The Federal government awarded $313k to Queen’s College to study why some “BIPOC teens” like Japanese comic books.
The money comes from the Institute of Museum and Library Services [IMLS]. The IMLS is run by Crosby Kemper III, who Donald Trump appointed for a four-year term in 2019. He is a former CEO of an investment firm called UMB financial corporation. Then he became the head of the Kansas City, MO, public library system.
We are supposed to believe that this research is vital for helping librarians address the “historically underserved” needs of BIPOCs.
Description of the project:
THE QUEENS COLLEGE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION STUDIES, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MANGA IN LIBRARIES, WILL CONDUCT A THREE-YEAR RESEARCH PROJECT TO UNDERSTAND WHY BIPOC TEENS READ MANGA (JAPANESE COMICS). THIS APPLIED RESEARCH PROJECT IS AT THE INTERSECTION OF TWO LIS ISSUES: THE NEED TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO BIPOC TEENS WHO HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED, AND THE NEED TO ADDRESS THE KNOWLEDGE GAP OF LIBRARIANS WHO ARE UNDERTRAINED/UNFAMILIAR WITH MANGA—THE FASTEST GROWING PRINT MEDIA FORMAT IN THE UNITED STATES. THIS PROJECT WILL: 1) IDENTIFY AND FIND PATTERNS IN THE MANGA SERIES TEENS ARE READING, DOCUMENT THE VISUAL/TEXTUAL LITERACY OF BIPOC TEENS, AND COMPARE THE DATA WITH EARLIER FINDINGS FOR A CONNECTION BETWEEN SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING AND READING MANGA; AND 2) DEVELOP AND DELIVER 12 WORKSHOPS AND ONLINE RESOURCES “IN THEIR OWN VOICES” TO SCHOOL LIBRARIANS, PUBLIC LIBRARIANS, AND PRESERVICE LIBRARIANS ABOUT HOW THEY CAN SUPPORT BIPOC YOUTH.
