Collecting Comics: A Snapshot of Graphic Novel Research in Public Libraries

Abstract

Graphic novels occupy an interesting intersection in libraries where they are both popular to read and popular to challenge or censor. Graphic novels are often the subject of great scrutiny, from their ability to channel and reflect inclusivity and empathy to their capacity to be taken out of context due to their highly visual nature. Interestingly, emerging technology developments such as Generative AI also pose surprising challenges for graphic novels, their creators, and the library communities that these works reside in. In the context of queries and challenges levelled against graphic novels in libraries, this article synthesizes a review of relevant literature and creative autoethnography in the form of reflective writing vignettes to explore the experiences of working in libraries and what these subjective stories reveal about graphic novel collections, their uses, and their perceived value. In doing so, graphic novels are critiqued for library engagement potential, while autoethnography is considered for its ability to elevate and analyze lived experience in research.