Investigating the Status of Anime Collections in Public Libraries

As anime grows in popularity, so grows demand for access. Anime conventions, such as Seattle’s SakuraCon, bring together fans to celebrate, discuss, and watch anime; and websites such as Crunchyroll provide legal access online. Public access through libraries is also important, particularly to people who cannot attend conventions or pay for streaming services, and to provide this access it is necessary to determine how metadata systems created for print media can be redesigned to accommodate the increasingly visual and mobile nature of global information. Specifically, what are the challenges and needs of developing, cataloging, organizing, and providing access to anime collections in public libraries? This project’s analysis of a survey sent to 248 American public libraries identifies areas where access to anime can be improved. By highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the current systems, this project lays the foundation for future work to create better metadata systems for anime.

Thomas Disher—Residential MLIS