Miami Public Library Introduces Comics Plus®: Unlimited Digital Comics, Graphic Novels, and Manga for Ottawa County
![Comics Plus #ReadAllTheComics
Coming Soon
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Miami, OK – June 24, 2024 – The Miami Public Library is thrilled to announce the launch of Comics Plus® from LibraryPass, a revolutionary new digital resource that will be available to all library patrons starting on July 1, 2024. This exciting addition promises to ENGAGE, EXCITE, and CIRCULATE by providing unlimited access to thousands of digital comics, graphic novels, manga, and picture books from a vast array of popular publishers including ABDO, Andrews McMeel, BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse, Image Comics, Kodansha, and many more.
Comics Plus® offers over 3,000 schools and libraries worldwide the ability to deliver a diverse and extensive selection of titles directly to readers’ devices. The platform ensures that there are no holds, wait lists, or monthly borrowing limits, making it a perfect fit for readers of all ages who are eager to explore new stories without any barriers. “As much as we would love to add every comic or manga to our physical collection, we just don’t have the space or the funds to do so. We are so excited to offer this new collection digitally to our patrons. It gives us so many titles without taking up shelf space,” said Callie Cortner, Director of Library, Arts, & Culture for the City of Miami, OK.
Library patrons can access this incredible resource through the Miami Public Library’s website, ensuring that everyone in Ottawa County can enjoy the rich variety of content available on Comics Plus®. For further information, please contact Callie Cortner at 918-541-2292 or by email at ccortner@miamiokla.net.
Here are some details about each age group’s collection:
PreK-1/Ages 3-5 (Emergent)
- Readers: Preschool and kindergarten; may be able to recognize sight words but can’t read independently yet.
- Format: Picture books and early readers; comic books with simplified panel layouts.
- Language: Simplified word balloons; no swearing.
- Content: Story intensity, action, and violence should be similar to children’s television shows, reflecting age-appropriate experiences.
K-3/Ages 5-7 (Children)
- Readers: Kindergarten and early elementary school; reluctant and remedial readers in elementary.
- Format: Picture books and early readers; comic books with simple panel layouts, including comic strips.
- Language: Simplified word balloons; no swearing.
- Content: Story intensity, action, and violence should be similar to G-rated movies, while reflecting age-appropriate experiences.
Gr 3-5/Ages 8-10 (Kids)
- Readers: Elementary school-age readers; reluctant and remedial readers in elementary through early middle school.
- Format: Traditional comic books and manga with simplified panel layouts, including comic strips.
- Language: While some readers in this range can handle mild profanity, particularly in a humorous context, every family has different rules about swearing, so a very conservative approach is required at this level.
- Content: Story intensity, action, and violence should be similar to PG-rated movies, while reflecting age-appropriate experiences. Romantic relationships and scenes of affection between partners (hugging, holding hands) are age-appropriate; emphasizing beauty, hypersexualized appearances, sexual behaviors, and stereotyped sexual roles is not age-appropriate. Drinking, drugs, smoking, and risky stunts aren’t age-appropriate.
- Educational value: Readers in this age range will benefit from content that supports school-readiness, including social-emotional skills such as self-control. Older children are often reading for pleasure, so stories can build on school lessons from a full range of subjects, including history and science. Stories should expose them to diverse experiences; encourage them to think about other people’s lives; or teach them about different times and places.
Gr 6-8/Ages 11-14 (Teen)
- Readers: Active readers in upper elementary and middle school; reluctant and remedial readers in high school.
- Format: Comic books, manga, hybrid prose/comics; more sophisticated panel layouts.
- Language: Mild profanity is age-appropriate in small doses, but every family has different rules about swearing, so a relatively conservative approach is observed.
- Content: Story intensity, action, and violence should be equivalent to a typical PG-13 rated movie, while also reflecting a typical middle grader’s life experiences. Historical contexts of violence, including violence experienced by particular social groups, are considered age-appropriate. Humor may come at the expense of authority, and poop jokes and other potty humor are considered age-appropriate. Kissing and dating are age-appropriate; partial or full nudity and simulated sex are not. Disrespectful portrayals of characters as sexual objects or as sexual aggressors are not age-appropriate, nor is humor that relies on these themes.
- Educational value: Readers in this range are often reading for pleasure, so stories can build on school lessons from a full range of subjects, including history and science, and can expose them to diverse experiences, encourage them to think about other people’s lives and viewpoints, or teach them about different times and places.
Gr 9-12/Ages 15-18 (Young Adult)
- Readers: Active teenage readers in upper middle and high school; reluctant and remedial adult readers.
- Format: All.
- Language: Every family has different rules about swearing, so a mildly conservative approach is always preferable; similar to a more intense PG-13 movie.
- Content: Story intensity, action, and violence are equivalent to more intense PG-13 movies like the Fast & Furious, James Bond, and Twilight franchises, while also reflecting a typical teenager’s life experiences. Some violence and blood, but no explicit, gratuitous, or excessive gore. Some nonsexual, partial nudity, or sexually suggestive content, but nothing gratuitously portrayed. Relevant coming-of-age body, health, and sexual situations are age-appropriate. Humor deriving from sexual innuendo or bodily functions is age-appropriate, but disrespectful portrayals of characters as sexual objects or as sexual aggressors are not, nor is humor that relies on these themes. Pairing sex and violence is not age-appropriate.
- Educational value: Teenagers can glean educational value from less obvious lessons, and understand that knowledge can be gained from the experience of non-ideal situations, including historic or realistic context. It’s important for teens to become global citizens and learn about other cultures and points of view. Stories can build on school lessons from a full range of subjects, including history and science, to promote social-emotional learning, exposing them to diverse experiences, encouraging them to think about other people’s lives, or teaching them about different times and places.
Ages 18+ (Adult)
- Readers: Mature teens and adult readers of all interests.
- Format: All.
- Language: Similar to R-rated movies and many prestige TV shows.
- Content: Explorations of mature themes with language and imagery appropriate for audiences 18 and over, similar to an R-rated movie or prestige TV show. Some titles may contain violence, blood, or even explicit gore; partial or full nudity, and suggestive or simulated sexual situations may appear, but pornographic content is not included.
- Educational value: Readers who enjoy complex concepts and nuanced storytelling in both fiction and nonfiction will be exposed to a diverse range of stories and experiences.
Contact Information:
Callie Cortner
Director of Library, Arts, & Culture
City of Miami, OK
200 N Main St, Miami, OK 74354
Phone: 918-541-2292
Email: ccortner@miamiokla.net
Website: https://miamipl.okpls.org