More About the List and Website

What is this, and why is it here?
Why is it hosted at Angelfire, where's its dot-com?
Why isn't it flashy and glitzy?
... And this Color Scheme!
What are Finders, Senior Members (and what about the rest of us?)
Who's this "Steve" guy, anyway?.

What is this, and why is it here?
For those that have followed my Internet activities, you know that I am Steve Miller, creator of two email discussion groups for librarians (GNLIB-L and TAGAD-L).  I strongly feel that the sharing of ideas is more important than profiteering. The two professional listservs I began in 1999 are offered free of charge as a resource to all educators and librarians worldwide, through Topica, a web-based provider of discussion groups. 
    The time has now come for me to focus on creating a web presence for these lists. Beginning with GNLIB, I will be working on FAQs, Links, and Archives to guide both new and experienced GNLIBbers to the best and most authoritative collection development resources available. (Learn more about how this site got started.)
    The Teen Advisory Group-Advisor's Discussion (TAGAD-L) list, GNLIB's sister-list,  may also have a site in the future.

Why is it at Angelfire?
I chose to have this site hosted at Angelfire because a) its free, b) I'm familiar with its webpage design interface. Why doesn't it have a dot-com? Website names cost upwards of $100 to register. As the developer of these resources, I don't ask for money from the subscribers, nor do I expect anyone to contribute more information than they wish. Should my career change and I have more money and time to dedicate to my professional development hobbies, I will certainly be improving the site. For the time being, however, I am content to use the net as it was first intended: as a forum for the exchange of information and ideas. And that, my friend, should never come with a high price tag.

Why isn't all flashy and glitzy?  
Using Angelfire's web interface, I prefer to draft the pages in raw HTML (eh, call me a purist). Adding Java, Shockwave, and all the bells and whistles takes much more time and effort. I prefer to focus on content. Go back into your stacks. How many encyclopedias make beep-beep noises and flash pictures at you? As I said earlier, I'm a-workin' on it. For now, content-first. 
    Addendum:  I changed my mind.  HTML is irritating.  Angelfire supports MS Frontpage, so I switched to that.  Content is still first, though.
    Speaking of content, yet another reason for my using Angelfire is the ease of deploying forms and surveys.  With my personal ISP, these relatively simple operations are more complicated.  Angelfire makes it (almost) point and click.

Why did you choose this style?
I chose to style these pages in black-and-white with splashes of color because that is how many of today's graphic novels present themselves to the world.  Comic books are flooded with color, while graphic novels often showcase the artist's style with grey-scale and black-and-white artwork, rather than with color .  To represent all aspects of graphic novels, not only the popular genres, I configured this site to use color as an accent, keeping the bulk of the material in "newspaper comic strip" black and white.  Also, this simple style presents itself equally well to almost all netizens.  At this point in time, I hope to never have to resort to Flash or Java to get anyone's attention.

What are Finders, Senior Members (and what about the rest of us?)
In the first few days of GNLIB-OTW, I realized that the members who have contributed the most should be recognized before the group.  "Finders" are senior members who have been with the group since its inception in 1999 and are still active participants.  The "senior member" category is, initially, only these 12 Finders.  As of April, 2002, only the 12 Finders are permitted to label themselves as "Senior Member, GNLIB."  These Senior Members may be found in the Finder's Gallery.
    As the site grows, I plan to include a recognition category for 'Prolific Posting" (for those that are very active in the group, yet joined after 1999 - auto-responders need not apply).  Other types of recognition on the website may be included later. 

Who's this "Steve" guy, anyway?
Steve Miller, a YA librarian from Ohio, created the Graphic Novels in Libraries List (GNLIB-L) and Teen Advisory Group-Advisor's Discussion List (TAGAD-L) in 1999.  These email discussion groups were inspired by necessity.  Charged with implementing two new trends in public library service, he researched and scoured the journals and web, trying to find as much cogent information on graphic novel collection development guidelines, and "how in the world do you wrangle a teen group?"  Figuring he might not be the only person having difficulty, he chose to create these lists to network professionals from around the globe.  In 2002, these lists each have over 300 members, some from as far away as New Zealand and England, and some professionals as close as your neighborhood comic store or library book vendor.
    Other than that, Steve entertains himself outside of work with various freelance writing projects, workshop presentations, and the editing of newsletters for various organizations.  He has a loving wife, a robotic dog, and a stuffed lemur; all of which he loves, in about that particular order.  In his copious spare time, he has been known to stage manage (and act in) community theater, but this could simply be a rumor spread by people who say he actually has spare time.

In Closing
Enjoy GNLIB-On-The-Web as site as it grows.
Steve Miller, List Owner
GNLIB-L, TAGAD-L.

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