Overview

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. Diving deep into a multitude of sources, these new essays 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, Spiegelman's Maus, Bechdel's Queer Dykes to Watch Out For, Marvel's Black Panther, Nono's Yoake No Toshokan, DC's Batgirl and Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics, Gaiman's The Sandman, webcomics, Marvel's America Chavez character, Schultz's Xenozoic Tales and much more.

Full Product Details

Author:   Carrye Kay Syma ,  Robert G. Weiner ,  Donell Callender
Publisher:   McFarland & Co Inc
Imprint:   McFarland & Co Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 17.80cm , Height: 1.10cm , Length: 25.40cm
Weight:   0.381kg
ISBN:  

9781476692012

ISBN 10:   1476692017
Pages:   207
Publication Date:   25 June 2025
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

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

Reviews

""Drawn to the Stacks is a collection of essays examining the role of librarianship and archival work in comics and graphic novels. Some essays explore the role of fictional librarians...and others the role libraries hold in fictional settings... However, the essays that really shine are those that make the argument that comics and graphic novels can be examples of archival work... The portrayal of librarianship and archival work in comics and other popular media merits its own discussions, especially in understanding how librarians can combat some of the negative stereotypes associated with the profession.... recommended""--Choice

Author Information

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.

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