Gleeson Library - A Storied Journey

The University of San Francisco has a long history of scholarship dating back to the 1800s, but its library, traditionally thought of as the heart of the school, was only built in 1950. The first site occupied by the school that would come to be known as USF was at Market and 5th Street, now occupied by the Westfield Shopping Center. During this early period, the school had no formal library, as the entire institute centered on one school room. The school stayed for five years, after which it moved because of the tax burden imposed on schools and churches.

The new school at Hayes St and Van Ness grew from humble beginnings to become one of the premier centers of learning on the West Coast, said library archivist Father Michael Kotlanger. Kotlanger explained that the old library consisted in large part of donated books, most of which were either science related or spiritual in nature. The books were not located in one central library, but rather in many individual collections organized by subject matter and scattered around the university. At that time, the books were strictly for use at the school, and could not be checked out by students.

As with the rest of the city, 1906 marked a turning point for USF. The massive quake and fire on April 18th, 1906 gutted the school and obliterated nearly everything in it, including all the books collected over the previous half century. The few records that survive from before 1906 were housed in separate locations downtown and in Los Gatos, said Kotlanger. After the tragic events of that day, the school moved to a location near the present day southern entrance to St. Mary's hospital at Hayes and Shrader, a few blocks from its present day location. School officials tried to build up the library's collection after the devastating loss of all its books, but at that time they had to rely on the generosity of donors. The law school opened in 1912, necessitating further book acquisitions, all of which were donated by jurists and legal scholars who had an interest in helping future legal minds.

In 1927, the school moved to its current address at Fulton and Parker. The burgeoning library collection was housed on the fourth floor of Campion Hall, the original university building that served as the entire university for many years. Finally, in 1950, the collection became large enough that university officials agreed a separate library would be both necessary and good for the school. The library is named after Father Richard Gleeson, who spent 46 years in service to the university. Kotlanger said Gleeson died the day it was announced that the library would bare his name.

Under the direction of Father William Monihan, the new library initially housed the relatively small collection from Campion Hall, and had administrative offices and classrooms on the upper floors. This condition was not to last, as Monihan aggressively sought out books for the new library, including many rare books now housed in the Donihue Rare Book Room. These include a fragment of the Gutenberg Bible dating from the 1450s, medieval illuminated manuscripts, the works of Sir Thomas Moore and a collection of letters from the English Catholic novelist and film-writer, Graham Greene. Kotlanger stumbled upon these letters when looking through files in the university's possession. The letters were appraised for $250,000.

As Monihan and his successors continued to build the library's collection, classroom and office space had to move to other locations on campus. In addition to its own collection, Kotlanger said the library once held the extensive personal collection of Adolph Sutro, who was mayor of San Francisco from 1895 until 1897. Space was leased in the library's basement by the Sutro estate until Gleeson library's own collection could no longer be housed solely in the upper floors. The lease was allowed to expire for a nominal rate, and Sutro's collection moved to its current location at San Francisco State University.

In 1997, the library opened the Geschke Learning Resource Center, named after Charles and Nancy Geschke, two university patrons and parents of a former student. The Geschke Center houses the circulation desk, reference stacks, and dozens of computers, both Apple and PC. The center also includes Thacher Gallery, an art exhibition room with rotating exhibits throughout the year. On the east wing of Geschke Center is the Monihan Atrium, a large study area named after the aforementioned Jesuit priest and library director.

The library's collection continues to grow at the rate of 13,000 volumes per year, according to its website, in an effort to maintain its status as a world class center for learning and scholarship. Located at the geographic heart of the university, Gleeson Library truly is at the heart of the school's dedication to learning and service.

Graphic novels, Gleeson Library, and Hollywood?

Before Tobey Maguire was bit by a spider and had a steamy upside down lip lock with Kirsten Dunst. Before Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, and Christian Bale bravely donned the skintight black leather that left little to the imagination. And even before Jessica Alba defied physics by making herself invisible, there was the printed version, the original version…the comic book. Some might argue that the original genius of graphic novels has been overshadowed by Hollywood’s box office blockbusters, but at the University of San Francisco in the forefront of the Gleeson Library, librarians created a graphic novel display that draws attention to the creativity, social relevance and impression that graphic novels leave on a variety of cultural industries (i.e. films!).

Created by librarians Kathy Woo and Debbie Benrubi the display, which was a way “to highlight the library’s great collection,” said Benrubi, began showing on January 23 and will continue to the end of February of this year. The display allows an interactive element as students can freely check out a comic book right off of the display. “Fifty or so books have been checked out,” said Benrubi, out of the 91 graphic novels that have been used. At present date the display features a case that holds 16 comics, which are owned by USF faculty members and include volume one additions of Superman and Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder (these comics are not available for check out), one shelf of graphic novels, two carts worth of half empty graphic novels, and a comment box. “We have gotten a lot of great feedback,” said Benrubi. “We have already ordered 15-20 more comic books to expand on the library’s collection.”

