Graphic Novel Guide

NEWS
For Immediate Release
October 5, 2009

Pioneering guide to graphic novels

CHICAGO – ALA Editions, the publishing imprint of the American Library Association, announces the release of “The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Graphic Novels,” by Francisca Goldsmith. While graphic novels have found a place on library shelves, many librarians struggle to move this expanding body of intellectual, aesthetic and entertaining literature into the mainstream of library materials. Goldsmith provides the first-ever guide to the genre aimed specifically at readers’ advisors, while presenting an abundance of resources useful to every librarian. This book includes

• A short course in graphic novels, along with reading lists and professional tools
• Tips on advising graphic novel readers on what to read next
• Suggestions for introducing graphic novels to those patrons unacquainted with them
• Advice on promoting a library’s graphic novels collection

Francisca Goldsmith has been working with readers, potential readers and graphic novels in libraries for more than 20 years. An active member of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), she helped  facilitate ALA’s first graphic-novel-focused preconference in 2002, and she organized a sequential-art-themed preconference at YALSA’s first Young Adult Literature Symposium in 2008. She teaches library staff members who are becoming familiar with graphic novels through YALSA and the California State Library’s Infopeople Project. She is also the author of “Graphic Novels Now: Building, Managing, and Marketing a Dynamic Collection” (ALA, 2005).

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