Ashley Hawkins
@mangalibrarian.bsky.social
School Librarian, PhD Student & Manga Reviewer Co-author of Manga Goes to School: Cultivating Engagement and Inclusion in K–12 Settings. Talk to me about manga, neurodivergence, and student-centered libraries! Married to @fortninety.bsky.social.
Meowza! 😻 We’ve collected some of the best purr quotes about A Cat Is a Cat in Any Life from our favorite feline friends who are pawsitively thrilled it’s nominated for the @mangaawardsusa.bsky.social for Best Publication Design. Register to vote for this purrfect title today – 🔗 below!
We’re honored to announce MAGICA has been nominated in the American Manga Awards for Best Translation and Best Publication Design! You can cast your vote by registering here: animenyc.com/american-man... Translation: Jan Mitsuko Cash Publication Design: Chichols © Yuzuko Hoshimi / Daiwashobo
Fun fact: Takayuki Yoshii, former Sunrise president, approached Yasuhiko midway through Origin’s serialization about an anime adaptation. Predictably, YAS wasn't initially keen on it. He remembers, “I thought people might take me as a fool if I made it as an animation again.”
I don’t know if anyone has talked about this, but it’s a thing I’m experiencing. I shared when I came back a few weeks ago that I’ve been deep in autistic burnout for a year. I also have a litany of other health issues and for preventative and treatment measures, I started taking a GLP1.
@mangalibrarian.bsky.social while you were gone I ended up going down a research whole about anime manga and Leftist politics running on 5-6 months.
Beau Oddball@beauoddball.bsky.social · 6mo agoLate 2025-2026 Media Thread.
Loved last night’s #TLSkyChat on manga & comics! Big thanks to @mangalibrarian.bsky.social & @smwordsmith.bsky.social for the expert tips. 🚀 I’ve rounded up all the strategies, shelving hacks, & book lists from the chat into one post. 📖 💗Remember #slowchat is engaged! Check out the article HERE
Between the Panels: Highlights from #TLSkyChat
Students are driving the demand, and librarians are answering the call. ⚡️ Explore our latest recap of #TLSkyChat: "Panels & Pages," featuring expert advice from the authors of Manga Goes to School an...
techielibgrl.substack.com
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Must read #TLSkyChat
Heather Turner@techielibgrl.com · 3mo agoLoved last night’s #TLSkyChat on manga & comics! Big thanks to @mangalibrarian.bsky.social & @smwordsmith.bsky.social for the expert tips. 🚀 I’ve rounded up all the strategies, shelving hacks, & book lists from the chat into one post. 📖 💗Remember #slowchat is engaged! Check out the article HERE
How I stay ahead of Western manga releases is, frankly, staying on top of Japanese manga releases. I have a JP Bookwalker account, I visit Japan annually and spend a solid chunk of my time in bookstores and libraries, and I have multiple publications about the industry.
Ashley Hawkins@mangalibrarian.bsky.social · 3mo agoIf you want to know what I personally do to stay ahead of manga coming out... It's not normal for an average librarian. I'm absolutely a manga otaku. I can describe it, but it's not a recommendation!
I've gotta crash into my bed, but it was so fun to chat with y'all! I'll read over the slow chat tomorrow and try to give meaningful responses when I'm not fighting the eepies.
Adorable Sleepy Kitten
Alt: Adorable Sleepy Kitten
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A4: OMG where do I start BIGGEST game changer: sign up for NetGalley & Edelweiss and get your own review copies to flip thru. Reviews are great but they’re few and far between. We are HUMAN & can only review so much. Go check out the books if you can so you know what you’re buying #TLSkyChat
Heather Turner@techielibgrl.com · 3mo ago📚 QUESTION #4 for #TLSkyChat! Q4: What tips or tricks do you have to “keep up” with collection development with manga, comics, and GN, especially considering ongoing series? Reply using: A4: Your response here 👇 Use #TLSkyChat so others can join in!
A6: I am prepped to meet ALL challenges to ALL materials....well...because... The few I have had were around the dress/drawings of young ladies & the nose wrinkle of "not real reading." That was only a handful of people/staff. GN/comics/Manga is part of our reading culture. 1/ #TLSkyChat
Heather Turner@techielibgrl.com · 3mo ago📚 QUESTION #6 for #TLSkyChat! Q6: What challenges, large or small, relating to manga, comics, and graphic novels have you encountered, and how have you met those challenges? Reply using: A6: Your response here 👇 Tag your responses with #TLSkyChat!
