Literacy

It's the particle that created mass! It also invented brunch.

In case reading the list wasn't enough, you can now listen to The Hottest Graphic Novels of 2012 panel from BEA.

The winners of a swell comics library grant were announced at ALA.

This weekend the ALA (American Library Association) meeting takes place in Anaheim, and there's a big graphic novel presence. Graphic Novel Reporter has the complete rundown of four days of activity on the Graphic Novel Stage, the GN/Gaming pavilion, and even an artist's alley with creators such as Faith Erin Hicks, Tom Kaczynski & Gabrielle Bell, and the ubiquitous Dave Roman/Raina Telgemeier duo.

We all know (or should know!) how important Will Eisner was to the comics artform. Something an increasing number of people know is how important libraries are to getting more and more people to read comics and graphic novels. So it makes sense that a Graphic Novel Prize for Libraries would be named for Eisner.

Classics Illustrated, the comics Cliff Notes series that has been around in various iterations for over 60 years, making the line a classic in and of itself—they've just gone digital with ebook publisher Trajectory. Over 120 titles will be launched from both iTunes and the iBook store, selling for $4.99 each. These look to be the '50s original Classics Illustrated, celebrated in rhyme and song.

On Monday, digital distributor iVerse announced a new initiative that would allow libraries to download books from their digital library on a cost per checkout basis.

When you get a flyer for a $395 scholarly compendium on comics, you think it must be some kind of scam. Then you see it was edited by Bart H. Beaty and Stephen Weiner and you decide you want it badly.

If you were around comics in New York in 2008, you know that that was the Year of the Symposium, with Post Bang, SPLAT, and probably something else that wasn't named after a sound effect. Since that epic year, when comics were discussed and analyzed by panels of every type, there have been a few scattered symposia, but nothing that big. Until the announcement of Comic New York: A Symposium, to be held Saturday and Sunday March 24-25 at Columbia University.

According to this posting on the Source, DC collections are adding LoC information and will be added to the library's holdings. The Library of Congress has a few other comics connections of late, including an SPX collection, so the place of comics in the nation's greatest library is clearly growing.

Hints From Heloise is a venerable newspaper column (remember those) that usually covers topics such as what to do when you scorch your husband's shirt while ironing, and how to fix a squeaky hinge. But now it has hinted up comics.

The influential Young Adult Library Services Association has just released its list of Great Graphic Novels for Teens for 2012, comprising 56 titles that "meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens." The last ranges from Mangaman to Troop 142 toEvolution: The Story of Life on Earth. There's also a Top Ten list as follows: