Where Teen Collections Are Going: Trends in Technology and

Publishing
By Cynthia Smith
IRLS 582
December 13, 2006
The publishing world is where we as librarians pull our materials to create
(hopefully) stunning collections. This is especially important for librarians serving young
adults since there is arguably no group that is pickier or quicker to change tastes
according to the latest fad. So what does the publishing world look like right now, and
what might it look like in five or ten years? Here are some of my thoughts on this subject.
I am deliberately looking at unusual or sometimes little looked at areas on the periphery
since as librarians sometimes we may be so focused on traditional books we forget to
look at anything else.
Trends
First of all, graphic novels are increasingly popular with the teen age group. (Get
Ready for Manga Mania, 2004, 22). Teachers (Cho et al, 2005, 32-34) and librarians
(Raiteriare, 2006, 58) are beginning to see the value of this format as well.
In the sub-genre of manga, it used to primarily be just Viz Comics
(http://www.viz.com/) and TokyoPop. Now there are more publishers getting involved in
making these works available. Del Ray, known for its collection of fantasy and science
fiction, joined the manga scene in May 2004, and now offers dozens of popular titles
(http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/manga/about.html). Seven Seas Entertainment in

2004 (http://www.gomanga.com/) and Go Comi in 2005 (http://www.gocomi.com/) also

joined the ranks of manga publishers.
And it is not only new publishers that are publishing manga. DC
(http://www.dccomics.com/), long known for Superman and Batman among other heroes,
earlier this year began a new subdivision known as CMX, devoted exclusively to manga
(http://www.dccomics.com/cmx/).
And this is not the only way that DC is diversifying. In May 2007, they will be
launching another new line known as Minx, devoted entirely to capturing the female
demographic (http://www.dccomics.com/news/?nw=6916). The Japanese have known for
decades that girls like graphic novels as much as boys do if the stories and characters
are interesting. Now it seems that US publishers, who have traditionally focused on
graphic novels for boys, are beginning to see this as well (Gustines, 2004). If this goes
well, other graphic novel publishers such as Marvel (http://www.marvel.com/) and Dark
Horse (http://www.darkhorse.com/) may begin catering more to the ladies.
Initially known more for shonen, or boy, series, Vis has for several years been
publishing manga with girl heroines such as Inuyasha. 2003 was an exciting year for this
publisher, with the beginning of Shonen Jump (http://www.shonenjump.com/), a monthly
magazine which features several chapters from seven two eight popular boys manga.
Now, in 2005, Vis has expanded to include the ladies in Shojo Beat
(http://www.shojobeat.com/), the girls version of Shonen Jump (Girls Manga Goes
Stateside, 2006).
It is not just graphic novel publishers that are getting into the manga genre. Tokyo
Pop has been cartooning Disney Channel (http://www.disney.go.com/disneychannel/)

staples such as Kim Possible and Lizzy McGuire since 2003 in what is known as Cinemanga (http://www.tokyopop.com//). Since 2004, Disney has partnered with Hyperion
Childrens Books to provide, among other things, graphic novels and manga (Gustines,
2004).
It is not just manga that are getting translated. Novelized versions of manga,
known as light novels, are being introduced by Tokyopop, Seven Seas Entertainment,
Viz, and Bandai Entertainment (Pine, 2006).
Manga is also now crossing the language barrier. Not all manga creators now have
Japanese names. New young English speaking artists are now creating their own mangastyle works, supported and published by such entities as Tokyopop, Seven Seas
Entertainment, and CMX (Hirai, 2006).
One fairly recent trend, with the rising popularity of graphic novels and manga,
teachers and professors are asking for materials in these media for their subject areas.
And publishers are responding (OEnglish et al, 2006, 174-175). Graphic novels are an
excellent tool to help teach visual learners, which includes more and more teens.
Speaking of manga and graphic novel publishers, and other publishers as well and
author sites, it is becoming more and more popular to put not only preview chapters but
also exclusive internet content up on web sites. [For examples, see any of the graphic
novel/manga sites listed above and Orson Scott Cards site at http://www.hatrack.com/
and Shannon Hales site at http://www.squeetus.com/stage/main.html.]
TV shows are also now entering the graphic novel world with NBCs new hit
series Heroes having an online graphic novel hosted at the shows website
(http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/).

And it is not just authors and books. Major magazines and newspaper also now
have exclusive online content. Part of the attraction is the ability to include audio and
video and the ability for readers to interact and participate (Smith1, 2006). Libraries must
have internet access for these and other electronic documents, and have web sites that
allow for access to these digital content away from the librarys physical location.
DVDs and CDs wont disappear any time soon, but with more and more digital
content available online, libraries and librarians need to think about not only hard access
but also digital access at the library and at home.
This also brings up the related issue of preservation. Libraries usually already
have a preservation plan for the hard copies of books, magazines and journals,
newspapers, and other ephemera. However, with items now being born digital,
librarians now not only need to save digital content for the value of it being in digital
format, but librarians need to consider what is the best way to save these documents that
are only in digital format. The best thing a library can do with regards to this is having a
plan in place to address this that has a long life to maintain the digital collection
(http://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/tutorial/management/management-02.html).
One way that magazine publishers are getting data about their customers is
through the sales statistics of Barnes and Nobles, which has a large magazine section that
is heavily trafficked (Smith2, 2006).
Publishers are also finding new ways to partner with networks for marketing. Tor
Books and the SciFi Channel (http://www.scifi.com/) have teamed up to advertise fantasy
and science fiction published by Tor (http://www.tor.com/whats_new.html).

