We talk with Robin Brenner, Teen Librarian at the Public Library of Brookline, about the ins and outs of comics librarianship.
Marvel publisher Buckley: The hobby market is “pretty fabulous”
Today of all days, I shouldn’t be throwing the phrase “Kreminlology” around, but this weekend Marvel observers got a rare quote from the top man, Dan Buckley, who spoke to the LA Times about the state of their publishing. The piece, by Geoff Boucher (making a long-awaited return to writing!), looks at how and why […]
More on The Future of Comics: the rise of Valerian and comics at ALA
I got quite a response to my rant on the ascent of graphic novels and and decline of the periodical that ran last week. While I felt constrained not to leak to much of the BookScan reports, one commenter felt no such compunction and posted LAST week’s top 20 (And the complete top 20 for […]
Along with all its other woes, Marvel also has a library problem
So what’s up at Marvel anyway! Asher Elbein at The Atlantic, of all places, has an excellent round-up of their recent travails until the title The Real Reasons for Marvel Comics’ Woes which blames “the company’s decades-old business practices” for the sales slump. The piece links to all the relevant think pieces and drags, including […]
Celebrate National Library Week By Reading a Banned Book (or any book)!
Today, the American Library Association released its State of America’s Libraries Report, an annual report released during National Library Week. It’s not easy being a librarian, and it’s gotten even more difficult in the current Zeitgeist of fake news, polarization, and intolerance. Torsten AdairI’ve been writing for The Beat since July of 2010. I’ve been reading […]
A year of Free Comics: hoopla digital at ECCC
Hoopla digital is a FREE Netflix like comics streaming service that is available via libraries – more than 1300 of them across Canada and the US. All you need is a valid library card from participating systems and you can read a ton of comics TOTALLY FREE. They also offer eBooks, audiobooks, movies, music and more, […]
YALSA Announces the 2017 Great Graphic Novels for Teens!
“The Golden Age of Science Fiction is 12.” —Peter Graham The Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association, has announced the titles of their Great Graphic Novel for Teens list for 2017. Dating back to 2007, YALSA has listed the Top Ten titles, as well as a (very) long list of […]
March, Book Three is the Big Winner With Librarians! (But That’s Not All!)
Just a quick report, with a longer piece to follow: This morning, the American Library Association announced the 2016 winners of various book awards, for books, video, and audiobooks written for children and teens. Some aren’t well known outside libraries, but some, like the Caldecott, Printz, and Newbery, gain instant acclaim and book sales. Every […]
Wimpy Kid and Big Nate among the most checked out library books in 2016
Quartz has an infographic, charts and more to tell us what the most checked out books – by city – were in 2016. They surveyed 14 metropolitan libraries to get the list. by Quartz shows that The Girl on the Train is the most checked-out book at eight of them, and the most checked-out work […]
Librarians Converge on Orlando to Celebrate Books, Comics, Diversity
Every summer, thousands of librarians and other bibliophiles meet at the American Library Association’s Annual Conference. This year, it’s in Orlando (yeah…) and like years past, “ALA Annual” will host feature numerous creators, publishers, and panels relating to comics, gaming, and all the other geekery stuff that kids who hang out in libraries enjoy […]