Drawn to the Stacks
Essays on Libraries, Librarians and Archives in Comics and Graphic Novels
Published on 25. April 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
168 pages
978-1-4766-9201-2 (ISBN)
Description
This is the first academic volume to examine the librarian and archival professional through the lens of sequential art. The portrayal of libraries/librarians in sequential art has a long history from the Golden Age to the present day. Libraries and archives in comics historically are seen as places of important knowledge and information.
This volume takes a deep dive into a multitude of source material to show how librarians/archivists and libraries/archives are used within the comic medium to address multiculturalism, LGBTQ issues, archival practice, and even the concept of librarians as "baddies" or stewards of information unwilling to share with others. The wide breadth of material examined here includes Miyazaki's Nausicaa, Speigleman's Maus, Bechdel's Queer Dykes to Watch Out For, Marvel's Black Panther, Nono's Yoake No Toshokan, DC's Batgirl, Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics, Gaiman's The Sandman, webcomics, Marvel's America Chavez character, Schultz's Xenozoic Tales and much more.
This volume takes a deep dive into a multitude of source material to show how librarians/archivists and libraries/archives are used within the comic medium to address multiculturalism, LGBTQ issues, archival practice, and even the concept of librarians as "baddies" or stewards of information unwilling to share with others. The wide breadth of material examined here includes Miyazaki's Nausicaa, Speigleman's Maus, Bechdel's Queer Dykes to Watch Out For, Marvel's Black Panther, Nono's Yoake No Toshokan, DC's Batgirl, Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics, Gaiman's The Sandman, webcomics, Marvel's America Chavez character, Schultz's Xenozoic Tales and much more.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Jefferson, NC
United States
Target group
Interest Age: From 18 years
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
ca. 10 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Dimensions
Height: 254 mm
Width: 178 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
402 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4766-9201-2 (9781476692012)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Carrye Kay Syma is an associate dean and librarian at Texas Tech University. Her research interests include graphic novels and sequential art in education, and women and self-harm. She has been published in Reference Services Review and College and Research Libraries News. Robert G. Weiner is the popular culture librarian at Texas Tech University. His work has been published in the Journal of Popular Culture, Public Library Quarterly, Journal of American Culture, International Journal of Comic Art and Popular Music and Society, and is the author/editor/coeditor of numerous books related to popular culture. Donell Callender has been an academic faculty librarian for 21 years and is currently head of research, instruction & outreach at the Texas Tech University Libraries. Her research interests include student success and retention, and information literacy instruction.
Content
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Robert G. Weiner, Carrye Kay Syma, and Donell Callender
Part I: Archives and Archivalship
Hidden Archives: An Exploration of Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Jonathan Burke
Maus and the Archivist: Chronicling and Encountering Transformative Liminal Spaces
Rena A. MacLeod and Stephen A. Harris
Dykes to Watch Out For as a Queer Archive
Jade Kastel
Archives, Memory, and Historical Justice in HBO's Watchmen
Bradley J. Wiles
Culture Forever: Libraries as a Means of Cultural Preservation
Melissa N. Thompson
Libraries of Cosmic Proportions in the Marvel Universe
Conrad R. Pegues
Part II: Libraries and Librarians
Kizuna First! Representation of Japanese Librarianship in the Manga Yoake no Toshokan
Shu Wan
Barbara Gordon as Information Literacy Activist in Batgirl: Son of Penguin
Ian Boucher
Rupert Giles: Slaying the Information Literacy Game
Renee Kiner
The Librarian of Limbo: Or, How to Bear the Weight of Infinity
Richard Gray
The Library of Your Dreams: The Concept of the Ideal Library and Librarian in the Extended Sandman Universe
Erin Sweeney Smith
Part III: Stereotypes, Portrayals, and Representations of the Profession of Librarianship
"Judge all you want, Miss Dominatrix von Librarian": Webcomics Representing Library Staff Outside of Social and Gendered Norms
Amanda R. Glenn-Bradley
Are We the Baddies? Representations of Librarians as Agents of Evil in Comics
Andrew Barber, Angela Cole, and Michelle Gohr
Evolving to Embrace the Unknown: Deconstructing the Librarian Stereotype in The Sandman
Paizha Stoothoff
"There's an xkcd for That": Depictions of Libraries in the Web's Most Relevant Comic
David Durden
Themes of Indigenous Epistemology and LGBTQ Information Seeking Patterns in Marvel's America
Rachel Martinez
When Books Ruled the Earth: Library as Organizing Principle in Mark Schultz's Xenozoic Tales
Tripp Reade
Comic Strip Humor for Librarians
Michael A. Crumpton
About the Contributors
Index
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Robert G. Weiner, Carrye Kay Syma, and Donell Callender
Part I: Archives and Archivalship
Hidden Archives: An Exploration of Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Jonathan Burke
Maus and the Archivist: Chronicling and Encountering Transformative Liminal Spaces
Rena A. MacLeod and Stephen A. Harris
Dykes to Watch Out For as a Queer Archive
Jade Kastel
Archives, Memory, and Historical Justice in HBO's Watchmen
Bradley J. Wiles
Culture Forever: Libraries as a Means of Cultural Preservation
Melissa N. Thompson
Libraries of Cosmic Proportions in the Marvel Universe
Conrad R. Pegues
Part II: Libraries and Librarians
Kizuna First! Representation of Japanese Librarianship in the Manga Yoake no Toshokan
Shu Wan
Barbara Gordon as Information Literacy Activist in Batgirl: Son of Penguin
Ian Boucher
Rupert Giles: Slaying the Information Literacy Game
Renee Kiner
The Librarian of Limbo: Or, How to Bear the Weight of Infinity
Richard Gray
The Library of Your Dreams: The Concept of the Ideal Library and Librarian in the Extended Sandman Universe
Erin Sweeney Smith
Part III: Stereotypes, Portrayals, and Representations of the Profession of Librarianship
"Judge all you want, Miss Dominatrix von Librarian": Webcomics Representing Library Staff Outside of Social and Gendered Norms
Amanda R. Glenn-Bradley
Are We the Baddies? Representations of Librarians as Agents of Evil in Comics
Andrew Barber, Angela Cole, and Michelle Gohr
Evolving to Embrace the Unknown: Deconstructing the Librarian Stereotype in The Sandman
Paizha Stoothoff
"There's an xkcd for That": Depictions of Libraries in the Web's Most Relevant Comic
David Durden
Themes of Indigenous Epistemology and LGBTQ Information Seeking Patterns in Marvel's America
Rachel Martinez
When Books Ruled the Earth: Library as Organizing Principle in Mark Schultz's Xenozoic Tales
Tripp Reade
Comic Strip Humor for Librarians
Michael A. Crumpton
About the Contributors
Index