[Publib] "Graphic" novels ...

[charles hobbs]

http://www.pe.com/lifestyles/stories/PE_Fea_Daily_D_comic.graphicnovels.2eccc25.html

When Amy Crump took over as director of the Marshall
Public Library in central Missouri two years ago, she
decided to build up the library's offerings for young
adults by buying the literary world's hot new thing --
graphic novels.

"The bulk of our graphic novels are for young adults
and they're very popular," Crump said, estimating the
library's collection has gone from only a handful to
around 75.

Among the new acquisitions was "Blankets" by Craig
Thompson and "Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic" by Alison
Bechdel, two semi-autobiographical accounts of the
respective authors' turbulent childhoods that include
ruminations on strict religious upbringing and
homosexuality.

The two novels touched off what Crump said was the
first challenge of library materials in Marshall's
16-year history, as parents complained that the books,
which include pictures of a naked couple, could be
read by children, attracted by the comic book-like
drawings.

"My concern does not lie with the content of the
novels. Rather my concern is with the illustrations
and their availability to children and the community,"
said one resident, Louise Mills, during a recent
public hearing reported in the Marshall Democrat-News.
"Does this community want our public library to
continue to use tax dollars to purchase pornography?"

The library board has since removed the two books from
circulation while it develops a policy governing how
it collects materials in the future, a policy that
would determine the novels' eventual fates.
[...]


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com