Do digital comics play a role in a library's acquisitions policy?

The explosion in popularity of graphic novels and of comic spin-offs (movies etc) seems to make this a good time for 'comics' to start taking more of a slice of the acquisitions budget.

With developments like Reading with Pictures I am curious whether digital comics are starting to have an impact on library acquisition policies? Or is it ebooks that take all the glory?

Indeed, I am curious as to whether comics and graphic books have ever really played a part in a library's acquisitions policy?

Ben

ebooks
public-libraries

Comments

Ed Summers: Your question got me wondering if any organizations are actively archiving and curating web-only comics. I guess some will inevitably find their way into Internet Archive, but a scoped web archive of online comics could be useful.
Ben: That's an interesting comment; especially given the focus at the moment on the preservation of more 'complex objects' and formats such as computer games. I wonder if any of the national libraries are doing anything e.g., British Library, LOC.. etc

Answer by Fisher

I think one of the current challenges in digital comics is viewing method. Ebooks translate easily to eink, tablet and smart phones alike. But many comics show up poorly in eink and smart phones--if viewing a whole page, the text is too small; if viewing the text, you often can't seen enough of the panel. I tried to read a few comics on the basic nook. There was no way to zoom in to read the too-small text. The color images translated decently to the black and white for the most part, but you've still lost the color, which is important in some comics. Magazines seem to have similar issues--great on a tablet, but they don't translate well to other devices.

As for your last question, I devote almost a third of my YA budget to comics & graphic novels--but the print version primarily. My digital budget goes about 75% to ebooks and 25% to digital audio; none so far to comics--for the reasons stated above.

Comments

Answer by dsalo

Quite a few public libraries actively collect print graphic novels, usually in trade paperback or even hardback (where available) as single-issue comics are quite fragile. The more active the library's youth-services arm, the better the collection in all likelihood... but libraries are also aware of adult interest in graphic novels.

Collecting digital graphic novels is subject to many of the same licensing, DRM, and device-dependence problems that dog ebooks generally. I don't know of any libraries that have done deals with digital-comics folks, but that doesn't necessarily mean it hasn't happened.

Comments

dsalo: A few years back I co-wrote a half-reader's-advisory, half-homework-help book on fantasy authors. I made damn sure that Jeff Smith and Linda Medley got in there, and that the Gaiman entry mentioned Sandman!

Answer by jdscott50

I would be interested to know what vendors offer digital comics to libraries. I know that Marvel, DC, and ComiXology all have advanced popular digital comics. They even offer discounts for the digital copy if you purchase the print.

We are spending more and more on building our graphic novel collection in Juvenile, YA, and Adult. If there was a digital option for libraries, we would be purchasing from that as well.