It’s been several years since I went to a convention as big as C2E2, and I have to admit: I was a bit nervous. Massive crowds are not my favorite thing, and I remember walking and walking and being in lines and walking more from the anime conventions I attended in high school. (I bet…
Comics and YA: How Shelving Creates Access
I think that I’ve got a pretty great job. On any given day I could be helping a teen find a read-a-like for her favorite fantasy series, telling another teen that no they can’t eat buffalo wings at the public computers, doing a Harry Potter-inspired craft program, or reminding someone that not everything you read…
Copyright and YOU! What’s the deal with the Copyright Office’s secret meetings?
A few weeks ago, Megan, goat queen of WWAC, drew my attention to a blog posted by the Internet Archive Blogs with the title “The Copyright Office is trying to redefine libraries, but libraries don’t want it — Who is it for?” My interest was piqued. I’m a librarian, and while it’s not my area…
YA?! Y Not’s Summer Reading List
Psst! Hey! Wanna hear a secret librarian confession? I hate summer reading. Don’t get me wrong: I love summer, and reading, and reading in the summer. Combating the so-called “summer slide”—where students lose reading and math skills over the summer because they are not practicing day in and day out—is really important, but what I…
Comic Cons, Comic Books, and a Library Magazine: Anne Drozd on the Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival, Pulp, and a Mystery Comic
In the past few years, Anne Drozd and her husband Jerzy Drozd have produced a boatload of comic events: Comic books, podcasts, conventions, cartoonist instruction for kids/teens/adults, school workshops, library events, Nerd Nites, tiny expos, big expos; these two do it all. I was thrilled that Anne was able to take the time to answer…
Windows and Mirrors: Youth Media Awards and Diversity in Library Collections
I have a confession to make as a youth services librarian: I generally don’t put a lot of stock in ALA’s Youth Media Awards. The Youth Media Awards cover several areas and niches in children’s and young adult publishing, but the primary ones are the Michael C. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature,…
YA? Why Not?! What Does “YA” Mean Anyway?
If somehow you’ve emerged from a Cold War-esque bunker or have otherwise been under a rock for the last ten to fifteen, you may be wondering, “What is all of this ‘YA’ hullabaloo anyway and why would I care?” If you are, that’s okay! YA as a category has seen an “explosion of books” in…
YA? Y not?! Let Your Kids Read Comics
Being a teen librarian can mean a strange straddling of two worlds: the world of teens and the world of parents. No disrespect to parents – Hi Mom! Love you! – but I prefer talking to teens. This is especially true when we are having a conversation about what teens are or should be reading….
Two Public Librarians on Amazon’s “Replacement” of the Public Library
Jess and Anna are two public librarians whose eyes rolled pretty hard upon seeing the Atlantic Monthly’s recent article: Did Amazon Just Replace the Public Library? They chatted about what Atlantic writer Megan Garber got wrong about libraries, how they are different from a business, the issues of privilege and access, and briefly on the perception…
Finally! Hoopla Brings Digital Comics to Libraries
There was a bit of a flurry of excitement in the library world last month: DC announced that they were making some of their titles available to library patrons through the streaming service Hoopla. If you haven’t heard about Hoopla you should probably go call or email your public library right now to get see…
Women As Superheroes: A Comic Drawing Workshop to Celebrate 40 Years of The Feminist Library
A free comic workshop led by artists Sally Jane Thompson, Rachael Smith, and Karen Rubins in London at The Feminist Library? I’d signed up faster than you can say sequential-art-salon-in-Southwark.
Britain, Books, Politics: Shadow Justice Secretary Sadiq Khan Said “The Ban on Sending Books to Prisoners Was Always an Absurd Policy”
If you had to hide drugs, would you hide them in a book? I wouldn’t. And if I was relying on drugs as either a balm or a currency during time spent in prison, would you say “well the exact thing she doesn’t need in her life is books?” No! Because you aren’t a bonehead….