Library's Graphic Novel Collection Grows MACOMB, IL (wium) - Western Illinois University's Malpass Library has a growing collection of books in an unconventional genre. The books are graphic novels.

Library Specialist Greg Phelps says graphic novels are stories in comic book form, yet their target audience is adults.

Phelps is an avid reader of these novels and has donated some of his own collection to the library. "I had a collection of them at home and as I got thinking about the collection, I knew we needed some different genres in here," says Phelps. "And also, I just wanted everyone else to be able to enjoy what I had enjoyed."

Phelps says the library's collection began a couple of years with the help of grant money from the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois.

Phelps says funding is limited for buying new graphic novels. He hopes others
will donate some of the books to Malpass Library.

In a university news release, Phelps says, "Currently, we have close to 200 books in this collection. Folks often have the perception that graphic novels are just about the superheroes in comic books, but the form has expanded much further, into a huge storytelling medium. We have various titles, and we keep a close eye on Eisner Award winners so we can keep up with the latest and greatest."

The university says the Eisner Awards are named for comics writer and artist Will Eisner (1917-2005). He is viewed as one of the major pioneers in establishing the graphic novel form.

WIU says the American Library Association had an entire pavilion dedicated to the form at a conference in California during the summer. In addition, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) compiles a "Great Graphic Novels for Teens" list every year. It features recommended graphic novels and illustrated nonfiction for people ages 12-18. © Copyright 2009, wium