Graphic medicine in academic health science library collections

Academic health science library catalogs were analyzed to determine the presence and frequency of graphic medicine titles in print format in the collections. The secondary objectives were to gauge if students could access graphic medicine titles, through other libraries within the same system or as eBooks, and to examine if libraries highlighted graphic medicine collections and their uses on their websites.

A convenience sample of health science libraries was created from the Association of Academic Health Science Libraries member list. A title list was developed from collection resources and award lists for graphic medicine and graphic novels. Data was collected from public-facing library catalogs.

Fifty-six percent of the libraries analyzed had at least one title from the list in their collections available as print. An additional thirty percent had at least one title available as an eBook, leaving only fourteen percent with no graphic medicine titles.

This study provides a starting point in describing the prevalence and breadth of graphic medicine collections in academic health science libraries. Although their presence may be small, our findings suggest that graphic medicine is being collected by academic health science libraries. Academic librarians can support the growing interest in the comic art format by incorporating graphic medicine into their collections and educating their patrons on this important genre.