By: Peggy Sue Wood | @pswediting

As we move into an increasingly digital age, it is interesting to see how public libraries continue to play a developing and shifting role in the public space. Of course, libraries maintain a focus on their educational role and ease of information access services, but while libraries have traditionally been known for their collections of books and magazines, they have evolved into community resource hubs that offer a range of services and physical items, such as game systems and movies. In relation to that idea, many academic and interest libraries have recognized the value of manga, and have started to collect and preserve it as part of their collections.

Part of this acquisition of manga titles relates to the academic worth. Remember that there are academic journals and conferences dedicated to the study of manga and anime, such as Mechademia and The Journal of Anime and Manga Studies (JAMS). However, beyond academic pursuits, manga can be used to introduce readers to different cultures and perspectives, as well as provide an entertaining way for people to learn about various topics, much like any literature can. Moreover, many manga deal with serious social issues such as bullying, mental health, and discrimination, making them useful resources for both regular readers, but also educators and counselors.

If you are interested in learning more about the library space and use of manga, here are a few resources to start out with:

Manga in Libraries: Manga 101 & MANGA IN LIBRARIES – YouTube Video & Related Website – This organization does a number of webinars on manga collection development, manga programming, and cultural learning through manga that I find interesting. I will likely create a recommended watch post on their work in the future, but if not, I will say here that I recommend checking out their YouTube channel.

“Exploring Manga for Libraries & Schools” by Library Pass – This is a relatively short post that expands on the ideas of how/why manga (and really any entertainment media) finds a place in libraries.

MANGA LIBRARIAN blog by Ashley Hawkins – This website is pretty cool. Hawkins provides a good amount of reviews, but what I like is their collection of resources. They include a number of links that are probably useful to librarians integrating and developing a collection of manga/comics into their library spaces.

“Introduction to Manga for Librarians” by Kodansha Comics – This is a briefing for those who do not know much about manga and demographic ranks who are interested in adding a manga collection to their libraries. It is a free-to-download document that advertises a lot of Kodansha titles, but uses them as a way to help explain where the works should be placed and how they may be added to a collection. Overall, it has some pretty cool stuff!

I hope that, if you are interested, you all will try reaching out and/or visiting your local libraries. Remember that these spaces can only continue to exist with visitor and patron support. Happy reading!

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Copyedited by: Katherine Cañeba | @kcserinlee