Collection Equity Award Y3 - Oregon Health & Science University Library

These funds will be used to further develop and enrich OHSU Library’s collection of health- and medical-themed graphic novels. Graphic medicine facilitates learning, compassion, and a greater appreciation for the health sciences through the medium of comic-style art and narrative storytelling. This format is highly engaging to users and its dynamic nature is a welcome departure from the literature health sciences students and staff regularly consume for their education and work. As it stands, OHSU Library has a small graphic novel collection that is currently composed of 35 items. These items are popular with library users and circulate at a higher rate than the rest of OHSU Library’s print materials; recently, graphic novels have been integrated into course curricula. A significant portion of the collection is checked out at most times due to its small size and popularity amongst patrons. Increasing the collection to include a more robust number of titles will make this collection accessible to a greater number of users and further diversify it to include a wider spectrum of perspectives and health sciences topics.