So whether you are mindlessly whizzing about the library with tests protruding, dreadfully trudging along to read yet another essay, or on your way to the Sacramental Light exhibit in the Thacher Gallery, stop and take notice of the small yet visible graphic novel display. Whether it’s the “Rabbi’s Cat (Benrubi’s favorite)” or “Roadstrips,” a beautiful and breezy flip through of “a graphic journey across America,” take notice of the graphic novels which tell creative stories and feature wonderful illustrations. And if you check out a graphic novel, where an original price usually averages around three dollars, you might just be holding the next idea for a Hollywood script that could rack in 821.6 million dollars worldwide, just as Spidy did!

Comics as Examples of Literary Genius? Who Would Have Thought…

Archie and Donald Duck are for many, a reminder of childhood years and the first bits of literature ever to be read. Comics take up a small portion of the Sunday paper and for the most part, aside from the snippet of political satire, the material content has almost always been something of a joke. However, in Jason Lutes’s Jar of Fools, one of many graphic novels put on exhibit in Gleeson Library, a deeper meaning lies harbored in the text.

Although the sketched depictions of the characters in the novel are fake, the reality of life is left intact. A main Character in Jar of Fools begins rambling on with some fairly profound thoughts regarding life, “but as I understand it, any action, good or bad, is like a ripple you make in the world… and the real goal is not to make any ripples. To begin and end with a subtotal of zero”. The twisted story goes through a segment in the life of a few; a lovesick and destitute magician, the object of his affection, a crazy old man, and a homeless father with his young bright daughter in tow. The author walks us through heavy concepts such as suicide, poverty, and the complications of love, all of which are illustrated beautifully.

Graphic Novels such as Jar of Fools have become somewhat of a literary phenomenon in the past six years. In 2001 graphic novel sales were hardly 75,000 a year, by 2006 this number shot up to 250,000. A website loaded with stories for adults and information on comic authors is www.fleen.com, a thriving example of the growing interest placed in adult comics. Where did this popularity spurn from you might ask? It is possible, and probably likely that film productions such as Sin City are a key factor to their newfound popularity.

There is really nothing in many of these novels directed towards young children, it is entirely made for adults and the content is anything but light and comical. So comics have now moved into a new era, one designed to take them sincerely. Laden with meaning, graphic novels are being taken more and more seriously and substance is becoming a good deal heavier. Comics will no longer be written off as fluff used to fill extra space in the paper but rather as a new form of literary genius, the days of Donald and Archie are slowly evolving into something much heavier. Through this exhibit, Gleeson Library has successfully pioneered its way into a realm with very little public knowledge but a steadily growing fascination.

Gleeson Library the Purveyor of Cool?

The graphic novel is by no means new but it has found new serge in popularity that is taking many people by surprise. Currently, Gleeson Library of the University of San Francisco has an exhibit that runs through the month of February celebrating the graphic novel.
The impetus behind the exhibit was to not only to honor the genre but for the librarians to have a better understanding of what young people are reading today. Kathy Woo Head of Acquisitions and director of the exhibit got the idea for the exhibit visiting local bookstores. Woo said, “I was noticing all the kids lined up at the bookstores in the graphic novel section…its really a generational thing.”
Woo discussed this new trend with her fellow librarians and found many of them interested in the genre as well. The Dean of the library just happened to be a collector of graphic novels. Woo looked at the University’s own collection of graphic novels and found that it was decent. “I was surprised at what we did have, but we really want to build the collection,” said Woo.
One of the most exciting features of the exhibit is the suggestion box. Students and faculty are encouraged to suggest graphic novels that aren’t currently in the collection. Woo said, “the main purpose of the exhibit was to have the suggestion box.” As of last week there were several dozen suggestions for new graphic novels.
I have only read one graphic novel in my life, Art Spiegelman’s Maus, which I thoroughly enjoyed. So I was excited to have another graphic novel experience. I checked out Osamu Tezuka’s Buddha Vol.1 the first of six volumes. This novel is a fascinating take on the life of the Buddha and Tezuka weaves historical fact with fictional characters of his own.
I loved it; I read the nearly 400-page book in one sitting. I immediately went on to the library’s website
http://www.usfca.edu/library to see if the rest of the series was available. To my dismay, they were not in the collection. My disappointment did not last long as I remembered the suggestion box. I ran to the library and gave them my two cents.

Yes, I Read Comic Books

I first got interested in comic books in 1992 when I was ten years old. I had been a fan of Superman from a very young age, and even used to wear a Superman shirt underneath the suits I wore to kindergarten. So, it was natural for me to delve further into the character by reading his adventures in the comics. The initial stories I read involved the Death of Superman saga, a story that captivated my young imagination and hooked me on comic books.

