Comic book collecting is a hobby that treats comic books an related items as collectibles or artwork to be sought after and preserved. Though considerably more recent than the collecting of postage stamps (philately) or books (bibliophilia), it has a major following around the world today and is partially responsible for the increased interest in comics after the temporary slump experienced during the 1980s. Among comics fandom, the collecting of comics and the study of comics as a medium and an artform are sometimes referred to (individually or collectively) as panelology.