Trouble with cataloging Graphic novels

What are graphic novels? “Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or produce an aesthetic response in the reader.” McCloud, Scott. (1993) Understanding Comics: the invisible art. New York: Harper Perennial. “An original book-length story, either fiction or nonfiction, published in comic book style or a collection of stories that have been published previously as individual comic books.” Gorman, Michele. (2003) Getting Graphic!: using graphic novels to promote literacy with preteens and teens. Graphic novels can be for people of all ages, and they can be fiction or they can be non-fiction.

Where did Graphic novels come from? Graphic novels sprang forth from the comic book movement during the 1960s; they came into being from the hands of creators who wanted to use the comic book format to deal with more mainstream or adult issues than comic books were currently addressing. There is debate about who came up with the phrase “Graphic Novel,” but possibly the first graphic novel by Will Eisner, “Contract With God and Other Tenement Stories,” was published in 1978. Eisner had begun working in comics in 1939 and has said that he came up with the term as a marketing strategy; he wanted to increase the chances that his illustrated work about working class Jewish families during the Great depression would be published.

Graphic Novels are very popular While some librarians originally believed that Graphic Novels were a trend that would eventually go away . . . Graphic novels have become increasingly popular throughout the decades, including in areas such as super hero stories and adaptations, non-fiction, satire, memoires, historical fiction, and a Japanese type called Manga. In fact, sales of Graphic Novels surpassed comic periodicals as “the most popular format” in 2006.

Issues with cataloging graphic Novels They’ll have numbers for a while, then they’ll stop; they’ll have “special editions” without numbers. They’ll have authors/illustrators/creator teams for a while then change while maintaining the same storylines/characters/etc Separate by the person who did the penciling, the coloring, the art on the cover, etc. Parallel with music; not only know who the conductor is, but main violinist.

Additional categorization Separate by subject matter; graphic novels can be categorized by “GN,” “Graphic, “ “Comix” or “Graphix.” Some places ignore format altogether and catalog by subject. In addition to other categorizations, places can separate by age category; some are appropriate for youth, some aren’t (especially the case when the graphic novel comes from another culture; USA vs Japan). You have to catalog the item in your hand, but also tie the item and the record to the larger bibliographic record. Other volumes in the series, other editions of the original, etc.

Dewey decimal system Some places include all graphic novels in the Dewey number 741.5. 7 Arts & recreation 740 Graphic arts & decorative arts 741 Drawing and drawings 741.5-741.7 Special applications 741.5 Comic books, graphic novels, fotonovelas, cartoons, caricatures, comic strips. This can cause issues with fiction vs non-fiction, age appropriateness, ect, unless the library chooses to further segregate the materials.

Issues with cataloging graphic Novels Do you put the Graphic Novel with the author, the illustrator, or the publisher? If you do something non-standard (example: put all Marvel Graphic Novels together to keep Spiderman Graphic Novels together instead of having them spread out according to author or illustrator) how to do you deal with this lack of uniformity among shelving? Do we also subcategorizing by country of origin? (Japanese manga vs USA Graphic Novels vs Korean manhwa?) This is already possible when using Dewey; 741.5952 for a work by a Japanese writer or illustrator, 741.5973 for a USA artist or author; this number stays the same even if the work is translated to another language and published in another country.

Fiction vs non-fiction Some places separate fiction graphic novels from non-fiction graphic novels, some don’t; (example: some include all in Dewey 741.5, whether fiction or non-fiction, some break them up). 741.5 has the following note: "Class cartoons or caricatures whose purpose is to inform or persuade with the subject of the cartoon or caricature, e.g., political cartoons 320.0207." No such guidance is provided for fiction vs non-fiction graphic novels. Example: Art Spiegelman's Maus, a graphic novel about Spiegelman as he interviews his father about Spiegelman’s father’s experience as a Holocaust survivor. Maus is cataloged in 741.5973, which is where graphic novels go when they portray human beings as animals (Maus represents Jews as mice, the Germans as cats, and other races are other animals).

Library of congress issues Graphic novels generally are categorized under PN6700 PN - Collections of general literature PN6700Comic books, strips, etc. Sometimes, however, graphic novels are categorized elsewhere: N = Fine Arts NC = Drawing. Design. Illustration NC1300-1766 = Pictorial humor, caricature, etc There is no rhyme or reason behind the difference. For example, IDW Publications’ “The Complete Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy Dailies and Sundays” is placed in the PN6700s, while “The Complete Little Orphan Annie” (by the same publisher) is in the NC1400s. Why? It is anyone’s guess.

References Beall, J. (2005). Graphic novels in DDC: discussion paper. Retrieved December 16, 2016, from http://www.oclc.org/content/dam/oclc/dewey/discussion/papers/graphic_novels.pdf Green, K. (2010, November 09). 'Whaddaya Got?' Finding Graphic Novels in an Academic Library. Retrieved December 16, 2016, from http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry- news/comics/article/45109-whaddaya-got-finding-graphic-novels-in-an-academic-library.html Gorman, M., 1976. (2003). Getting graphic: Using graphic novels to promote literacy with preteens and teens. Worthington, Ohio: Linworth Pub. McCloud, S., 1960. (1994). Understanding comics: The invisible art (1st HarperPerennial ed.). New York: HarperPerennial. Rei, C. (2007, February 23). Graphic Novel Market Hits $330 Million. Retrieved November 24, 2016, from http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/24- graphic-novel-market-hits-330-million.html Weiner, R. G., 1966, & ebrary, I. (2010). Graphic novels and comics in libraries and archives: Essays on readers, research, history and cataloging. Palo Alto, Calif;Jefferson, NC;: McFarland & Co.