[aisle] Graphic Novel Shelving

[Kristi Pierce]

AHHH!  The conundrum of the graphic!

I was an early adopter of the graphic in the library.  I love them
personally, so I started adding them to the library.  The kids LOVE them.
Graphics now carry the highest percentage of circulation in the library, so
they are a great addition.  However, it completely annoys me that they are
officially Dewey-ed into the 741s (mostly) because that really makes it
difficult for kids to find, (school library.)  The kids do not understand
why the graphics are in the "art" books, like how to draw, etc.  I, of
course, moved them to their own section and gave them their own shelf tag
designation of GN.  Now here is where it gets sticky.  Not only do you have
fiction, biography, and nonfiction graphics, but you get the added insanity
of HUGE MANGA SERIES!  (Oh and many of those being by multiple
authors/artists. *facepalm*)

Being me and trying to make it as quick and frustration-free for the
students as possible, I came up with my own system.  Big manga series are
shelved in a special collection by series.  Various more narrative graphics
are shelved alphabetically by the author.  Nonfic Graphics, well, some have
been added to the regular nonfiction areas their subject matter would have
placed them.  For instance, a graphic novel that is about WW2, would be
with the other WW2 books.  I do put a label saying graphic on them.  The
nonfiction seems to get much better circulation when shelved with the
regular nonfiction.  The manga HAS to be by series, as the kids tend to
"eat them up" quickly and want the whole series.  This makes it easier to
find and easier to reshelve fast, because they have such a high turnover
rate.  The more narrative-style graphics do well in their own area, shelved
like fiction: by author.

I know this sounds a bit wacky, but it works for the kids and me.  This
wasn't an easy process.  It took some data and chatting with the kids about
what they do and don't like, and tracking how much I had to help them find
their graphics.  Essentially, I analyzed how my patrons used the library
and what they were looking for from a graphic.  Knowing the students'
needs/wants and habits, I made changes through the years to get to this
system, and it really seems to work smoothly now.  I have very few
questions about where the graphics are and how to find them.

This has been a process for me, but I think the current system works well
with the populations I serve.  If you are in a public library, I can see
something a little more formalized would be needed.  Otherwise, work on a
system that keeps the frustration down and check-outs up.  My goal is
always to get more kids reading, so making the books as easy a possible to
find really helps with making it easy for young readers.

Good luck!

Kristi Pierce

On Tue, Nov 9, 2021 at 2:09 PM Wagoner, Benjamin via AISLE <
aisle at list.railslibraries.info> wrote:

> Colleagues,
>
> When shelving your graphic novels, do you separate your fiction and
> nonfiction books?  We're not sure if we should fully mix them together or
> have the nonfiction grouped first and then the fiction grouped.  Would
> anyone care to share how they did it in their library?  Thanks!
>
> Ben
>
> --
>
>
> *Ben Wagoner*
>
>   LRC Director/Media Specialist
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-- 
Kristi L.S. Pierce
Certified Library Media Spec.
Certified Educational Technology Spec.
Marion Junior High School
1609 West Main Street
Marion, IL  62959
(618) 997-1317 ext. 229
ksmith at marionunit2.org
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