I continued collecting almost exclusively DC comics until around 1998, when I stopped reading because I could no longer afford to buy them regularly. In 2003, after several years of watching the television show Smallville, I picked up the comic book adaptation of the series. It felt great to have a new comic book in my hands, so I decided to start collecting again. With the advent of eBay in the intervening years, I was able to pick up large runs of back issues for much less than I would have paid had I bought them on the newsstand. Since returning to comics, I have amassed a collection of somewhere around 4,000 comics, including nearly every appearance of Superman since 1985.

When I tell people I am a comic book collector, I get varying reactions. Mostly, people do not understand the appeal of a comic book story, relegating comics to a children's medium that no intelligent person has any business following. The truth is that while comic books started out with children as their primary audience, today's typical comic book reader is older and has a desire to read stories that are more complex and realistic. Even superhero comics, with their outlandish premises and plots, have matured to the point where the stories behind the capes and powers involve real-life human drama. Comics deal with violence against women, deep philosophical and religious debates, and even heated political issues and current events.

One of the creators most responsible for this shift in tone was the late Will Eisner. Eisner began his work in the early days of comics, when material published in the new comic book format was typically reprints of newspaper comic strips. He went on to create The Spirit, a masked crime fighter who deals with the real life struggles of the inner city, and the landmark A Contract with God, one of the first graphic novels. Eisner also created the graphic novel Fagin the Jew, an attempt to create a backstory for the famous Jewish caricature in Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist. Shortly before his death in 2005, Eisner published The Plot, a graphic novel detailing the sordid history of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a forged document that anti-Semites, most notably the Nazis, used to "prove" a worldwide Jewish conspiracy aimed at controlling the world.

Eisner's literary forbears carry on his tradition of using the graphic novel to tell stories of surprising scope and grandeur. These include Frank Miller, whose taste for gritty realism and violence garnered critical acclaim for works like Sin City, The Dark Knight Returns, and Ronin, and Alan Moore, whose storytelling genius gave us works like Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. Writer Brian K. Vaughan, one of the medium's popular new voices, keeps the torch lit with high concept comics including ongoing series Ex Machina, a political thriller about a superhero turned mayor of New York, and Y: the Last Man, a post-apocalyptic tale about a world where all the men on earth die save the series protagonist, Yorick Brown.

Comics have certainly matured from the early four color days, and it is gratifying to see that USF's own Gleeson Library has recognized this by creating a prominent display of comics and graphic novels. Hopefully the interest generated by this display will introduce more people to the medium, and showcase the fact that it is not just for kids anymore.

Unlike Trix: Comic Books... Are Not Just For Kids

Contrary to popular belief: Comic Books are not just for kids. That is exactly what Debbie Benrubi and Kathy Woo, who work in USF's library, were trying to prove when they decided to highlight the University of San Francisco’s extensive graphic novel collection during the month of February. In the foyer of Gleeson Library on main campus, there is a fabulous exhibit including both rare collectors item comics as well as over one hundred comics that students can check out. A Gleeson desk worker explained to our DJ class that this colorful exhibit is said to be one of the libraries most popular one in a long time.

In my knowledge of comic books, (which doesn’t necessarily matter) I imagine the classics like Superman, Batman, and other superhero type stories. With detailed colorful pictures and few words: comic books seem on the surface to be geared toward a younger and often male audience. However, in recent years, more serious topics, which include for example the Iraq War, have been translated into graphic novel stories.

Political, social, religious, economical, racial. These are just of few of the very serious and much more mature issues that comic books address today. Some comics even addressed romance, which seems a stretch if you are trying to reach adolescent boys. As Roger Sabin described in his book, "Adult Comics: An Introduction", british writer Peter Bagge’s comic "Hate" (1990), which was about a mans “quest for beer and true love.” As a result, these books grab a much larger audience and have the ability to spread messages and influence people. This can happen much quicker and also easier by using humor, wit, and bit of lightheartedness, then say a 300-page textbook about Palestine, Jewish religion, or perhaps even weapons of mass destruction.

USF is smack dab in the middle of one the nations most liberal, outspoken, and accepting cities (San Francisco that is!). This graphic novel exhibit has the ability to open the eyes of college students, and anyone else who strolls through USF’s library during February, who otherwise might have never picked up a comic book in their life. Because like me they are under the false assumption that Comic Books are For Kids. If this exhibit (or blog entry) has caught your eye and sparked an interest in comic books, you might want to check out San Francisco’s very own cartoon art museum. The museum is located at 655 Mission Street, and is proud to be the only museum in the United States dedicated to graphic novel and comic exhibition.
http://www.cartoonart.org/