Graphic Novel Resource Alert: Panel Mania from The Millions and a Reminder That "New" Can Be Something Old

Today, I wanted to share a "new to me" resource, Panel Mania from The Millions.

This occasional series looks at new graphic novels and provides excerpts, background info and commentary. The excerpts in particular are awesome because excerpts of graphic novels means panels to actually see. This is a wonderful resource for suggestions and collection development for adult graphic novel collections. 

Of course it is not comprehensive, but it is a nice option for finding suggestions. I am very glad I found it, and have already identified this title to place on hold for my son.

But with this post I wanted to do more than simply share an interesting, outside the box, resource. It is important to note the importance of the first line of this post-- this resource is "new to me." 

As we are working with readers and each other, it is important to remember that just because we think everyone knows about a resource or a specific book because it  is older, they probably do not. For example, the other day I mentioned Gone Girl by Gilliam Flynn to someone in passing, figuring they had read it because they like those types of books, but they said to me, "Oh, I have heard of that and have been meaning to read it."

Just like we cannot forget to suggest the books that we know are a great read, books that were very popular 2-8 years ago, because they could easily be a new, awesome suggestion to someone today, we also need to think about resources in that same way.

Yes we all have our tried and true stable of resources that we consult regularly [mine are posted here for all to use], but you should always be on the lookout for resources that you don't know about.

My favorite way to identify "new to me" resources, is simple: I ask people what resources they consult when looking for a good read for themselves. I ask both library workers and average readers. I ask patrons. And in every general RA training I do, I ask all of you to tell each other in my Reader Profile exercise.

When I stress that RA Service is a conversation based service not a transactional one, this is a great example. Conversations require a dialog, asking questions, listening to answers and responding. You  cannot be good at this work of helping adult leisure readers if you don't ask questions. You learn a lot, and create relationships with your users. RA Service is not about tallying how many questions you get. It is about working with your patrons to help them enjoy their leisure reading-- both actively and passively.

Try it. Ask a patron or a co-worker what their favorite resources are to identify new titles or stay up to speed on a genre. You might find a "new to you" resource as exciting to you as Gillian Flynn  is to that reader above.

I am taking Monday off for Presidents Day [and I have my April Library Journal review column deadline], so back Tuesday. If you find a new resource from asking around, let me know so we can share it with everyone.