Comic Libraries Around The World

You can discover more information about the Serieteket library at this website

I also recommend viewing Jackson Chu's photos on Flickr
of the Tezuka Osamu Manga Museum:

You can view many more inspiring collections of graphic novels, comics, and manga in libraries, museums and bookshops around the world by going to "My Favorites" in Flickr.
(I suppose I should just start a group and invite all these photos to join - a project for another day).

UPDATE, 12/7: I have created the group, titled "Comics Collections" and available on flickr here. I'll leave the link to my favorites above until the group surpasses it in number of great photos. :)

Description: Shonen, Shōjo, and More

by Beth Snow

Bilingual and cross-cultural collections can represent an added challenge when it comes to genre names and search terms. Japanese comics and animation are good examples. Stopping the search terms with the words "manga" or "anime" can have the same effect as not going past the word "fiction" to describe the entire spectrum of novels. In addition, a good portion of our target audience is tuned into the Japanese terms for genres of manga.

To that end, I recommend we incorporate these terms into the cataloging/search descriptors for our collection. The Wikipedia article on manga offers excellent background about the form, but it's definitions are a bit messy. This link on a website devoted to explaining manga and anime to librarians does a more concise job of introducing the terms.

Graphic Novel Libraries - Around the World

by Emily Barney

I remember reading an article from NY Times article last year about some really interesting businesses in Japan that cater to Manga addicts. It might not directly apply to a startup collection in the U.S., but I think it shows the direction that teen libraries might be heading in, with easy access to entertainment in multiple media forms from manga to internet to video games and DVDs. We just don't serve clean underwear or massage chairs yet. ;)

In Tokyo, the New Trend Is 'Media Immersion Pods' By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN
Published: May 14, 2006

I found lots of pictures on flickr of Manga libraries in Japan, from little roadside collections to huge stores and cybercafes like the one in the article with rentable cubicles:

Woman & Her Comic Lending Library "Convenience Mart" style "comics library"
Originally uploaded by The Kozy Shack Originally uploaded by Ikhlasul Ama

Libreria Manga
Originally uploaded by Parro

Manga library Kyoto "Room" in a Cyber-Cafe "Library
Originally uploaded by Tim Eyles Originally uploaded by yoni.holmes

Beyond Japan, I also saw pictures of a really awesome graphic novel library in Stockholm. Since the whole library is dedicated to this genre of literature, the images of the layout and storage options is very informative for our project. Michael Casey, who writes the LibraryCrunch blog, has a slideshow of more images here. I sent him an e-mail and he was nice enough to say I could use any of his photos for our website, he would just like to see it when it's up.