Transcript:
Page 1:
Panel 1: An inset panel with a small figure shrugging their shoulders and asking “What even is a library?” the panel continues showing a library showcasing multiple types of people in a library including a mother with her son, and a librarian reading a book with a young girl. The caption reads “Libraries are societal staples that in recent years have faded into the background, ridiculed in pop culture as abandoned sanctuaries of knowledge untouched in a digital age.”
Panel 2: Shows another scene from a library with a table of children sitting around talking, while a librarian smiles in the foreground “But unlike their media depictions, libraries have continued to serve as adaptable community spaces.”
Panel 3: Shows a series of multi-colored books with an inset circular panel with a little girl going “Wowie”
Panel 4: Two hands reach out to take a book that the other hand is offering. “ If you enter any library in Chicago, most host creative activities and provide a multitude of resources.”
Panel 5: “LIKE: Warming/Cooling Centers, Homework Help, and Accessible Tech” Each resource is depicted in an inset panel.
Panel 6: Two students standing outside a library ask, “What about the John M. Flaxman Library’s resources?” A series of open books reads, “Scanners/Video Playback,” “Study Rooms,” “Lightboxes,” and “Private Collections.” “Here at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, libraries also provide invaluable resources for students, like the I-Share program. I-Share allows students access to journals, books, and media from participating universities.”
Panel 7: Shows a depiction of the Gerber Hart Library
Panel 8: This panel is shaped like the Harold Washington Library. Inside, it reads, “ And with the Harold Washington Library down the street, accessibility of information is never in question.”
Panel 9: Shows a depiction of the outside of SAICS Sharp Building, the caption reads “Flaxman”
Panel 10: A circular panel shows a depiction of Melissa Kasynzski a local Chicago Public librarian she’s quoted saying “ A Library is a space that belongs to a community, it’s access for everyone. It’s a librarian’s rule to meet the needs of the people…libraries have learned to adapt and will continue to!”
Panel 11: Shows two students enjoying a book together, with the two different types of potential library cards a Chicago Public Library card and an SAIC ID depicted below. “All of these resources and knowledge are available at the fingertips of the student body so much so that it’s easy to take for granted the privilege of possessing this kind of information in our current political climate.”
Page 2:
Panel 1: “In the last several years, books have been under attack by increasingly hostile, limited perspectives on the importance of reading material that includes race, religion, gender, class, and sexuality.” The panel depicts a student checking their phone to look at the news while their friend smiles at them as they head into school. An American flag is in the foreground.
Panel 2: “Book banning has swept the nation. This continued political censorship has not only impacted students but also libraries and their ability to function as institutions of the community. According to the American Library Association, there have been: 414 attempts to censor library materials”
Panel 3: Shows a Librarian sitting at a desk informing a student she says “I’m sorry; you need an ID for this book…”
Panel 4: States there have been “1,128” unique titles targeted for censorship.
Panel 5: “The integrity of Librarians is also under scrutiny with threats of imprisonment for potential distribution of titles that have claimed pornographic content.” The panel shows two figures looking at three banned book titles “Maus” “Gender Queer” and “The Bluest Eyes”
Panel 6: Shows a little girl asking “Are any books NOT banned?”
Panel 7: A little girl looking back, wearing a backpack with pieces of paper slipping out that have been banned.
Panel 8: A visual depiction of Idaho “As recently as May 2024, a library in Idaho has become 18+ in an attempt to fight book banning. But has lost its ability to serve its community. And now with Trump’s inauguration and Project 2025’s proposed attack on educational institutions, the importance of libraries and the significance of disappearing information is more apparent than ever”
Panel 9: Shows the federal government symbol with a dramatic decrease in federal funding being sent to a public library symbol.
Panel 10: Shows someone holding a close-up of a library card while a group of people cheer them on “There may be a desire to dismiss libraries as relics, but now more than ever we need to reflect on how libraries and librarians have worked to protect and inform the public during a time of political ignorance. So go to your local library, see what resources they have, get a library card, and say thank you to librarians.”
