Unshelved

At last, the cataloger has appeared in Unshelved.

Unshelved

Comic Book

Rex Libris, a new comic book about a librarian sounds fun.

With the innovation of the teleportation crystal in 1921 by Litteratus Magi Rex Libris, a whole new era in lending opened up: interstellar book loans became possible. By 1960, over ten thousand volumes of extraterrestrial origin had been collected and stored at the Middleton Book Repository, a ceramic encased bunker deep beneath the Middleton Public Library. It remains one of the most important reference collections of xenognomic material, and is often used by the Pentagon during alien invasions. Middleton library staff, led by Head Librarian Rex Libris, used information from the interstellar collection to repel an attack by the malevolent Sl'uklu'uhk (hideous, giant space molluscs from beyond Pluto) in 1967, although little information on this event has ever been released to the public.

I'm adding this to my list at the local comic shop.

Comics

More on 741.5 Cartoons, caricatures, comics, graphic novels, fotonovelas

The Dewey folks are still considering classifications for comics. Still time to make your voice heard. Notice at the end of the announcement is that there will soon be a Dewey weblog.

Although we continue pondering what development would be best, the time has come to make a decision and adopt a new schedule. We plan to prepare a draft schedule for consideration by the Decimal Classification Editorial Policy Committee (EPC) at its October 2005 meeting, to be mailed to EPC September 6, 2005.

The primary topic of this report is the responses to our most recent proposal, to divide cartoons, caricatures, comics, graphic novels, fotonovelas into two categories: (A) graphic works with narratives longer than jokes or anecdotes and (B) graphic works with no narrative or extremely short narratives. Of the 19 respondents who addressed this proposal, 7 favored it, 10 opposed it, and 2 gave mixed responses. Some respondents felt that dividing comic strips into two categories based on length of narrative would be too difficult for catalogers to do consistently. Some felt that it would not be difficult. Some felt that it would be difficult, but could be managed, and the results would benefit users. Some felt that dividing comic strips into two categories would be confusing to users and not benefit them at all. Some argued that it would be most beneficial for the user to arrange all comic strips, comic books, and graphic novels, regardless of length of narrative, by some combination of series, hero, or author. (That last suggestion could be implemented only by alphabetic arrangement. Alphabetic arrangement is always available as a local option: libraries may truncate Dewey numbers at an appropriate place and arrange alphabetically according to their needs.) We are giving a link to an extended selection of the responses (ResponsesCategories).

We are leaning against dividing 741.5 material into two categories, and leaning toward our original proposal, to treat everything from single-frame caricatures to three-frame newspaper comic strips to comic books to graphic novels all in the same way. We are still open, however, to comments and suggestions.

....

We invite you to read the sample responses and to send comments and suggestions by August 19, 2005. We recommend that you join in a discussion via the Dewey Blog, which will be launched July 1, 2005.

Comics
Classification

Unshelved Book

My copy of Library Mascot Cage Match: An Unshelved Collection arrived while I was at SLA last week. If you haven't yet experienced this great strip check out Unshelved. I'm still waiting for the cataloger to appear. How long can they keep him chained in the back room?

Comics
Unshelved

Comics aka Graphic Novels

Randy Gatley, Christine Wallace and Donna Waye, students at School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, The University of British Columbia have made available their class project BOOM, Graphic Novel Explosion @ Your Library. They discuss subject analysis and classification as well as more general topics. Useful bibliography.

Comics

Unshelved

Unshelved has a new collection soon to be released.

We are inordinantly proud to announce Library Mascot Cage Match, the newest and best Unshelved collection yet! We packed this one full with goodies. A year's worth of strips, ten Conference Tips, and best of all an all-new full-color graphic novelette! Empire County Strikes Back is our first full-length Unshelved story - it tells of the epic battle between the Mallville libararians and the mother of all bookmobiles. With an introduction by Strangers in Paradise's Terry Moore, Library Mascot Cage Match is a must-have!

Still waiting for a cataloger to appear. I hope the creators put in an appearance at SLA.

Unshelved
Comics

Dewey

On the Dewey web site there is a brief supplement to "Draft schedule 741.5 Cartoons, caricatures, comics, graphic novels, fotonovelas available for testing." It includes a modification to the original proposal in response to user feedback received to date. Please see "Supplement to Draft schedule 741.5" They are still hoping to receive comments and suggestions by March 31, 2005.

