Getting ready for the last panel at @MassMICE! 
It starts!
"I do feel that libraries are the litmus test of a society."
@adlewis let's us all know his feeling on libraries before the panel really opens up
@adlewis let's us all know his feeling on libraries before the panel really opens up
Time to find out a little bit about the panelists. Where they work and a little bit about the comics in their collections
Starting off questions with everyone giving a success story where patrons were excited about having comics in the library
@brkteenlib cites a story about a Mother and a daughter. Daughter doesn't read, doesn't like to read. She gave her a comic, she read it in a day.
I picked this particular story to tweet because this happens so often. So many kids get the bug to read after comics. I'll find the study later but it has been stated that comics help keep readers, and they tend to read more widely.
Next question, after a small interlude about how to catalog manga, is about how to catalog items in the collection. Example how to handle items from cons like @MassMICE which do not necessarily have an ISBN
How do comics factor into events at your own institution? @NoetheMatt had already touched on this earlier with talks of a book club. And now @brkteenlib is talking about passive displays, and events with comics too.
Steve Weiner talks about how publishers have realized that comics take up a larger part of the market now. So now they have changed how the market to libraries due to that
"I remember seeing Maus shelved next to Peanuts and Garfield..." according to @adlewis
@brkteenlib said that she thinks that most people discover comics at their libraries now. And that kids in particular discover them there, and that comics are just another book.
Kara Dzindolet seconds that thought libraries are the place. Also throws out that local comic shops are such a great place
We've moved on to talking about how expanding collections works and where the money comes from
Sean Smith, talks about how alot of it starts with advocating for it as a good resource. Plus having patrons suggest new titles, making it slightly patron driven.
Budget realities are a thing which does make growing a collection somewhat more difficult
Good for @brklib for having comics built into every part of the collection.
Kara, who is in a health science library, has a similar situation to Sean. However, having a grant has helped to expand that part of the collection.
And @NoetheMatt is doing a plus for @ALALibrary @libcomix in order to help fund these collections growing.
"Don't be scared of the word grant. Be cocky. Have the cockiness of a mediocre white man."
This is the quote I picked, sorry not sorry @adlewis
This is the quote I picked, sorry not sorry @adlewis
Question from the audience about where the librarians go to for new and upcoming items for the collections, besides the obvious ones
@brkteenlib, cites School Librarian journal, and her own site which it is No Flying No Tights. Plus checking out what other creators are saying you should check out
@NoetheMatt, seconds both twitter and Instagram. Specifically, if you want graphic medicine, check out the @GraphicMedicine site
How to catalog and best practices is the next question
@brkteenlib talks about how their is one system now that doesn't make the call number super long. For example Batman would go under superheroes, batman, then call number
While stand alone comics fo under graphic novels, which makes them more visible to patrons
And @adlewis springs a surprise question. In who do the panelists think is going to lead comics in the future, public libraries or universities.
The consensus is that public libraries are leading the way. Public librarians do so much work to help with the access to comics. Public libraries have so much reach which let's them do so much more.
Plus if people start off reading comics in a public library they will be more willing to read comics in the university setting
The hardest part of this question is that the missions of these libraries are different. So they succeed in different ways
Public libraries reflect their community. While private libraries pick something specific to collect
