Collecting UK digital comics: social, cultural and technological factors for cultural institutions

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The research will focus on content policy and the questions that shape the decisions taken by cultural institutions in collecting, building and making UK digital comics collections available. My research will explore the technological challenges, as well as the wider social and cultural factors that influence what libraries decide to collect, how collections are built and then made available. The research will establish the technical, cultural and social factors that influence how libraries can develop collection policy for UK digital comics.My research will begin by examining the form and content of UK digital comics, and identify the different types of digital comics in the contemporary environment. This will include conducting research into definitions for digital and web comics, taking into account the differences between digital comics.The research will analyse how form and features interact with and influence subject matter, and how this reflects social and cultural change as well as exploring practice across difference cultural institutions, including how ethical questions raised by the content of digital comics are resolved. This will involve discovering strategies and rationales for collecting digital comics within institutions.The research will engage with digital comics creators and publishers, as well as with collecting institutions and readers. Aim: to understand the current and future role of technical, cultural and social factors that influence collection policy for digital comics in the UK.