Forum - View topicNEWS: Suburban LA County Pulls Manga Textbook
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Abarenbo Shogun
 Posts: 1573 |
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[Insert steriotype here.] On the subject, I've seen that book in the art section of Borders numerous times. Maybe it was just misplaced with the other manga by accident? |
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Romuska
 Subscriber Posts: 799 |
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Hmm. People bitching about getting something removed from shelves because no one wants to be responsible for their kids seeing it even though they shouldn't be seeing it in the first place, sounds familiar. Hot Coffee anyone?
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CCSYueh
 Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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I second the LA comment-does San Berdo even connect to LA co? I know Orange is in between. All SoCal isn't LA &, having grown up in San Berdo, I can tell you it's not LA. I always took a bit of pride in the World Book Encyclopedia's claim it was the largest co. land-mass-wize in the United States, but the mentality is more rural than LA. Growing up in the '60's there, we could hop in the car & drive 10 minutes to the big dept store, but our neighbor on the one side had sheep & the neighbor behind had a horse. Orange Co is more of an LA feel than San Berdo, but I could see Orange doing the same thing. I can see it happening in certain parts of San Diego Co(East Co.) A lot of SoCal counties are pretty conservative. I remember a book I have (Witches) being pulled by Oceanside school district from their libraries in the '90's.
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SekiGatha
 Posts: 128 Location: Syracuse, NY |
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I have this book and, for those who don't know, it does have manga that are hentai or ecchi-filled. The book should have been in a more reserved collection, not for the majority of the public.
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LeoKnight25
 Posts: 319 Location: Puyallup, WA |
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It seems to me that this banning of the book is just another excuse for a parent to not have to bother parenting. People like this make me sick, thinking that they're the only ones in the world and because it offends them, it most certainly must offend everyone else. This suburban soccer mom mindset is really starting to piss me off. Censorship sucks, no other easier way to say it and it's these ultra-conservative idiots like the guy who had it removed that really brings everyone else down. I really hate people who love to stir up controversy when there is none. Someone should ban them from speaking. God forbid anyone should learn something outside of what our schools are teaching kids nowadays, which isn't a whole helluva lot. It's no wonder there is so much crap happening in the world today, because people can't be bothered to see anything than what's already in front of their faces. A little culture never hurt anyone. Is there a link or something with the government official's e-mail or anything? I'd like to express MY concern over this foolish act of censorship.
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Storybook
Posts: 2 |
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As a public librarian who reads manga, I think the thing that sticks out the most about this situation is the fact that it appears that the County Supervisor, NOT a librarian, has been the one to make the decision to remove the book. And from the press release, it doesn't look like the San Bernadino County Library System has a policy in place to deal with patron censorship challenges. Which, in my view, is a serious oversight. I consider myself a fairly liberal person, but as a librarian, I am dedicated to providing a variety of viewpoints, even if I don't agree (just how many Ann Coulter books did I order for the library?!). Librarians self-censor everyday in selection--usually by deciding NOT to purchase a particular book for our community. But once we select it, we're passionate about why we've selected it for our particular library.
Most public libraries have a policy and procedure in place to review and handle challenges to library materials, where the review usually starts with the Head Librarian or Director (in my experience). We review the item, find reviews from respected review journals like Library Journal, Booklist, etc. that give an opinion on the material's suitability for a library, and why they should have it. Then the material is reviewed for its content, taking into consideration the material, the community, the book's INTENDED audience, and cataloging & placement of material. If we removed every book a patron complained about, we would be left with 1 book only... And even that one someone would find offensive... I did see if my library owned Gravett's book--my branch has a copy, and so does our main library. The book is cataloged in the 741's, which is art and drawing, etc., in the adult section. While it is not wildly popular, each copy we own has circulated 7 times (no patron records!! don't worry that I have patron circulation records--I don't!), since we purchased them mid-2005. I checked the Library Journal review of the book, from Jan. 05. The review states: "This oversized volume ... [discusses] the form's ancestors in earlier Japanese art, the post-World War II manga boom ... and manga's immense popularity with readers of all ages in Japan. ...it surveys the great variety of manga: fantasies, true-to-life romance, science fiction, sports stories, horror, comedy, and many other genres, plus nonfiction on topics ranging from economics to sex. Over half the book is taken up with artwork, including many striking full-color illustrations and over 100 excerpts from a wide range of manga stories-some in English translation, but many still in Japanese. ... With some explicit sex and gore, this is suitable for adult collections, and with American enthusiasm for manga still going strong, it is an important purchase for most libraries" So, our copy is in the ADULT non-fiction section, under art. Kids would have to consciously look for it. It's not with the Young Adult graphic novels. It was highly recommended by the LJ review, with the warning that it did have some explicit sex and gore. I did take a second look at the book, and yeah, there is some graphic content (whoa! okay), but that's not the entire focus of the book--it's one particular chaper. But I think we have to remember that Gravett's book isn't a "pretty art book" for teens to browse, but a more scholarly research approach to the history of Japanese manga, and its culture, in ALL ITS FORMS (including the erotic/pornographic). The book's intended audience is not children, or not even teens! And like the previous poster who brought up the "Unshelved" comic about parents' responsibilities in choosing materials for them at the library--that's exactly my view! Librarians provide access to material (with in reason--we're not purveyors of porn here, people!), we're not your kids' babysitters, and we're here to provide access to a balanced collection that gives many different viewpoints (eventhough it may not be the librarian's personal feelings or your viewpoint). THAT'S our job. If someone comes in and objects to Gravett's book, they fill out the "Reconsideration of Library Materials" form, the Director reviews it, makes a decision, if the patron still objects, it goes to the Library Board. But until that happens here, I think the book has merit and value for a large library collection, so I'm keeping it on the shelf. Its not for everyone, or for every community--its not for kids, or probably even teens. But a facinating historical survey of manga in all its incarnations, in an adult research collection, the book is valuable. Ok, that was really long. Sorry. But a librarian and a manga-reader, I was compelled to write. Censorship bugs me, so when I something like this situation, where the justification and method is sooo wrong, hasty, and uneducated, I have to reply. (This is longer than anyone wanted to read probably...  )
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GSAttack
 Posts: 20 |
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I'm not sure pulling the book from libraries was the most appropriate solution. As it has been stated in this thread parents need to stop using tactics such as this in order to do the job they are unwilling to do. We don't need censorship and banning of material to monitor what children have access to, we need parents who are willing to spend more time being parents (I can say this because I am a parent and I wouldn't let my son check this book out but I have no problem with it being in the library).
I am surprised that no one here pointed out the disturbing final comment made in that article: “We have a responsibility to protect our children and this type of material should not be so easily accessible. We also need to take a closer look at what kind of material is appropriate to be purchased with taxpayer dollars." I guess from his point of view, "freedom" is no longer part of the United States vocabulary. |
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hikaru004
 Posts: 2306 |
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Is this an election year for Bill Postmus? He can probably get alot of mileage out of this one by being portrayed as pro-family values etc.
The book was in the adult section according to the articles in this thread. Does the book contain a warning label about possible adult content? It seems to me that the kid didn't think that it would contain adult content and got shocked. I think that the mother over-reacted, but she did describe herself as a devout Christian. She prob wasn't expecting that type of content in a library either. She prob viewed the library as a safe place for her kid. Parents can't be everywhere to protect their kids. Instead of restricting library material, posting age guidelines for the library sections in big print and/or educating the community about types of material in the adult section could be an option. Her kid shouldn't have wandered into the adult section and checked out that book. He should take some responsibility for this situation. |
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Lady_Sabine
Posts: 1 Location: Texas |
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Hate to sound like a conspiricy theorist (especially on my first post to this forum), but this smells like setup.
For one thing, it's like Storybook said-if it were shelved in the adult section, someone would have to actively look for it. It's also that no proper chain of complaint was followed. As if the boy who found it told his mum about one SMALL part of the book, which in turn had her telling her good buddy the county supervisor about it, who then had it pulled. Sounds orchestrated when you think about it. But even if it was misplaced into the graphic novels, you have to ask how it got there. A book that wide would be able to clearly display the call number, and even novice library volunteers can put things in numerical order. You don't even have to know the system. Besides, once you think about it, Sex is a part of Life, because (and as disturbing to some people as this may be) if someone didn't do it, you wouldn't be reading this. |
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Treeloot
Posts: 140 |
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Most art books don't involve girls having sex with dragons or snakes like this book did. |
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mlund
Posts: 60 |
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Well, there was definitely something stupid done here. It was an adult Graphics + Art book tossed in with "kids comics." That sort of stuff will cause you trouble and it is evidence of ignorance or negligence on the job. They've got a right to be upset because the job wasn't done right.
Taking it out of the library entirely? That's just grandstanding. As to the notion of freedom, people are still free to buy that book - but the idea of what will and will not be bought with tax-payer money ultimately rests in the hands of the democratic process. The is no constitutional right to free manga or porn in your library. There's tons of books you can't get in a library, typically due to low exposure or low demand. If you don't like the decisions made in what the library spends your tax dollars on, you vote someone who will think differently into office. If the majority of voters disagree with you, you have to lump it and buy the book yourself / borrow it from someone / find a library that does carry it. That's democracy in action. Oy, but try not to put books that include pictures of people having sex with dragons and squirrels in library sections catering to minors next time, eh? Then we won't have excuses for this sort of hyper-reactionary pandering. - Marty Lund |
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Teapot
Posts: 2 |
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It's funny how banning the book has spurred so many people to look for it and read it.
It seems like there are a whole bunch of better ways for this guy to handle the problem besides outright censorship, because I think we all proved that censorship doesn't work. From my experiences it's this kind of knee-jerk reaction that screws things up for responsible people who might be actually using the book for legitimate reasons, and ruins things for manga enthusiasts in general. |
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HitokiriShadow
 Posts: 6251 |
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But it WAS in the adult section. It was NOT mixed in with the rest of the manga/graphic novels or in the young adult section. |
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tlsmith1963
Posts: 100 |
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Oh, give me a break! I have the book. Yes there are some pictures that could be deemed offensive, but it's not the entire book! If the entire book were about hentai I wouldn't own it.
Tammy |
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.Sy
Posts: 1266 |
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I believe my local library branch has it. The book contains some history about hentai and depicts scaled down pages from such titles, but it's (the book) really for historical purposes. *sigh* I would be really dissapointed if my local branch did the same, because if I'm looking for a book with something innapropriate for children but I happen to need it for research, man, that would stink. Just don't get have it on a shelf in the first place; I don't believe libraries "blind buy" books. It's not a book for pornography purposes, jeez. Unfortunate, but hey, go online and find some other place to get it if it's really so important.
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