This Wednesday, the American Library Association is offering a great opportunity for librarians who are looking to expand or strengthen their graphic novel collections. The 90-minute online ALA Editions Workshop, titled What You Need to Know About Graphic Novels and…
Author: Maren Williams
Chicago Public Schools Reassign Librarians, Endanger Freedom to Read
When Chicago Public Schools administrators abruptly decided last year that Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis was not appropriate for some students, the directive to ban it initially went to school librarians. But instead of following the order, some of the librarians quickly…
Toon Graphics Advocates for Comics in the Classroom
Last week the New York Times made a discovery: teachers are using comics in the classroom. Of course this was not news to us at CBLDF, as we’ve been touting the learning and literacy benefits of comics for a while…
Indian State Allows Pre-Emptive Arrest for Online Obscenity, Copyright Violations
In the state of Karnataka in southern India, Minority Report has come true. Actually, the state’s so-called Goondas Act — an umbrella law covering offenses from bootlegging to gambling — has long allowed police to put habitual offenders in “preventive…
Tell Us About Your Banned Books Week Plans!
Banned Books Week 2014 is coming up in less than a month, and this year the focus is on comics and graphic novels! As a sponsor of the annual week celebrating the freedom to read, CBLDF wants to hear from…
Texas Minister Wants Vampire Books Banned From Library
A minister in the small Texas town of Cleveland is spearheading a petition drive to have 75 books that he labels “demonic” removed from the Young Adult section of the local public library. Pastor Phillip Missick of King of Saints Tabernacle…
Pensacola Teacher Will Not Lose Job Over Little Brother
The past few months have seen a veritable flurry of challenges to books that were assigned to students as summer reading, but it all kicked off in the first week of June with a Pensacola principal’s unilateral cancellation of a…
Pop Culture Hound Podcast Features CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein
While in London for the Comica Festival, CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein also found time to give a podcast interview to Chris Thompson of Pop Culture Hound. Thompson says of the 54-minute episode: Charles & I discuss his background in…
Waukesha Rejects Challenges to Two More Books
Last month when a school review committee in Waukesha, Wisconsin unanimously rejected a challenge to John Green’s Looking for Alaska, the positive outcome was somewhat tempered by the news that two further books had been challenged in the same school…
Institutions Quick to Censor Public Art They Commissioned
Everyone knows that art is not always pretty or positive. Its purpose often is to comment on the surrounding world, causing viewers to reflect on society and their own preconceived notions. But particularly in the United States it seems, disruptive…