I am wrapping up purchasing for the year so I did a big graphic novel order last week. This is a collection that I’m feeling really good about lately because a member approached me this fall when I was covering the reference desk and raved to me about Medina’s graphic novels. She told me she tells all her friends to come here for these items, and she and I bonded over the fact that there are so many amazing graphic novel biographies, memoirs, and diverse stories these days. Then I told her that I am the person responsible for selecting all titles in that collection and to let me know if there’s ever something she’d like to see added, and she pretty much melted into a puddle of joy and gratitude. The point is this was a truly life affirming moment and I may have shed a tear like a proud mama in the privacy of my office.
Circling back around to my grand intention here, I do still have some personal questions about cataloging graphic novels.
When I build a cart for a graphic novel order in Bibz I manually type in the call number so that what I have chosen comes processed correctly on the spines of these items. For series the call number will be, for example, “GRAPHIC SAGA” or “GRAPHIC BATMAN.” For all other standalone titles I assign the author’s last name: “GRAPHIC WILLIAMS.”
To make this collection as accessible as possible (and maintain my own personal glow from that praise I received) I’m wondering if there’s another way y’all assign call numbers for graphic novels. I’m a big fan of simplicity so I’m not wont to create too many rules, but I’m interested in others’ ideas.
