Customer story

Indeed, manga, Japanese comics intended for a Japanese audience, has become globally popular in recent years. There are manga series for readers of all ages and interests, and maintaining a collection that meets demand can be challenging.

“There are many volumes in each manga series,” says Bajnath. “They need to be read in order, so when someone borrows a volume, everyone else reading that series may have to wait weeks to continue. And though our patrons were impressed with our collection, we could not offer all the series they wanted to read.”

A digital solution

As a Digital Collections Specialist, Bajnath went looking for a digital solution. Like all libraries in Holland, Rotterdam’s eBook and eAudiobook collection is provided by The Royal Library of the Netherlands. Graphic novels and manga aren’t available through the Royal Library, but Bajnath had a budget she could use to fill the gap. She’d seen promotions for Comics Plus, a digital comics platform, and been impressed with their partnership with Bibliotheca.

“I’ve had problems in the past with other vendors who offer digital content but don’t specialize in libraries. Making digital content available in libraries through a company that has no library experience is very difficult. You want to make it really easy for patrons to access what they want only with a membership card,” she says. “Since Comics Plus was offered by Bibliotheca, a company specializing in libraries, I was intrigued and decided to give it a try.”

With a Comics Plus subscription, libraries can offer readers unlimited, simultaneous access to 20,000+ digital comics, graphic novels, and manga. The constantly growing catalogue offers something for readers of every age and eliminates hold lists, waiting time, and budgetary surprises.

Though Dutch is the national language of The Netherlands, ninety percent of the population is proficient in English, making Comics Plus’s primarily English-language collection a good fit for Rotterdam. However, as the library was the first in the region to implement the solution, there were initial challenges with GDPR. Working in close partnership with Bibliotheca, the library was able to find a solution – ensuring that Comics Plus can meet GDRP regulations going forward.

Rotterdam Library rolled out Comics Plus slowly. They began with a soft launch in the first months of 2023 and officially introduced the collection in May. Since the launch, patrons have already read nearly 900 books. Bajnath expects that number to grow substantially as the library increases marketing and works with local manga enthusiasts to spread the word about Comics Plus.

“We plan to maintain our physical collection because it shows our patrons that we are answering their call for a manga collection,” says Bajnath. “But we also use the physical collection to guide readers to Comics Plus. We have a sign there in the library by the manga collection that says if you want to find more manga and graphic novels, you can scan this QR code and then be able to use Comics Plus.”

“The combination of physical and digital manga is really good,” she says. “We were excited to try Comics Plus, experience it ourselves, and see if it met demand, and I’m so glad it’s worked out.”