Industry Eyes On Marshall, Missouri

Except for a poll on the front page of the local paper's web site asking if those reading plan to attend -- at this moment, 74 to 17 against -- there's little in the way of media coverage locally or nationally to suggest tonight's 7 PM meeting of the Marshall Public Library Board of Trustees has become a serious lightning rod of opinion. As reported in comics circles late last week, tonight's meeting is a continuation of last week's hearing on a request by a local citizen to have Alison Bechdel's Fun Home and Craig Thompson's Blankets removed from library shelves. The move has been opposed by organizations such as the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund because of those works' literary value and the slippery slope of censorship that can come with designating non-obscene material as objectionable. Some on-line comics pundits and commentators additionally stress the fact that neither work can exactly be termed a stunning repository of filth, nor does either generally function in the way we expect prurient material to operate.

Noted writer about graphic novels in libraries Stephen Weiner (a librarian himself) sent CR an interesting set of comments about the story:

Thanks very much for reporting on the library controversy in Missouri. It will be interesting to see how the Board of Trustees responds to the complaints. I commend this library for making the issue so public and inviting input. If they do decide to remove the book, though, they might be setting a dangerous precedent for several parts of their collection, not just graphic novels. I'll be interested to see how this one evolves, but at least I believe the process is a good one as opposed to the way the controversy surrounding Paul's Gravett's book, Manga was handled, earlier this year. I should also note that I recommended librarians purchase Blankets in my books, The 101 Best Graphic Novels -- 2nd Edition, along with about half a dozen other reviewers.

I agree with Weiner that the way this is being handled -- a process to request a hearing, a hearing in at least two parts, a vote by local officials after receiving input at these hearings and through letters -- is encouraging from a process standpoint, and much preferred to simply yanking the book at first complaint like is done way too often. In helpfully providing me with background so that I can better understand the town's background in such mattters, a local newspaper editor stressed that this is the first issue of its kind at the library in his memory, and that while issues of state and national importance are debated in towns like Marshall, it's not typical for issues like this one to find their way to the public hearing stage. I hope that Marshall's board comes to an atypical solution, either keeping the books on the shelves as is, or finding a way to have them available that's suitable to their content and the expectation the Marshall community has for comparable literary works.

Related Local Link: such comics works as a sign of moral decay.
 
posted 1:54 am PST | Permalink
 

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