MSIS Student’s Work Showcased at ALA: First Step Towards Becoming a Published Graphic Novelist
Brandi Payne, a master’s student in the School of Information Sciences, had their work on display at the American Library Association (ALA) Conference this summer in San Diego.
Payne is from Sevier County and is working at the Pigeon Forge Public Library while completing their MSIS. Payne loves comics and graphic novels. They received their bachelor’s in graphic design from Maryville College.
“I am trying to get published in that field but, in the meantime, I got lucky enough to get a part-time job at one of my local libraries. I work as an assistant in youth services and I enjoy it,” they explained. “I figured while I have time I might as well get my master’s and pursue librarianship as a career.”
Payne chose the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, because of the flexible learning schedule and the broad range of classes covering everything from academic libraries to user experience design.
“My dad’s always been a fan of UT football and sports and I liked that. The MSIS program was completely distance learning. That was nice for me so that I could still work without having to worry about making it to campus,” they said.
Assistant Professor of Practice Scot Smith heard about ALA’s Graphic Novel and Comics Round Table (GNCRT) Addressing Challenges Committee looking for people to create zines—short publications made up of text and artwork—to be on display during this year’s conference. Smith asked his students if they wanted to participate.
“I wasn’t an ALA member at the time, but I’ve since joined and now I’m the secretary for the school’s chapter,” Payne stated.
After joining ALA, Payne started working on creating their zine. The committee asked people to write about personal stories or coverage of book bans. Payne chose to focus on a topic that was close to their heart.
“Book bans are a huge thing that’s going on right now, and it’s a terrible thing,” they said.
Payne went on to say, “I just wanted to do a general overview of how to help libraries because we can read all the bad news we want, but that doesn’t mean we’re helping anybody. So, I kind of did a call to action, sharing the little things you can do. So, that is what my little zine is about.”
Payne submitted their zine, and it was accepted. During the week of ALA, their zine was displayed alongside similar projects at GNCRT’s booth. This was a great opportunity for Payne’s work to be seen by people from around the country, including authors, publishers, educators, and librarians.
Smith said, “I volunteered at the GNCRT booth where the zines were being displayed and distributed in the exhibit hall; we quickly ran out of copies of Brandi’s comic because it was so popular.”
“I think it’s awesome,” Payne said. “It shows a combination of my two interests. Nonfiction work is kind of rare for me, but advocacy work isn’t. So, it was a really nice unison of the two. I would like to do more work like this in the future because uniting libraries and literature is fun.”
Payne aims to inspire others with their work but also longs for a day when this specific zine may be obsolete.
“For myself, I hope to continue working in youth services. Honestly, I hope that in the future, we won’t need that zine anymore, and we won’t have to worry so much about libraries being under fire or books being banned. It’s especially troubling that it’s queer books and books about people and authors of color that are under attack. So, hopefully, we won’t need it anymore.” they said.
You can read and print your own copy of Payne’s zine below.
MSIS Student’s Work Showcased at ALA: First Step Towards Becoming a Published Graphic Novelist written by Kristen Gallant and originally published on the College of Communication & Information site.