“This is a dangerous time for readers and the public servants who provide access to reading materials. Readers, particularly students, are losing access to critical information, and librarians and teachers are under attack for doing their jobs.”
–Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom
Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read, and this year, that freedom continues to be challenged in communities across the country and around the world.
At LibraryPass, we believe that the comics medium offers a unique opportunity to engage readers of all abilities, ages, and interests. Comics can entertain us with dynamic stories set in every imaginable genre; introduce us to other cultures and perspectives; or let us see our own lives mirrored in visual form.
They can also help foster empathy for self and others by providing immersive perspectives on relatable situations.
Unfortunately, because it’s a visual medium, comics are also very easy to take out of context and have been a focal point of the surge in book challenges that schools and libraries have been facing in recent years. The most commonly challenged titles tend to be by or about members of historically marginalized communities, or “controversial” topics like the Holocaust and acknowledging the existence of LGBTQIA people.
Some communities have seen local or state legislation passed that effectively prevents young readers from having access to libraries at all, while others passively succumb to pressure and practice soft censorship by not adding books that may be potentially controversial, for fear of losing heir jobs, or worse.
Libraries have a unique responsibility in the United States to introduce all citizens to the world of information, which includes relevant, balanced, and diverse collections that represent all reasonable points of view. We believe such a policy fosters critical thinking and enables empathy — key components to a virtuous citizenry.
As such, LibraryPass partners with a range of publishers to provide equitable, unlimited access to a broad and deep selection of comics, manga, and picture books through Comics Plus, and we purposefully curate materials that offer diverse viewpoints for readers of all ages to enjoy.
Our collection development policy focuses on providing a broad choice of materials to meet the informational, educational, cultural, and recreational needs of readers in schools and libraries, while applying consistent age-appropriate guidelines across our overall collection to support librarians and educators’ varied needs.
We also understand that providing age-appropriate materials is a primary concern for librarians, educators, and parents alike, and more importantly, appropriateness can often be a subjective judgment that is different in every school, library system, and community. We want to be a partner that librarians, parents, and readers can trust, and this is why our staff includes experienced librarians, teachers, and publishing industry professionals — all committed to supporting libraries’ shared mission to offer relevant, balanced, and diverse collections to their communities.
At LibraryPass, we believe in the power of libraries, and we believe in the power of comics. We stand with librarians in the ongoing battle against book challenges — not just for one week each year, but for whenever and wherever such challenges arise.
We curate high-interest, immersive digital content that helps schools and libraries expand and diversify their collections—without breaking their materials budgets.