Dewey
Classification
Graphic Novels

Happy Birthday Unshelved

Unshelved is now 3 years old. Thanks for the grins and chuckles every morning. When are we going to meet the cataloger?

Will Eisner

Will Eisner has passed away. During his life he was responsible for much of the art in sequential art (comic books). Aside from creating some outstanding examples in the genre, he also thought and wrote important works on the subject. Comics & Sequential Art and Graphic Storytelling are both classics. He will be missed.

Dewey

The draft schedule 741.5 Cartoons, caricatures, comics, graphic novels, fotonovelas is now available on the Dewey web site. Interested libraries are invited to test all or parts of the draft schedule and send comments before the schedule is finally approved for implementation. Please send comments and suggestions by March 31, 2005, to Julianne Beall, assistant editor, DDC, jbea@loc.gov.

Graphic Novels

Over the weekend I thought of a few more that should be on my list, this makes it over the 11 items but I can't think of any to drop. So here are a few more to consider:

• Unshelved
• Power of Shazam

11 Graphic Novels for Libraries

Over at Tangognat they are compiling a list of graphic novels for libraries. Here are my suggestions to add to the mix.

• Fathom
• Understanding Comics
• Reinventing Comics
• Ultimate Spider-man
• Meridian
• Ruse
• Sandman
• Crisis on Infinite Earths
• Marvels
• Ten Ever-Lovin' Blue Eyed Years With Pogo
• Graphic Storytelling

Maybe the last item isn't a graphic novel, but it is too important to overlook.

Dewey

A supplement to the original Graphic Novels in DDC: Discussion Paper has been posted to the Dewey web site. The supplement poses additional questions about two points raised in the original discussion paper.

• Is subarranging by country of original publication a useful strategy?
• Should fotonovelas and graphic novels be classed together in the same numbers, or should they be separated?

They are still hoping to receive advice by August 16, 2004.

Free Comic Book Day

Tomorrow, July 3 is Free Comic Book Day. There are comics for everyone, covering all ages and tastes. Check out the offerings.

Free Comic Book Day

Wondering which stores are participating in Free Comic Book Day? Access the Free Comic Book Locator. Punch in your zip code, and you’ll get a list of the stores in your area that are giving out free comics on July 3!

Dewey Classification

Graphic Novels in DDC: Discussion Paper is now available for comment.

After preliminary discussions and inquiries, the Dewey editors have reached some tentative conclusions about how to improve treatment of graphic novels in the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC). This discussion paper will explain those tentative conclusions and ask for advice.

It also mentions fotonovelas.

Free Comic Book Day

This year, Free Comic Book Day hits on July 3, the Saturday after Spider-Man 2 arrives in theaters. Publishers have once again gone above and beyond to create an amazing, diverse line-up of free comics, there truly is something for everyone! Check out the website for the complete list and cover images from this year's sponsors.

Libraries should consider teaming up with the local comic book shop for this.

Unshelved

My copy of What Would Dewey Do?, the latest collection of comic strips from Overdue arrived this weekend. What a person finds humorous is very personal. But if you have not yet checked out this daily comic strip you just might be missing something that would get you laughing. There is something on each couple pages that gets me laughing aloud and at worst the strip gets me smiling. My wife, a musician, also enjoys the strip, so its humor is not limited to librarians.

Unshelved

No catalogers in the strip yet, but still worth supporting.

We're excited to announce our second collection, What Would Dewey Do?. In addition to a year''s worth of Unshelved strips the book also contains an introduction by Nancy Pearl (best known, for better or for worse, as the model for the Librarian Action Figure), "Conference Tips" strips from ALA Midwinter Meeting 2004, "What Did You Do For Your Summer Vacation" from Bumbershoot 2003, and the ALL-NEW "How We Make Unshelved", a two-page comic revealing the secret success strategy (say that ten times fast) of Bill and Gene.

Unshelved

My copy of Unshelved arrived yesterday. I find it funny and so does my wife. If you have been getting a lift every day from this strip, consider supporting the creator's efforts by getting a copy. A signed copy might also make a nice gift or award.

Also available now is Biblia's Guide to Warrior Librarianship. Humor is a personal thing and this never hit my personal funny bone. If you have reading and finding the WLW funny, vote with your dollars and pick up a copy.