5 tips for creating a manga collection in your library

Lucy | Children's Librarian

Lucy worked as a children’s librarian in Warwickshire public libraries before joining Peters over ten years ago. She is the company’s comics and manga specialist, and was an assistant organiser for the Birmingham Comic Con for several years. Now she often gives talks to librarians and teachers on how to use this format most effectively. 

As well as being on the judging panels for the Information Book Award and Excelsior Award, she has spoken at YLG conferences and SLA events. 

meeT OUR team

Lucy's 5 tips for librarians

1. Offer a variety of genres in your manga collection

Keep in mind that manga isn’t a genre of books. There are many genres within manga, with the most popular and well known being action adventures, fantasy stories, and romantic comedies. However, you can also get manga murder mysteries, historical dramas, science fiction epics, family sagas, horror, really any type of story that you could find in a novel.

Rather than a genre, manga is a format of storytelling, the same as a novel or short story or play script. Remembering this is very helpful to creating a strong manga collection, as manga readers will appreciate having a range of genres to choose from.

It also makes it easier to encourage developing readers to move from manga to other types of books and vice versa, by identifying which genres they enjoy the most.

A lot of the appeal of manga comes from the distinctive style of fast paced, long form storytelling, as well as the characteristic art style, which each illustrator creates their own take on. Giving your readers as much variety as possible is always a great start.

2. Start the series from volume 1

The way that manga is published is very different to most western comics. Rather than long running stories being split into arcs and published into paperback editions that largely stand alone, the individual paperback editions of manga are intended to be read in order and from the first volume. While you could pick up a paperback volume of a Ms Marvel or Nightwing comic, for example, and expect a more-or-less self-contained story, picking up a random volume of a manga would make for a real challenge, and not a particularly enjoyable one.

Think of a manga series as a novel, with each individual book being a single chapter. Starting from the middle, a reader would be given no context for what has happened before in the plot, and would likely not be able to follow it. Therefore, it’s essential to start reading a manga from the first volume, and read through the volumes in order.

For library collections, this can make things a little tricky, especially if volume 1 ‘goes for a walk’. It’s often helpful to hold a little budget back to use to replace volumes if necessary.

When starting a collection, or adding new books to an existing collection, I always advise buying the first three volumes of a series. This is enough for readers to get a clear impression of the series, and really get into the storyline, and if it strikes a chord you can look to buy further volumes in the series.

browse manga

3. Age guidance is often included

The question I’m asked most often is about age guidance. I understand the concerns every librarian has, as we try to walk the often fine line between safeguarding and censorship, and it can make looking at unfamiliar types of books a daunting task. However, a lot of manga publishers will do their best to help.

Most of the publishers of manga in English will add an age range to their books, usually in the form of a symbol on the back cover. Viz Media, for example, uses age ranges of ‘A’ for all ages, ‘T’ for younger teenagers, ‘OT’ for older teenagers and ‘M’ for mature or adult. Other publishers split up their series in a similar pattern, and you can look at their websites for more information on the criteria they have for allocating age ranges.

This is a hugely helpful starting point, and you can also find further information on the contents on publisher websites.

For a more thorough overview, including more specific age guidelines, notes on contentious content such as strong language or violence, and an unbiased review, you can look up the book on the Peters website, where our librarian team will provide the fullest information possible.

4. Get creative with your manga displays

Getting manga noticed in your library is easy, as the covers are bold and eye-catching, and they typically stand out easily from other stock. It’s helpful to get creative with shelving to make them pop even more, and to help keep the different series together.

You could use a focus unit to highlight top Manga picks, or a paperback spinner for a more interactive browsing experience. Slot-in shelf dividers are also very handy, especially for larger collections.

As your manga collection gets bigger, keep in mind that, if you can’t stock all of a popular series (some can run to 50 or more volumes!) it’s worth looking into subscribing your library to an online manga resource, that allows access to chapters of the manga in ebook form. There are a variety of these to choose from, and they are usually connected to a particular publisher, so consider your options carefully.

5. Gather feedback from fans on how to grow your collection

Once you have a core audience of manga readers who visit the section regularly, consider asking for their input on what series to add to your collection. A lot of manga fans are very enthusiastic, and may be able to offer useful insight on how the collection is used, and how it could grow.

You can also look to manga and comic events in your local area, who could provide you with posters or even help you plan a trip for some of your library users.

Comics awards, such as the Excelsior Award, are a great way to find new and exciting series, and can provide useful lists and supportive information for reading groups as well.

Browse manga