No Flying, No Tights

Sorry I’ve been MIA for awhile from my little blog – but I do keep up with my google reader, at least.  I’ve been busy with my first annotated bibliography for my Fundamentals of Library Science summer course, and I’ve let my meager writing fall by the wayside.

My topic of research is graphic novels, and how they can be used in libraries to support literacy.  If you know of any cool websites, please write a comment about it; it would be most welcomed.

A librarian coworker highly recommended this awesome site called No Flying, No Tights, which includes great recommendations of graphic novels, based on age and genre.  I’ve explored it only a little, but so far, it looks like a great readers’ advisory (and personal reading) tool.  Tell me what you think.

After Week One of Library School

This week marks the official beginning of my graduate school career.  I had my 701 “Fundamentals of Library & Information Science” class twice this week.  So far, we’ve only covered the history of libraries, a topic I find very interesting.  Unfortunately, the professor (and presumably most library students) are bored by illuminated manuscripts and the rise of literacy, so the professor just read aloud from her notes from the text.  On the bright side, I’ve been reading The Library, a new volume that includes a written history of libraries (albeit written without subtle sophistication I’d expect from an academic work), coupled with beautiful photographs of the written word through the ages.

Anyway, I was assigned my first project in class: an annotated bibliography.  Sadly, I made it through a rigorous undergraduate program without ever having done intense research, a skill that will be of utmost importance in my library career.   So, I’ll be learning so much about research as I complete this project and continue in my classwork.  The professor introduced us to two databases last night: Academic Search Complete (formerly Academic Search Premier, which I’ve used before) and Library Literature & Information Science Full Text.  In class, she also had us create accounts on RefWorks, a bibliography-building tool that allows importation of references from other databases.  So far, the research aspect of this 701 class seems very useful to my needs for assignments.

Oh, and back to the topic I’ve chosen for the assignment: how graphic novels can be used by libraries to promote children’s literacy and engagement in reading.  I found a handful of electronic journal articles and brick-and-mortar books in the Queens College library.  I hope to begin really delving into these on Saturday, because I like to let out my wild side on the weekends.

What is your opinion of graphic novels? Have you read any?  What are your favorites? (I’ve only read the adaptation of Twilight and hybrid graphic novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.).  Please share your thoughts – thanks