It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s a graphic novel!

Graphic novelist Will Eisner explains that graphic novels contain traditional elements of fiction (plot, character, setting, theme) but use graphic art techniques (perspective, symmetry, color, font style, brush stroke style) to extend the story-telling. Graphic novels contain a complete story while comic strips are confined to a row of same-size panels and limited to a humorous incident or topical point.

Reading a graphic novel requires connecting the visual images to the text for comprehension. The simpler writing style with numerous illustrations is familiar and appealing to many because of our increased exposure to visual media sources such as television and the internet. Graphic novels don’t replace traditional books but they are a valid method of learning.

While the first major graphic novel published in the U.S. was recorded in 1842, the introduction of Superman in Action Comics #1 in 1938 paved the way for a Golden Age of comics in the 1940’s. 

Graphic novels received new attention in 1986 with the publishing of Pulitzer Prize winning Maus by Art Spiegelman and Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Today’s graphic novels include superhero stories such as Spiderman, Superman, and Batman along with adult and children’s fiction and non-fiction titles.  

Graphic novel is a western term and Manga is the term for Japanese comic books, another popular type of graphic novels but Manga deserves its own blog entry.  

Sources and Further Reading
Eisner, Will. Comics and Sequential Art: Principles and Practices of the World’s Most Popular Art Form.  Tamarac, FL.: Poorhouse Press, 1985.
Tychinski, Stan. A brief history of the Graphic Novel. http://www.graphicnovels.brodart.com/history.htm
Weiner, Stephen. “Graphic Novels.” Bookmarks Magazine. September/October 2004: 24-29.

Colby Buzzell, a soldier in the U.S. Army whose blogs from Iraq spawned an award-winning book My War: Killing Time in Iraq, recently received notice that he is to return to active duty. In a recent conversation with Amy Goodman on her show, Democracy Now, Buzzell said he wasn’t certain how he will respond to the stop-loss order. Read his recent posts and comments about Buzzell’s book from others, including the late Kurt Vonnegut, on Buzzell’s blog, My War.

When we learned that the county library plans to eliminate its video cassette collection by the end of the year, we started taking a look at our VHS tapes. We haven’t purchased any new tapes in the past three years, and some are old enough to vote (or even older, we changed catalog systems about 18 years ago, and anything we owned then transferred with the changeover as the purchase date). We’ve started pulling some of the older tapes of feature films, fearing that they could damage our customers’ videocassette players. Some of our nonfiction tapes are outdated or inaccurate. We will continue to reduce our VHS collection as we buy more and more DVDs — we simply don’t have the space to keep everything, especially at our Indian Creek Branch. We hope to replace some favorites, so if there is an older film you’ve checked out on video over the years and love, let us know.

With the weather heating up, you need to buy used books to read while relaxing inside your air-conditioned house, or to enjoy beside the pool.  There will be many, many books and audiovisual materials to choose from at the Julybration sale sponsored by the Friends of the Olathe Public Library.  And the best thing is that everything is cheaply priced!

The sale will begin at 10 a.m., July 12 at the Indian Creek Branch Library, 12990 S. Black Bob Road, Olathe.  The doors to the meeting room will close from 12:30 - 1 p.m. to prepare for the “Five Bucks A Bag” Sale.  Beginning at 1 p.m., purchase a plastic bag at the door for $5 and fill with materials.  Buy 2 bags, get 1 free. 

The sale will close early if sold out or materials are low.   

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You’ve seen them, plastic bags tangled in trees and fences. Not a pretty sight. That bag flapping in the wind is one of the 380 billion bags, sacks or wraps that the EPA estimates is annually consumed in the US and one of the 4 - 5 trillion consumed worldwide. Just try to picture that many plastic bags! The horrible thing is that only 1-3% are currently recycled, which means the other 97-99% are somewhere else. Did you know that in a single year Americans throw away 100 billion plastic grocery type bags?

The ones that make it to the landfill with the weekly garbage could lay there for the next 1000 years. Plastic bags never completely go away. Even after 1000 years, if they’ve made contact with the sun and photodegraded, they may have broken down into minuscule pieces (still not gone though). The plastic can leach chemicals into the ground and water, as well as absorb toxins.

The bag in the fence mentioned above… if it happens to be in a pasture with livestock, there’s a chance that it could be mistaken for food and eaten by an animal. When that happens, the animal could suffocate on the plastic. If the animal doesn’t suffocate, the bag (which won’t digest) could cause blockage and eventual death. Plastic that makes it to the ocean causes the death of an estimated billion seabirds and mammals annually. The death toll of animals doesn’t end there. If the dead animal is eaten by another animal, the plastic passes on to it.

With the current gasoline prices, it may concern you that it takes an estimated 430,000 gallons of crude oil to produce 100 million bags. That’s just the oil needed to make the plastic. In addition there’s the energy needed for the manufacturing of the bags and then the fuel used to transport them to their destinations.

