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So, I work at a library and we are trying to clean up our graphic novel section. The librarian and I are going through and trying to list every graphic novel under their titles (i.e.; Batman, Superman, JLA, DCU...etc), not by the authors. We ran across one title that I am actually having a bit of trouble with and was wondering if I could get some other thoughts from comic book fans.

It's the Rann-Thanagar War

As you can see it is also under the Countdown to Infinite Crisis.

So my question is:
Should it be under the title of Rann-Thanagar War?
Or should it be under Infinite Crisis?
Remember, if you were looking for this graphic novel in a library, which one would be easier for you to find or the title you would initially look under?

When I looked it up on the internet some sites have it listed under Rann-Thanagar War while other sites have it as Infinite Crisis, so this hasn't been much help.

I would list it under "Infinite Crisis". This way all the books for that event are in the same place.

I would also put it with the rest of the Infinite Crisis books. Every book with Infinite Crisis on the cover being in the same spot makes the most sense to me.

I'm inclined to agree with Mdl on this, though I'd add that it really depends on what all search tools you have available.

Infinite Crisis. Sounds like it's a subsect of it. Follow the advice already given.

Being a comic book fan and working in a library, I have to take the other option.
Our library lists it by the title "Rann-Thanagar War"
That is the actual title, it belongs to the Infinite Crisis series.

MadEdric wrote:
Being a comic book fan and working in a library, I have to take the other option.
Our library lists it by the title "Rann-Thanagar War"
That is the actual title, it belongs to the Infinite Crisis series.

See, that was my thought as well.

The comic is only a "lead up to Infinite Crisis". So to me that says it has little to do with the actual event and is more about the "Rann-Thanagar War".
But in the end, as I am sure you know, it is more about accessibility than logic for patrons.

MadEdric wrote:
Being a comic book fan and working in a library, I have to take the other option.
Our library lists it by the title "Rann-Thanagar War"
That is the actual title, it belongs to the Infinite Crisis series.

Does your library search function facilitate a cross-reference to bring someone to "Rann-Tanagar War" if they were to type in "Infinite Crisis" (I'm assuming typing because, who uses file cards anymore? )


But I do agree with you... I have come to rather intimate knowledge of my school library, and you ALWAYS catalog by actual title and author, not a series name.

Articles in academic journals are classified by author, title and journal name. Could you do it like that?

 Kilkrazy wrote:
Articles in academic journals are classified by author, title and journal name. Could you do it like that?

Currently we have them cataloged like that. But the problem with this is it scatters titles all over the shelf because one author doesn't always do the same series when it comes to comics. We started getting fed up with this when we were adding to our manga and comics section and found several series in at least two different areas because the title doesn't have the same authors.

We do have cross referencing through our public database, but the easier we can make it the better. Anything that is part of an ongoing series is getting this treatment.

Star Wars
Star Trek
Horus Heresy
...etc.

 ProtoClone wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:
Articles in academic journals are classified by author, title and journal name. Could you do it like that?

Currently we have them cataloged like that. But the problem with this is it scatters titles all over the shelf because one author doesn't always do the same series when it comes to comics. We started getting fed up with this when we were adding to our manga and comics section and found several series in at least two different areas because the title doesn't have the same authors.

We do have cross referencing through our public database, but the easier we can make it the better. Anything that is part of an ongoing series is getting this treatment.

Star Wars
Star Trek
Horus Heresy
...etc.

To be fair, it's a library, not a book store

If you start shelving books by type in a somewhat arbitrary manner, you'll quickly have chaos in the whole system. Dewey's system is NOT to be fethed with!!

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

 ProtoClone wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:
Articles in academic journals are classified by author, title and journal name. Could you do it like that?

Currently we have them cataloged like that. But the problem with this is it scatters titles all over the shelf because one author doesn't always do the same series when it comes to comics. We started getting fed up with this when we were adding to our manga and comics section and found several series in at least two different areas because the title doesn't have the same authors.

We do have cross referencing through our public database, but the easier we can make it the better. Anything that is part of an ongoing series is getting this treatment.

Star Wars
Star Trek
Horus Heresy
...etc.

To be fair, it's a library, not a book store

If you start shelving books by type in a somewhat arbitrary manner, you'll quickly have chaos in the whole system. Dewey's system is NOT to be fethed with!!

Well, you still have to list title/author/publication after the Dewey decimal or else you have a mess.
So, Rann-Thanagar War has the Dewey decimal of 741.5973, but so does the other hundred graphic novels we have. How do we clean this up?
Currently, before we change things, we go by authors last name, which is Gi for Dave Gibbons. But Gibbons has written a lot of other titles and honestly, series title is more important than author in this matter.

And what do you do with someone like Abbnett? Horus Heresy, Horus Heresy, Guardians of the Galaxy TPB, Horus Heresy...

 timetowaste85 wrote:
And what do you do with someone like Abbnett? Horus Heresy, Horus Heresy, Guardians of the Galaxy TPB, Horus Heresy...

You forgot his "generic" 40k work, as well as his non-40k sci-fi works as well.

 timetowaste85 wrote:
And what do you do with someone like Abbnett? Horus Heresy, Horus Heresy, Guardians of the Galaxy TPB, Horus Heresy...

Truthfully, Abbnett is not that well known around here. We didn't have much of anything by him until I started working here.
His work on GotG goes pretty much unknown unless you are big in following comic book authors.
His work in the HH stuff is not as important as the title for collections sake.

With our graphic novels we list them in the 700's, then followed by title. So they get a non fiction designation, in our arts category.
So Abbnett is overshadowed by the title of the comic. Hell, even Neil Gaiman has to take a third seat to the Sandman title.