The Cartoon Library began in 1977 when the Milton Caniff Collection was donated to Ohio State and delivered to the School of Journalism, which was headed by Lucy Shelton Caswell, who became the Milton Caniff Reading Room first curator.
Interviewed by Matt Tauber, Caswell detailed the museum's origins and how she became involved:
Caniff loved his university very much and truly believed that without the education he got here, he would not have achieved the things that he did.
So, his sense of gratitude to the university was palpable... Somebody had to be responsible to make sure it was all there, and all the boxes had my name on it.
When funding was made available to work on Caniff, I was offered a six-month appointment.
I’ve been here ever since.
The original collection was housed in the Journalism building.
When I started working with it, we were in two classrooms that had been converted, a door cut between them, so that one was a reading room and one was a storage area... At the time that I started, there weren’t really the kinds of resources to teach and learn about comics that we have now.
So, I basically had to make it up as we went along.
There just wasn’t anything else out there.
As a good librarian and scholar, I started writing around to other places that said they had cartoon collections to see how they did things, because you don’t want to reinvent the wheel if somebody’s already figured it out.
It turned out that nobody had the kind of thing that we had in the Caniff collection, i.e. so extensive, and the combination of art and manuscript materials.
And nobody else was trying to grow it the way we were.

From two classrooms off the back hallway of the Journalism Building in 1977, the collection expanded to three classrooms and became part of the University Libraries.
By 1989, the three classrooms were filled, and the library moved into a larger space, eventually requiring the use of off-site storage as the collection continued to expand. (
At that point, the facility was named the Cartoon Research Library.)

In 1992, United Media donated the Robert Roy Metz Collection of 83,034 original cartoons by 113 cartoonists.

In 1998, the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art Collection was acquired from its director, Bill Blackbeard, giving the library the largest collection of newspaper comic-strip tear sheets and clippings in the world.
Six semitrailer trucks transported this collection from California to Ohio.

In 2007, King Features Syndicate donated its proof-sheet collection, consisting of over two million strips (a duplicate set was donated to Michigan State University's Comic Art Collection).

In June 2008, the collection of the International Museum of Cartoon Art (more than 200,000 originals with an estimated value of $20 million) was transferred to the Cartoon Library & Museum.
Founded in 1973 by cartoonist Mort Walker, the IMCA collection includes a wide variety of original cartoon art (comic strips, comic books, animation, editorial, advertising, sport, caricature, greeting cards, graphic novels, and illustrations), display figures, toys, and collectibles, plus works on film and tape, CDs, and DVDs.
The 2009 exhibition From Yellow Kid to Conan: American Cartoons from the International Museum of Cartoon Art Collection was held at the Cartoon Library and Museum from June to August.

In September 2009, it was announced that the Ohio State University Board of Trustees approved a new name, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, in recognition of a $7 million gift from an anonymous donor to support the renovation of Sullivant Hall.
The museum was named in honor of William Addison Ireland (1880 – May 29, 1935), a self-taught cartoonist (and native of Chillicothe, Ohio) well known throughout Ohio as Billy Ireland.
A native of Chillicothe, Ohio, Billy Ireland was a self-taught cartoonist who was hired by The Columbus Dispatch shortly after his 1898 high school graduation.
Until his death, Ireland worked in Columbus for the Dispatch, drawing both editorial cartoons and his Sunday feature, The Passing Show.
His work was exhibi
The Cartoon Library began in 1977 when the Milton Caniff Collection was donated to Ohio State and delivered to the School of Journalism, which was headed by Lucy Shelton Caswell, who became the Milton Caniff Reading Room first curator. Interviewed by Matt Tauber, Caswell detailed the museum's origins and how she became involved:
Caniff loved his university very much and truly believed that without the education he got here, he would not have achieved the things that he did. So, his sense of gratitude to the university was palpable... Somebody had to be responsible to make sure it was all there, and all the boxes had my name on it. When funding was made available to work on Caniff, I was offered a six-month appointment. I’ve been here ever since. The original collection was housed in the Journalism building. When I started working with it, we were in two classrooms that had been converted, a door cut between them, so that one was a reading room and one was a storage area... At the time that I started, there weren’t really the kinds of resources to teach and learn about comics that we have now. So, I basically had to make it up as we went along. There just wasn’t anything else out there. As a good librarian and scholar, I started writing around to other places that said they had cartoon collections to see how they did things, because you don’t want to reinvent the wheel if somebody’s already figured it out. It turned out that nobody had the kind of thing that we had in the Caniff collection, i.e. so extensive, and the combination of art and manuscript materials. And nobody else was trying to grow it the way we were.
From two classrooms off the back hallway of the Journalism Building in 1977, the collection expanded to three classrooms and became part of the University Libraries. By 1989, the three classrooms were filled, and the library moved into a larger space, eventually requiring the use of off-site storage as the collection continued to expand. (At that point, the facility was named the Cartoon Research Library.)
In 1992, United Media donated the Robert Roy Metz Collection of 83,034 original cartoons by 113 cartoonists.
In 1998, the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art Collection was acquired from its director, Bill Blackbeard, giving the library the largest collection of newspaper comic-strip tear sheets and clippings in the world. Six semitrailer trucks transported this collection from California to Ohio.
In 2007, King Features Syndicate donated its proof-sheet collection, consisting of over two million strips (a duplicate set was donated to Michigan State University's Comic Art Collection).
In June 2008, the collection of the International Museum of Cartoon Art (more than 200,000 originals with an estimated value of $20 million) was transferred to the Cartoon Library & Museum. Founded in 1973 by cartoonist Mort Walker, the IMCA collection includes a wide variety of original cartoon art (comic strips, comic books, animation, editorial, advertising, sport, caricature, greeting cards, graphic novels, and illustrations), display figures, toys, and collectibles, plus works on film and tape, CDs, and DVDs. The 2009 exhibition From Yellow Kid to Conan: American Cartoons from the International Museum of Cartoon Art Collection was held at the Cartoon Library and Museum from June to August.
In September 2009, it was announced that the Ohio State University Board of Trustees approved a new name, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, in recognition of a $7 million gift from an anonymous donor to support the renovation of Sullivant Hall. The museum was named in honor of William Addison Ireland (1880 – May 29, 1935), a self-taught cartoonist (and native of Chillicothe, Ohio) well known throughout Ohio as Billy Ireland. A native of Chillicothe, Ohio, Billy Ireland was a self-taught cartoonist who was hired by The Columbus Dispatch shortly after his 1898 high school graduation. Until his death, Ireland worked in Columbus for the Dispatch, drawing both editorial cartoons and his Sunday feature, The Passing Show. His work was exhibi
Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum