Subject Access
Items in the collection will be discoverable through the online catalog. Users will be able to search with uncontrolled vocabulary (via keyword searching) or with the controlled vocabulary designated by Library of Congress Subject Headings (LSCH). Examples of LSCH vocabulary include:
COMIC BOOKS, STRIPS, ETC
COMIC BOOKS, STRIPS, ETC -- POLITICAL ASPECTS
COMIC BOOKS, STRIPS, ETC -- PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS
COMIC BOOKS, STRIPS, ETC -- SOCIAL ASPECTS
GRAPHIC NOVELS
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL COMIC BOOKS, STRIPS, ETC.
UNDERGROUND COMIC BOOKS, STRIPS, ETC.
CARTOONISTS
JEWISH CARTOONISTS
POLITICAL CARTOONISTS
WOMEN CARTOONISTS
It is not uncommon for libraries to catalog graphic novels differently depending upon their genre: cataloging fiction and some memoirs under the Library of Congress (LOC) classification PN6720-PN6790 (Collections of general literature - Comic books, strips, etc.) but cataloging nonfiction titles and adaptations under the LOC classification for their subject heading. It is also not uncommon for libraries to create MARC records that make it difficult to discern whether titles are about graphic novels or graphic novels themselves. These cataloging inconsistencies makes it very difficult for their users to locate all graphic novels in their collection. To avoid these issues, we will catalog our items with the LOC classification PN6720-PN6790 and with Dewey Decimal class 741.5. We will ensure consistency in MARC records for these items by entering “Comic books, strips, etc” in the v ($v) subfield of the 650 tags when appropriate for certain subject headings in order to specify format and entering “Graphic novels” in the a ($a) subfield of the 655 tag:
650 0# $a Topic [if applicable] $v Comic books, strips, etc.
655 0# $a Graphic novels.
We would also enter subject headings for authors, illustrators, and well known characters.
Resources:
Green, Karen. “‘Whaddaya Got?’ Finding Graphic Novels in an Academic Library.” Publishers Weekly. 9 November 2010. Web. 19 March 2018.
Tarulli, Laurel. “Cataloguing Graphic Novels and Graphic Non-Fiction, Part II.” The Cataloguing Librarian. Wordpress.com. 9 November 2007. Web. 19 March 2018.