Here's my 2 (Canadian) cents' worth on the question. --- Rachel Haus <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Our library recently received Art Spiegelman's In > the Shadow of No Towers > and I've had a heck of a time figuring out where to > classify it. (By the > way, we use Dewey, but this could be a question for > all systems.) > > LC suggests placing it in graphic novels in the arts > section (741.5973), > but I feel it would be buried there. One librarian I > know placed it in > current American history (973.931), and I considered > that, but No Towers > feels more like an opinion piece. I considered > essays in American > literature (814) but there was not enough text. > > Finally I settled on miscellaneous writings in > American lit. (818), but I'm > still unsure.
The first 2 catalogs I consulted were Michigan State University's and Ohio State University's, as they arguably have the best 2 collections of comic books / strips / graphic novels in the U.S. I was surprised that MSU chose to follow LC's example and simply classified it as "Comic art", giving it the call # : PN6727.S6 I5 2004 OSU took the bold step of classifying it as "Literature", assigning it the call # : NC1429.S7 A657 2004 [Message from The Ohio State University: NC1429 is NOT literature but Graphic art. All works by Art Spiegelman are under: NC1429.S7 Library of Congress is using: PN6727.S6 ] My own library (JLP-Toronto) doesn't yet own a copy of the book. If we did, though, I'd prefer to follow the example of the Toronto Public Library system. I recently came across a copy of _In the Shadow..._ when I was browsing the "Graphic Novels" section at one of TPL's larger regional branches. Of course, in order to be able to place it in the "Graphic Novels" section, you must first designate at least one shelf or area as a "Graphic Novels" area and you must then have other graphic novels to place beside it. The latter would entail re-classifying _Maus_ (books 1 & 2), as well as any other graphic novels in your collection (if there are any). If you don't have that many graphic novels in the collection at present, it would mean purchasing _Yossel_, _Auschwitz_, _A Jew in Communist Prague_, the 5 _Adolf_ books, _The Jew of New York_, _The Queen of Persia_ (a Sydney Taylor Notable Book, 2004), _The Golem's Mighty Swing_, _Homeland_, etc. B'shalom, Steven M. Bergson, Librarian Jewish Public Library of Toronto (& moderator of jewishcomics - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jewishcomics/) Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the AJL =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: Hasafran @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
