[Baynet] Infopeople's new online course "Graphic Novels and Your Library"

Fri Feb 29 14:52:24 PST 2008

Since some people who may be interested in participating might not receive
this notice directly, we would appreciate it if you would print and post or
route this announcement to staff and colleagues. Thanks!

Title:  Graphic Novels and Your Library: Why and How

Dates:  April 8, 2008 – May 5, 2008

To register for this workshop:  Use the online registration form at

 <http://infopeople.org/workshop/369> http://infopeople.org/workshop/369 

Fee: $75 for those in the California library community and $150 for those
out-of-state.

Graphic novels are here to stay. In the past decade, they have become
increasingly popular in both public and school library collections.
Nevertheless, many library workers are not sure whether graphic novels are
appropriate for their own libraries, and are unfamiliar with the practical
aspects of offering this format. In this course we’ll explore all the
fundamental questions:

·         What IS a graphic novel, and how is it different from a comic
book? 

·         Who reads graphic novels? 

·         What’s available in graphic novels? 

·         How can my library develop and promote healthy graphic novel
collections? 

·         Where can we turn if the collection is challenged, either by our
community or by our own staff? 

We’ll also examine and debunk some myths about graphic novels, including
assertions about the age ranges interested in the format and the literacy
levels of graphic novel fans. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more
about building, maintaining, and promoting a collection of graphic novels
that will be sure to engage your library’s users.

Workshop Description: This course will introduce you to the practical
aspects of incorporating graphic novels into your library’s offerings. You
will learn about the range of the graphic novel’s audience, appropriate
venues for selection, effective means for processing and circulating these
items, and changing cataloging standards. This course will also give you the
tools you need to respond to potential challenges related to graphic novels.

This four-week online learning course will provide you with original course
readings and supplemental materials drawn from a range of professional
sources. Through individual and group exercises, you will become acquainted
with many aspects of both graphic novels and their readers, as well as with
bibliographic methods related to library maintenance of graphic novel
collections. You will complete a work plan for your library’s graphic novel
collection, whether this collection already exists or you are just beginning
to consider adding this format. The instructor will provide sample plans,
bibliographies, and a webliography, as well as practical, useful tips that
can be applied immediately. 

During the course, you will be reading graphic novels, doing exercises, and
taking quizzes. You will also participate in online discussion forums as
part of the online learning process. 

Preliminary Course Outline: 

*	Module One: Graphic Novels and Libraries: What, Who, and Why 

*	What’s the place of the graphic novel format in today’s library? 
*	Library myths about graphic novels 
*	Getting to know the format as a reader 

*	Module Two: Graphic Novel Collection Development 

*	Building appropriate graphic novel collections 
*	Understanding graphic novel criticism 
*	Using core lists to enhance your collection 

*	Module Three: Technical Concerns 

*	Cataloging and classification issues 
*	Processing and maintenance issues 
*	Locating the collection to meet users’ needs and expectations 

*	Module Four: Collection Promotion 

*	Programming 
*	Meeting challenges 
*	Policy considerations 

Instructor:  Francisca Goldsmith.  Francisca Goldsmith is the Director of
Branch Services at Halifax Public Libraries. Formerly she was the Collection
Management Librarian and head of Teen Services at Berkeley Public Library,
and was a reference librarian in both academic and public libraries.
Francisca has been reviewing graphic novels and interviewing graphic novel
creators and publishers for many years, as well as building and maintaining
library collections of graphic novels and organizing graphic novel programs
for the general public, for students, and for library staff.

Pre-workshop assignment: During this course, you will be expected to read
graphic novels. If you do not have access to a graphic novel collection
locally, you may need to interlibrary loan some titles before the course
begins. Please select at least two of the following titles to read during
the first week of this online course and prepare to have them available to
yourself for use by that time. The titles on this list are a few years old
and widely available at school, public, and some academic libraries
throughout California. 

Miller, Frank. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. DC Comics, 1996. 

Sacco, Joe. Safe Area Gorazde. Fantagraphics Books, 2000. 

Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis (volume 1: The Story of Childhood). Pantheon,
2003. 

Talbot, Bryan. The Tale of One Bad Rat. Dark Horse Comics, 1994. 

Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. First Second, 2006. 

Online Learning Details: 
This four-week course will be taught online using the web. When you
register, you will receive a registration confirmation that will include the
URL to get to the course, as well as a username and password. 

Every student proceeds through the online learning modules at his or her own
pace. Students should expect to commit to spending a minimum of 2 to 2½
hours per week on this course in order to be successful. You can work on
each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night. However, you
will be expected to log in to the course each week to do that week’s
assignment. We ask that you log in sometime during the first week of the
course to begin the course work.

Your instructor will be available for limited consultation support for two
weeks after the official end date of a course, and the course material will
stay up for an additional two weeks after that, to give those who have
fallen behind time to work independently on the course. However, you will be
expected to accomplish the majority of the course in synchronization with
your peers during the first four weeks.

Who Should Take This Course: This course is appropriate for anyone from the
library community with an interest in understanding and providing relevant
graphic novel collections to adults, teens, and/or children, as well as for
those in public and school libraries who must respond to technical and
political aspects of graphic novel collection, maintenance, and promotion.
Technical services staff who must now handle materials in this format will
also benefit from this course. 

Prerequisites:
This course is taught over the web. You must:

*	Have an Internet connection and Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher. 
*	Be able to save Microsoft Word .doc or Adobe .pdf files to your
computer and print them out. (For .doc files, a free Word Viewer is
available at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.aspx?displaylang=en.
Search for “Word Viewer.” For .pdf files, a free Adobe Acrobat Reader is
available at http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/main.html). 
*	Be comfortable navigating on the web and navigating back and forward
on a website that uses frames. 
*	To be most successful in this course you should be willing to share
information with your colleagues and be willing to spend time reading and
participating in the weekly discussion boards. 

System Requirements: The online learning product that Infopeople uses is
called Angel. The following are minimum system requirements for using Angel.
You will need access to a computer that has at least these specifications to
participate in an online course: 

*	Windows: 

*	Internet Explorer 6.0 and above, Netscape 7.1 and above, or Firefox
1.5 and above 

*	Macintosh: 

*	Mozilla 1.4 and above (which is the same engine as Netscape 7.1),
Safari 2.0 and above, or Firefox 1.5 and above 
*	OS X and above (OS 9 will NOT work with our online learning product)

If you are not comfortable with any of the above, please consider taking
this course with a colleague who does meet these requirements.

To view a complete list of Infopeople workshops and for general information
about Infopeople Training opportunities, go to the main Infopeople Workshops
page at  <http://www.infopeople.org/workshop>
http://www.infopeople.org/workshop

If you have questions about registration or scheduling of workshops, please
contact Linda Rodenspiel, the Infopeople Project Assistant, at
<mailto:assist at infopeople.org> assist at infopeople.org or by phone at
650-578-9685.

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