Comics & Graphic Medicine in U-M Libraries
The University of Michigan has a substantial collection of comics and graphic novels on the North Campus. This collection includes graphic medicine works and themes, and can serve as a useful resource for exploring this topic. Books in this collection are discoverable through MIRLYN, the Library's catalog, and can be requested for delivery to other campus library locations, including the Taubman Health Sciences Library. You can find more information about the comics collection in the Comic Books and Graphic Novels library guide.
Comics & Graphic Medicine in the Ypsilanti District Library
The Ypsilanti District Library (YDL) is widely recognized in the Graphic Medicine community as having a substantial collection. This was originally funded by a grant from the Will Eisner Foundation. The U-M graphic medicine community is fortunate to be located nearby. Here are some links to more information about the graphic medicine collection at YDL.
YDL: How graphic novels are helping doctors and patients
YDL: Graphic Medicine Collection
Comics & Graphic Medicine in the Ann Arbor District Library
The Ann Arbor District Library (AADL) has an extensive collection of general audience comics, enriched with substantial numbers of works from manga and independent (indie) publishers. These collections include works that fall within graphic medicine as well as others. They also host events of interest, such as presentations by professional comic artists and authors, hosting webcasts, and providing workshops on comic creation.
Recommended Books
Graphic Medicine Manifesto by Call Number: PN 6714 .C99 G73 2015ISBN: 9780271066493Publication Date: 2015-04-22This inaugural volume in the Graphic Medicine series establishes the principles of graphic medicine and begins to map the field. The volume combines scholarly essays by members of the editorial team with previously unpublished visual narratives by Ian Williams and MK Czerwiec, and it includes arresting visual work from a wide range of graphic medicine practitioners. The book's first section, featuring essays by Scott Smith and Susan Squier, argues that as a new area of scholarship, research on graphic medicine has the potential to challenge the conventional boundaries of academic disciplines, raise questions about their foundations, and reinvigorate literary scholarship-and the notion of the literary text-for a broader audience. The second section, incorporating essays by Michael Green and Kimberly Myers, demonstrates that graphic medicine narratives can engage members of the health professions with literary and visual representations and symbolic practices that offer patients, family members, physicians, and other caregivers new ways to experience and work with the complex challenges of the medical experience. The final section, by Ian Williams and MK Czerwiec, focuses on the practice of creating graphic narratives, iconography, drawing as a social practice, and the nature of comics as visual rhetoric. A conclusion (in comics form) testifies to the diverse and growing graphic medicine community. Two valuable bibliographies guide readers to comics and scholarly works relevant to the field.
The Bad Doctor by Call Number: PN 6737 .W53 B33 2015ISBN: 9780271067544Publication Date: 2015-03-23Meet Dr. Iwan James: cyclist, doctor, would-be lover, former heavy metal fan, and, above all, human being. Weighed down by his responsibilities-from diagnosing personality disorders to deciding who can hold a gun license-he doubts his ability to make decisions about the lives of others when he may need more than a little help himself. Cartoonist and doctor Ian Williams introduces us to Iwan's troubled life as all humanity, it seems, passes through his surgery doors.
MIRLYN Search Tips
While we give example titles of graphic medicine works, how would you find more like these in the library catalog? Of course, if you know the author or title, that makes it easy, but the best way to find relevant books and materials that you don't already know about is to use subject headings. Here are some examples that work in MIRLYN, the U-M catalog. You can try using these as example, and modify keywords to discover other subject headings. You can look at the subject headings or description of a book you already know about, or you can try combining terms like "comic books", "cartoons", "graphic novels", or "graphic works" with a topic.
Medicine -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Medical care -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Cartoons.
Physician and patient Comic books, strips, etc.
Physician-Patient Relations Cartoons.
Physicians Comic books, strips, etc.