U. of I. Library System Has Unique Collection of Indian Comic Books

Casso, Gillian

U. of I. Library System Has Unique Collection of Indian Comic Books

Heckel, J. (2015). U. of I. library system has unique collection of Indian comic books. Retrieved from http://news.illinois.edu/news/15/0128comic_books_MaraThacker.html

Summary: This article interviews Mara Thacker who is a librarian at the University of Illinois. She talks about collecting Indian comic books that are in Hindi. She goes on to say that she believes that the library has the largest Indian comic book collection in North American. In collaboration with the International and Area Studies Library and the Undergraduate Library Ms. Tucker was able to start the collection. A goal of this organization is for each member library to create its own area of specialization that benefits a national collection of materials without duplicating another member library collection. Ms. Thacker’s interest in Indian art and culture led to this collection being born. 

Evaluation: I think that it is amazing that Ms. Thacker was able to create a collection based on her personal interest in a particular culture. It explains in the article that the library already had a great Indian film collection and that this collection could enhance the Indian materials collection. Being able to share a unique collection that not every library has is great. This collection can also give students a unique perspective into Indian art and how the world of comics is viewed in India. I think that it would be interesting to compare English written comic books with Hindi written comic books and see what similarities and differences each has.