Throughout November, the American Library Association presents “Intellectual Freedom Across the Globe,” a series of online learning opportunities focused on intellectual freedom issues. CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein will be participating on November 9, during a webinar on comics and manga censorship around the globe, and you can join in!
More details in the official press release:
Access to comic books, graphic novels, and manga is an increasingly hot topic in the library, creative, and free speech communities. For libraries and other distributors, there are issues of why and how to collect and make available these materials, and how to handle challenges (including legal and policy challenges). Creators need to know what support is out there if their materials are under attack, and how these attacks manifest themselves. Free speech advocates are interested in how their support of basic principles of access to information applies to these materials.
To kick off our “Intellectual Freedom across the Globe” webinar series, OIF and IFLA FAIFE are pleased to present “Comics, Graphic Novels, Manga, and Libraries,” a one-hour look at how censorship affects comics around the world. This webinar will discuss the history of comic book censorship, and highlight some of the current issues facing libraries and content creators around the globe, including a spotlight on Tokyo’s recent law affecting manga. There will also be an overview of policies and best practices related to comic books, graphic novels, and manga in libraries.
Date: Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Time: 9:00 a.m. Central Standard Time, 1500 GMT
Cost: $30 USD – ALA members/members of IFLA institutional members; $35 USD – General attendees
Note: There will be a small number of free spaces for participants who otherwise could not afford to participate. To learn more about this opportunity, please contact Jonathan Kelley at jokelley@ala.org. Archived recordings of all “Intellectual Freedom across the Globe” webinars will be available for sale one month after the live events.
For more information and to register, visit http://www.ala.org/ala/onlinelearning/issues/classes/comics_and_libraries.cfm. For information about the webinar series, visit http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/oifprograms/webinars/index.cfm.
Charles Brownstein is the Executive Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit organization defending the First Amendment rights of comics and graphic novels since 1986. Since joining the organization in 2002, Brownstein has overseen the CBLDF’s successful management of several First Amendment cases, including a notable win in Georgia v. Gordon Lee. Most recently, the organization’s work has been cited by U.S. Supreme Court in the majority decision in Brown v. EMA. Brownstein also writes extensively about comics; his publications include the award winning books Eisner/Miller and The Oddly Compelling Art of Denis Kitchen.
Yasuyo Inoue is Professor on Librarianship and School Librarianship courses at Economics and Business department of Dokkyo University, Japan. She is currently a member of IFLA’s Committee on Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression, and has been a member of the Japan Library Association’s Committee on Intellectual Freedom since 1990. She has written on such topics as “Manga as a study aid at school libraries” and children and young adult services in Japanese libraries.
Angela Maycock is Assistant Director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association. She provides guidance and support to librarians, teachers and others on the application of ALA’s intellectual freedom policies and the First Amendment in specific situations involving materials challenges and confidentiality in the library. She also undertakes projects to educate librarians and the general public about intellectual freedom issues.