Posted on 07/07/2010 1:38:38 PM PDT by MissTed
A Japanese serial graphic novel genre popular with young teens has raised the ire of a Crestview mother whose teenage son got hold of an adult version of the genre from the Crestview Public Library.
“Manga” depicts highly stylized adventure and, occasionally, violence in fantasy settings.
Margaret Barbaree, founder of a citizens’ group called Protect Our Children, presented examples from a manga book to the Crestview City Council last week that she described as “graphic” and “shocking,” taken from material she said is “available to children” at the Crestview Public Library.
“My son lost his mind when he found this,” Barbaree said of the manga book from which her examples were taken.
She said her son had removed the book unsupervised from the library’s general stacks last summer and put it in his backpack. She has kept it ever since.
“Now he’s in a home for extensive therapy,” she said.
Several months ago, Barbaree had circulated a petition bearing 226 signatures of citizens protesting the availability of manga, which she mistakenly referred to as “anime,” or Japanese animation.
However, the library said some patrons complained they were misled when they signed the petition.
“They told us she (Barbaree) approached them at the Christmas parade and asked them to sign a petition protesting pornography in the library,” said Resource Librarian Sandra Dreaden.
Barbaree said Library Director Jean Lewis explained to her that there is a demand for manga, and that the library strives to meet the needs of its patrons.
City Council President Charles Baugh Jr. assured Barbaree that “we have safeguards in place to protect our children and we have committees that review library purchases so they meet the standards of the (American) Library Association.”
The books that concerned Barbaree “are in the library for those who wish to partake of them and they are in a section of the library” for adult patrons, said Baugh, who visited the library himself the day after the council meeting and said he found the manga available in the young adult section perfectly innocuous.
“We follow up with our citizens’ concerns,” Baugh said after meeting with library staff and viewing the young adult manga.
Baugh also confirmed that the book Barbaree’s son had taken was in the general stacks well away from the children’s and young adult books.
“Our library is well managed and well staffed,” Baugh told Barbaree while assuring her, “I am a family man and I understand what you are saying.”
Lewis said the manga available in the young adult section of the library is oriented toward young teen readers and does not contain the adult themes of the book Barbaree’s son took. That book had been in the general stacks, on a top shelf in a section with other graphic novels and comic books not geared toward young readers.
“We have policies and procedures in place to prevent underage children from accessing those materials,” Baugh said.
Well, that's where "neighborhood activists" come in : to champion the cause of society's losers of life's lottery. Or, phrased differently, to "share the wealth" and enrich bureaucrats and lawyers; all with additional taxpayer money.
Why not?
This is a tiny permutation of the larger universe, where we support generations of idle welfare families who live the lifestyle depicted in the books in question; and live more comfortably than the lower middle class. So let's not go there.
The enablers are us. Just reflect on the pervert elected members of Congress and go from there.
Oh bunk. It coarsens society and is of no value other than to corrupt morals. No one should be expected to pay for anothers filth.
Just Wow!
What? What does that have to do with persona; opinions on porn?
Don't put words in my mouth. I don't recall attempting to "justify" anything.
I was simply pointing out that it's irrational to dwell on a dripping faucet, when your entire house is leaking barrels of sewage, courtesy of the neighbor upstairs, who is supported by our tax dollars.
There are more transcendental issues.
Just saying.
However, this thread is NOT about "checking books out of the library."
The horror, the horror.
My mistake.
I live on an old dairy farm in NY state.
The fact that other books are taken out of libraries for bad reasons has nothing to do with this story or taking this category of book/novel/comic book out. One has nothing to do with the other. Your brining up the banning of other books is simply a way for you to try to justify your desire to limit people’s access to books that you personally find offensive or a waste of taxpayer dollars, as if that is your decision to make.
As for dwelling, I hadn’t revisited this story in days until you commented on it.
If your local library is missing a book that you think should be in there then buy it and donate it. People do it all the time, and I’d be willing to bet that’s how the manga got into this library. Not every book in the place is bought with taxpayer dollars.
Just saying.
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