Comics Librarianship

As a freshly-minted librarian, Christina was hired to serve at THE high school bearing her district’s name alongside an amazingly zany, veteran librarian who knew the collection inside and out. To say that Christina was intimidated about what she could possibly contribute is more than an understatement. She. Was. Stymied!

Luckily, near the end of her course of study, she’d discovered comics and graphic novels. Her then-language-arts-teacher heart fell in love with graphic storytelling, the ways in which it attracts readers, and its potential to support literacy efforts. Unluckily, she didn’t know much about this format; however... she was the only member of the library staff who, at the time, even read it at all.

Thus she’d found her calling. Graphics would be her contribution; although, it quickly became clear to her that she’d need to develop herself in this area if she wanted to be a full partner on the library staff and better serve her community. Even luckier still, her new colleagues steered her toward the Young Adult Round Table’s (YART) Texas Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List as a way of shoring up the skills she lacked and connecting with other like minded individuals.

As she deepens her connection to the comics sphere, Christina’s goals are largely rooted in a desire to help knit together disparate pockets within her communities of practice. Despite increased representation in graphic literature, BIPOC fans often continue to feel alienated—aware that those with whom they connect most profoundly rarely share this identity. Existing in the cringe-worthy shadow of Urkel, she’s intimately familiar with the resulting loneliness and the need to suppress one’s authentic self. 

However, given that library communities of color and comic spaces are becoming increasingly aware of their own intersection, Christina is driven to steadily network in both worlds and establish herself as a subject matter expert—attending professional tracks at comics cons, participating in webinars, delivering professional development, moderating panels, and even cosplaying at library conferences. Thus, it's her goal to normalize nerds of color and support libraries in holding space for the BIPOC fandom just as they do for so many other marginalized peoples.

Christina strives to uphold the distinction of being a “student of nerd culture” that award-winning author David Bowles once bestowed upon her by way of introduction.