over a decade in Idaho public libraries she obtained an MLIS from UNT. A volunteer at the Cabin she also loves to travel and grow in her understanding of the creative processes of writing and reading. Mothering two young adults offers some insight into trends in graphic novels, comics and manga, also resulting in a level 80 Tauren Druid character from playing WoW.  Her beagle Blue is a therapy dog. She loves traditional archery and watching movies with her husband.