And She's Back!

This has not been the easiest year for me, and as a result, I have sorely neglected my blog. I let other things get in the way, but I'm going to try again. My goal will be one blog post per week. I do apologize for not being around, but let's see if I can't turn it around.  Today's post is going to be dedicated to a topic I know almost nothing about - Manga.

First, what I do know about Manga. It is a Japanese style of drawing; there is Manga that is designed for male readers and Manga that is designed for female readers; even when translated to English, Manga is read from right to left.  Ok, that's about it. Oh, one other thing that I know about Manga - it is wildly popular with teenage readers.

My students can not get enough of Manga. It is impossible to keep up. There are so many series that we could spend our entire budget on Manga and still not keep up. Even our weak readers will read two or three Manga books in a day. I wish we had an unlimited budget, but we don't, which means that we need to make decisions about what will be bought. I wish that more Manga were being purchased this year, but, at least for now, it doesn't seem to be a priority. I hope that changes in the near future. The number of students who have started off by reading "Maximum Ride: The Manga" by James Patterson and have then wanted to read the novels, is quite large. I haven't got the statistics, but I know of quite a few students who read the Manga and then, because they have started to care for the characters, also want to read the novel. What a fabulous gateway into reading.

The problem I tend to run into with Manga is that there is still such a stigma against graphic novels. I know librarians who want to hide the manga, or avoid buying it, because it doesn't fit the idea they have of what students "should" be reading. I really hate the word should. Why not meet the students where they are? Students of all ages and all ability levels enjoy Manga, so it should be a valuable part of any school library's collection.

I admit, I struggle to read Manga. It is a type of literacy with which I am not fluent. I see this as an opportunity to let the students teach me something. I we, as librarians, demonstrate that we are still learning, and that we value the knowledge the students can bring us, we create bonds with the students. This means that the students will come to us to ask for suggestions because they will know that they can trust us.

My advice to librarians? Embrace Manga. Try reading it, ask students to tell you about it and stock it on your shelves.