Once the bags are in stores, out the door they go, for what most often is only a single use. An average family can accumulate 60 bags in only four trips to the store. This isn’t just an American problem. Numerous countries have either banned plastic grocery bags or charge a tax on them. These include Australia, South Africa, Ireland, China, Taiwan, Bangladesh and Uganda. San Francisco was the first American city to ban them.

There is something we can all do to make a difference. Take reusable bags with you when you shop. Whole Foods Markets banned plastic grocery bags in their stores as of Earth Day this year. Many local stores (Price Chopper, Wal Mart & Whole Foods) sell reusable bags, usually for as little as $.99. Most stores offer a credit for bringing your own bag. Here at the Olathe Public Library, we sell our Friends of the Library reusable tote bags which are as handy for carrying your groceries as your library books.

If you would like to read more on the subject, try Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam and the Science of Ocean Motion by Loree Griffin Burns. You can find this in our Children’s Department. Also try Living Green: A Practical guide to Simple Sustainability by Greg Horn, which will give you many reasons to reduce the use of plastic in your life.

       To add to your summer festivities, don’t forget to check out a good book to read from the library.  Use the new book list from library website to see what’s new and what’s hot.  And new items are not just books, or even movies, music and audiobooks.  You are right, the ever popular video games!  Click the link, http://www.olathe.lib.ks.us/newvideogames.aspx to see a list of video games including the very new ones just added this month.  Thanks to the Friends of the Library, we received additional $1000 from them to purchase new titles for the popular Nintendo Wii games.  If they are not on the shelf, be sure to put your name on the hold list using My account (http://Olathecatalog.jocolibrary.org) .  We will let you know when the game you want is available for you.  Come and enjoy the library for the summer!  �

Summer is a particularly busy time at the library, especially for families. Because we care about the safety of your children, parents and caregivers need to be aware that the public nature of our building and the many demands on the attention of our staff make it impossible for library employees to keep track of the whereabouts of your children or guarantee their safety. 

 Please assist us by practicing the following library behavior: 

Parents are responsible for the behavior of their children in the library. Never leave children under eight alone in the library while using another area of the library. 

Children of any age who behave in a disruptive manner will be dealt with firmly, and if the behavior continues, asked to leave the library. 

Be sure to check library’s closing times. Children should be picked up before the library closes. If a child needs a ride home, library staff will assist the child in contacting a parent or guardian to pick them up. If staff is unable to contact the family, the police will be contacted for assistance in locating the abandoned child’s family and caring for the child. 

No food in the library, please, including lollipops and cereal. 

Please wear shirts and shoes. 

Make sure that your children know that they should stay with you, never run in the library, and treat materials with care. 

Thank you for your help in making the library a place where your children are safe and that they enjoy visiting.�

May 27^th, the Kick-Off for the 2008 Summer Reading Club, was a success.   Kids, adults, and even staff enjoyed the morning.   Proof is in the all time record check out that day of 8,804 books and other materials.   The previous record was 8,176 at the 2006 Kick-Off.  There are many events left to attend.  Be sure you are not missing exciting events.

Can a tiny nation 90 miles from Miami teach the United States how to become more energy-efficient? Some, including environmental author Bill McKibben, think we could learn a lot about what happens with the oil runs out (or hits $135 a barrel) from Cuba. The film, “The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil” tells how the tiny island adapted after the Soviets stopped shipping in oil. Overnight, Cuban society was forced to shift from large farms fueled by petroleum to small, energy-conserving organic farms and urban gardens — or starve. Cuba moved from a highly industrialized nation to a sustainable society. Check out the DVD and see how our community can become more sustainable. For more on Cuba, see the ABC News story, Cuba’s Urban Farming Program a Stunning Success: With Food Prices Soaring, Cuba’s Urban Farms Could Be a Model for the World.

Make reservations now to join award-winning author Jane Kurtz for an Ethiopian buffet at Nigate Ethiopian Restaurant, 3613 Broadway, Kansas City, MO, on Saturday, June 7, from 5 to 7 p.m. If you’ve never sampled Ethiopian food, here’s an opportunity to enjoy really wonderful food. I used to frequent the Ethiopian restaurants in Washington, DC, home to the country’s largest community of Ethiopian refugees. Olathe has a growing number of Ethiopian residents, many of whom visit our library. The meals are served communally on injera, spongy bread used to eat the food. There are no spoons or forks. My favorite was the lamb watt, a thick stew of lamb and spices. There are a number of vegetarian dishes as well. Once the meal is finished, you clean the “dishes” by eating the remaining injera, now soaked with the delicious, spicy watt sauce. Call Andrea at (913) 515-3632 for reservations.

The event is a fundraiser for Ethiopia Reads, a nonprofit organization that provides books for Ethiopian children. Ethiopia Reads opened the African country’s first free children’s library in 2003. Since its opening, the Shola Children’s Library has welcomed more than 200,000 children between the ages of 4 and 18. The organization hopes to open 100 libraries across Ethiopia by 2010, serving thousands of children. Kurtz, a Kansas resident who spent her childhood in Ethiopia, serves on the board of directors for Ethiopia Reads.

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