A7: Literally where do I even START. My favorite aspects have to be depiction of foreign language (dif. color font, scribbles, etc). My go-to recs: Brownstone, Lunar New Year Love Story, Dream On, Almost Sunset, How to Draw a Secret, Fresh Start, Visitations, & the Stepping Stones series #TLSkyChat
Heather Turner@techielibgrl.com · 3mo ago📚 QUESTION #8 for #TLSkyChat! Q8: What aspects of visual storytelling are your favorite? What are your go-to book recommendations? Reply using: A8: Your response here 👇 Use #TLSkyChat to join the discussion!
A9. Oshi-katsu activities! They're creating arts and crafts around your favorite character or K-Pop idol, and my kids are obsessed. I have to keep a steady stream of idol cards coming in!
A8. Illustration. The truth is that I love illustration so much, and that's what drives my obsession with manga in particular. I'm always recommending Witch Hat Atelier, Tamon's B-Side, and Spacewalking with You. #TLSkyChat
A7. I'm a little suspicious if I should weed the graphics that are in pristine condition, because that speaks volumes in our school. It's also way more intense repair on these sections than on any other! most fiction books in the condition of our copy of Smile would have been recycled. #TLSkyChat
A6. This is the first year I've had struggles with the kiddos straight up BOOK-NAPPING, especially the graphics. This is more an issue of us being in a new building and the school went without a librarian for a solid year before I came in, but I'm now having to bribe children with candy.
A5. @smwordsmith.bsky.social, @bespokelib.bsky.social, @libraryladynyc.bsky.social. The NFNT team is fabulous. And there are many non-librarian reviewers who are particularly great!
A4. For graphics and comics, I 100% am dependent on reviewers like @smwordsmith.bsky.social or Esther Keller. For manga, what I'd recommend that's outside the norm is following the folks at @yattatachi.com. They have a roundup of every manga being published each month! #TLSkyChat
A4: First, follow the experts like @smwordsmith.bsky.social @mangalibrarian.bsky.social @bespokelib.bsky.social... Next, use the CD tools that analyze your collection and tell you what is missing or what is coming to be published. Keep your inventory current! #TLSkyChat 1/
Heather Turner@techielibgrl.com · 3mo ago📚 QUESTION #4 for #TLSkyChat! Q4: What tips or tricks do you have to “keep up” with collection development with manga, comics, and GN, especially considering ongoing series? Reply using: A4: Your response here 👇 Use #TLSkyChat so others can join in!
A4: I guess I am unique because I am always looking for new and upcoming GNs to read for myself, but I know that what I love to read, my students will also love to read. Here is my cheat sheet I share in PD for librarians (shout out @mangalibrarian.bsky.social & @smwordsmith.bsky.social!) #TLSkyChat
Heather Turner@techielibgrl.com · 3mo ago📚 QUESTION #4 for #TLSkyChat! Q4: What tips or tricks do you have to “keep up” with collection development with manga, comics, and GN, especially considering ongoing series? Reply using: A4: Your response here 👇 Use #TLSkyChat so others can join in!
A3. Shameless plug: a group of us wrote a little book of lesson plans called Manga Goes to School... Really though, I'm using graphics all the time. I use constructivist media decoding, and we're looking at various graphic formats for intent and context, as well as personal connections. #TLSkyChat
One library lesson I ran was about classic lit and I provided the original texts, abridged versions, graphic novels with original language, simpler text for reluctant readers & modern english + manga versions got kids to read sections to see which appealed to them & did a reading too #TLSkyChat
A3: I utilize @melissacorey.bsky.social’s visual book lists for RA in my library, and I always include graphics in those lists. I am always book talking graphic novels to my middle schoolers because I happen to love middle grade graphic novels, and they seem to really enjoy my passion! #TLSkyChat
Heather Turner@techielibgrl.com · 3mo ago📚 QUESTION #3 for #TLSkyChat! Q3: How do you incorporate manga, comics, and GN into story times, read alouds, lessons, or readers’ advisory? Reply using: A3: Your response here 👇 Remember to add #TLSkyChat to your post!
A2. @smwordsmith.bsky.social has a god-tier post about shelving for all the graphics and I just do what she says.
How to shelve graphic novels?
This section is where I will post general information about graphic novels, lists, news, or other things I feel are relevant to the development of graphic novel sections in libraries.
graphiclibrary.org
A1: For some of my staunchest critics and there have been many on GNs that they are not real reading etc. I have a folder will soooo many studies and articles of the benefits of reading graphic. To be fair the reading level on some are sooo much higher then one would think. #TLSkyChat