IUPUI SLIS Researchers Explore Graphic Novels and Reading

Graphic novels are one of the newest crazes for young adults across the country. The books are essentially comic books in paperback format and length. Some are about super heroes including Batman and X-Men. Another popular group of books called Manga were developed in Japan. The American Manga editions have the text translated into English, but the original format and artwork remain resulting in books that are read from back to front and right to left. Fantasy, mystery, and adventure stories and some of the classics are also available in American graphic novels. Others provide a pictorial presentation of subjects like history or math and aren't novels at all.

Robyn Young, school library media specialist at Avon High School, noticed that students were checking out the library's graphic novels in huge numbers. Some young adults were borrowing as many as five a week, only to return the next week to check out another pile. If the books were so popular, she wanted to know if they could be used to improve the reading skills of students with disabilities. Robyn and Dr. Marilyn Irwin, a faculty member with the Indiana University School of Library and Information Science in Indianapolis collaborated on a study to determine the answer.

Some of the students in the study still don't like to read and found the graphic novels to be just as difficult, boring, and uninteresting as other books. However, 16 of the 20 students in the small study reported liking and reading the books to one degree or another. They reported that the pictures helped them understand the text better. Some said the images eliminated the boring descriptive parts that are in other books, leaving only the dialog to read. Additionally, the books were colorful and fun to read. Four of the students in the study are now voracious graphic novel readers.

One student who rarely read before being introduced to graphic novels reported reading 16 books during the one-year study and said he would continue to read them beyond the project. He added that he now looks for graphic novels at the bookstore and has bought a few to continue a series that he liked. Although he had not succeeded in the past, he was able to pass the English section of the ISTEP, the state's standardized test, during the study. Two other students borrowed stacks of graphic novels each week and joined other students who eagerly awaited each new addition to the library's collection. A fourth student reported that she read the books aloud to the children she babysat.

The students, previously threatened by reading, now willingly come to the media center and have a connection with the media specialist. One has even asked to become a library aid.

The project was funded by a grant from the American Association of School Librarians, a division of the American Library Association. A preliminary report of the findings was presented at the Annual Conference of the American Library Association held in June in Chicago. A second presentation has been accepted for the American Association of School Librarians Conference to be held in October in Pittsburgh, PA.