The American Graphic Novel: Home

The Columbia University Libraries collect both graphic novels for the circulating collection in the Butler Library stacks and also creator archives in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library.  The circulating collection launched in 2005, when the libraries held three titles, and by the end of 2014 the collection featured over 4,500 titles.  The archival collections, which already contained disaparate comics holdings, launched in earnest in 2011, with acquisition of writer Chris Claremont's papers.

The circulating holdings contain a diverse collection, with mainstream and alternative titles, archival reprints, independent comics, Kickstarter projects, and other content.  These materials have been used in courses from East Asian Languages and Cultures, to English and Comparative Literature, to Narrative Medicine, and have been featured in the American Studies course "The American Graphic Novel."  Students have used the collection for term papers, senior theses, and M.A. essays.

To suggest a title for the circulating collection, please contact Graphic Novels Librarian Karen Green (see contact info on the right).