Kids’ Disinterest In Libraries Has Nothing To Do With A Manga Shortage

Poor Johnny. He would have been a lifelong read, reaching the heights with Shakespeare and Dostoyevsky. But, no. His local school library didn’t have any more graphic novels or manga for him to read. He became disinterested in the printed word. He now baggs groceries for a living.

Such a story might sound patently ridiculous, but that’s exactly what the leftist corporate media want you to think about recent changes in our nation’s libraries. “Schools are struggling to keep their shelves stocked as oversight by parents and school boards intensifies,” A front-page article in The recently stated this. Washington Post. Author Hannah Natanson claims that libraries in Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, and elsewhere are purchasing thousands fewer books, and those innocent students — all of them voracious readers in training — are caught in the middle. 

If the legacy media are to believed, America will soon face a plague of censorship rivaling that described in “Fahrenheit 451.” 

“As Book Bans Soar, Students Are Joining the Fight Against Censorship,” declared Connecticut NBC affiliate “Facing pressure to ban books, suburban libraries’ becoming a battlefield for the First Amendment,’” reported Chicago Sun-Times “Let libraries be libraries, without political meddling,” It is strongly recommended Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Yet scratch the surface of this scaremongering narrative, and you’ll perceive that these claims are not only overblown but deeply misrepresentative of broader trends regarding children’s literacy in the United States.

Do Anime And Manga Inspire More Reading?

“Hurdles to book ordering have emerged across the country,” reported WaPo. It cites a school librarian in Florida’s Monroe County who has not been allowed to purchase books since last year, who said that her district had seen decreased student interest in and demand for books. Circulation is down “dramatically,” WaPo was provided with a list by students, which she stated she had not been able order. The list also includes the following titles: “Dragon Ball, “Dragon Ball Z,” “Pokemon Adventures,” There are many manga and anime that depict Japanese neo-noir science fictional anime, such as “Cowboy Bebop” And “Zom 100.”

The report also quotes John Chrastka, head of the library political action committee EveryLibrary, who warned that hindering librarians’ ability to purchase books would dampen students’ enthusiasm for reading. “We know very clearly from the research that a key driver for individual reading success is self-directed reading when kids pick up a fun new book that interests them.” Ciro Scardina, Brooklyn School Librarian, warned: “No one is going to want to visit the library.”

Forgive me if I’m a bit skeptical that students today demanding anime and manga are tomorrow’s readers Faulkner, Austen and Shakespeare. Experts agree that comics can open doors to more complicated reading. But the data is not encouraging: Adult Americans have a lower reading rate than ever before. Declining This trend has continued for decades. “Kids’ reading rates have been plummeting for years. … The data goes