The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/) is now partnering with

Scholastic (http://www.scholastic.com/) to provide a teen friendly version of their
newspaper with news relevant to teens called Upfront
(http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/upfront/). The New York Times
also has two other teen editions, Student Connection
(http://www.nytimes.com/learning/students/) and The Wall Street Journals Classroom
Edition (http://www.wsjclassroomedition.com/) And Time (http://www.time.com/time/)
and Elle Girl (http://www.ellegirl.com/) are leading the way for magazines only online
(Yet another mag drops printed copy for online magazines). Yet more reasons for libraries
to have digital access and archiving policies.
Book to movie adaptations continue to be popular (along with movie to book
adaptations). Eragon comes out in theaters this Friday (http://movies.aol.com/fallholiday-movies/schedule-releases/december), and Harry Potter and the Order of the
Phoenix (http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/preview/1808475611) and Spiderman III
(http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/spiderman3/site/) will be on the big screen next
summer with the Golden Compass from the His Dark Materials trilogy out in time for
Christmas 2007 (http://www.countingdown.com/movies/3167252).
Predictions
Studios are signing off with the big names of the internet right and left, such as
google (http://video.google.com/), yahoo (http://tv.yahoo.com/), and iTunes
(http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/) to provide both television shows and movies over
the internet. This is a format that especially the younger generations, including teens, will
be interested in. We librarians need to make sure we have the technological equipment

and infrastructure and develop policies for the use of online media. Hopefully,
agreements can be made with media producers to allow the free use of these materials in
the library, although this may take some time to work out. The fact that google bought
YouTube is an indicator that companies are looking at online media for the future, and
teens will be among the first to try and accept this new mode of distribution
(http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/youtube.html).
There is something about a book in your hands that I dont think can ever be
replaced by anything machines can do. Also, a book reader that is as easy on the eyes as
natural real pages has yet to be developed. However, computer companies are racing to
be the first (http://www.sonystyle.com/isbin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?
CategoryName=pa_portablereader&ProductSKU=PRS500U2&Dept=audio&CP=sony_h
m_nav_elec_portreadershop&ref=http%3A//www.sony.com/index.php). When this
happens within a year or two, digital books will become even more prevalent, and
nowhere will this be truer than with teens. Audio books will probably continue to be a
popular format for teens who have trouble or dont enjoy reading, but instead of listening
to books on tape, they will download it to whatever futuristic version of the iPod exists at
the time.
Another trend I see is the increasing use of audio and visual media from graphic
novels to podcasts to virtual worlds like Second Life (http://secondlife.com/) in the use of
education, and publishers are going to respond to this with an increase of access and
production of such materials. Even traditional texts that might be used such as
Shakespeares plays will be made available in digital format.

If current efforts by the gaming

(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3248461.stm) and graphic novel industry prove
successful, soon it may no longer be possible to stereotype boys as the only ones
interested in such formats.
As blogs and podcasts continue to proliferate, publishers will find ways to market
through these avenues.
In conclusion, two primary trends I see with teens within the next few years is a
more wide spread acceptance of visual media, and a proliferation of digital and online
formats, alongside the traditional book.

Bibliography

Cho, Grace, Hong Choi, and Stephen Krashen. March/April 2005. Homerun Research:
Hooked on Comic Book Reading: How Comic Books Made an Impossible
Situation Less Difficult. Knowledge Quest 33 (4): 32-34.
Get Ready for Manga Mania. The Bookseller, November 19, 2004: pp. 22-23.
Girls Manga Goes Stateside: Manga for Girls Catches on in America. Trends in Japan:
Arts and Entertainment, March 28, 2006. Available from http://webjapan.org/trends/arts/art060328.html; accessed December 11, 2006.
Gustines, George Gene. 2004. Girl Power Fuels Manga Boom in US. The New York
Times, 28 December [Online Edition]. Available from
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2b20269b25ecb34&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt; accessed December 11, 2006.
Hirai, Tomo. 2006. Original English Language Manga Hits American Shelves with
Popularity. Nichi Bei Times, 7 September [Online Edition]. Available from
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63941 &archive=&start_from=&ucat=3&; accessed December 11, 2006.
OEnglish, Lorena, J. Gregory Matthews, and Elizabeth Blakesley Lindsay. March 2006.
Graphic
Novels in Academic Libraries: From Maus to Manga and Beyond.
The Journal of
Academic Librarianship 3 (2): pp. 173-182.
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Raiteri, Steve. 2006. Graphic Novels. Library Journal, 15 March: p. 58.
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Smith, Nicole. 2006. Publishers find readers/buyers at Barnes and Nobles. DM News, 25
October. Available from http://www.dmnews.com/cms/dm-sectors/mediapublishing/38724.html; accessed December 12, 2006.

Yet another mag drops printed copy for online magazines. Webevents. Available from
http://www.webeventseurope.com/Online_Publications/Article430794.aspx;
accessed December 12, 2006.