Crowley, J. (2015, Autumn). Graphic novels in the school library. School Librarian, 63(3), 140-142.
Any school librarian will tell you that graphic novels are increasingly popular with the student patrons. Students of all reading levels gravitate towards these materials, and they can be extremely helpful for encouraging reluctant readers to embrace literacy. As school librarians consider their collection development, they ought to ensure that they are providing sufficient resources to improve their graphic novel selection.
This article has two main points. First, the author discusses recent research about the importance of pleasure reading and the positive effects of reading graphic novels. Second, the author provides a number of resources for finding the best new graphic novels, to help ensure that limited resources are used wisely.
Both of these points are extremely important for librarians who must advocate for their funding, either to donors or to administrators. School librarians have an obligation to show that their collection development plans provide high quality books that will encourage student information acquisition and literacy. Providing research proving graphic novels are more than just disposable, mindless entertainment helps convince non-librarians of the importance of a wide variety of materials. Showing a plan for finding the best graphic novels will help ensure that funders trust the librarian’s professional judgment.
If you are planning on adding graphic novels to your library, this article, while brief, is an excellent read. If you do not want to add graphic novels, perhaps this article will change your mind.
My students love reading graphic novels, which cause many of the teachers at my school to cringe. Perhaps this article will persuade them to think differently about this popular reading genre.
ReplyDeleteI will read it first and then decide to make copies for them or not. In any event, thanks for posting this one, Christopher.