The basis of the Novel is summed up by in novel "Statement of Intellectual Freedom" in which the Japan of this novel have passed this ruling, yet watch in horror when the government slowly return to a censored and decidedly pro-militant political climate. Basically a slow return to what led to the Second World War.
Statement of Intellectual Freedom wrote: The background of the plot is based on the Statement on Intellectual Freedom in Libraries that went into effect in Japan in 1954 (amended in 1979), and the terms are a little different from the Freedom of the Library Law that appears in Toshokan Sensō.
The simplified declaration:[3]
It is the most important responsibility of libraries to offer collected materials and library facilities to the people who have the Right to Know as one of their fundamental human rights. In order to fulfill their mission, libraries shall recognize the following matters as their proper duties, and shall put them into practice.
Libraries have freedom in collecting their materials.
Libraries secure the freedom of offering their materials.
Libraries guarantee the privacy of users.
Libraries oppose any type of censorship categorically.
When the freedom of libraries is imperiled, we librarians will work together and devote ourselves to secure the freedom.
In Toshokan Sensō, the fourth chapter of the Freedom of Library Law states:[4]
Libraries have freedom in collecting their materials.
Libraries secure the freedom of offering their materials.
Libraries guarantee the privacy of users.
Libraries oppose any type of improper censorship categorically.
When the freedom of libraries is imperiled, we librarians will work together and devote ourselves to secure the freedom.
The details will be amended anytime according to the Media Betterment Act and its enforcement.
I loved the anime but knew it was a bit lacking, hence my thrill at discovering a translation!Settings wrote:The premise of Toshokan Sensō involves the Japanese government passing the Media Betterment Act (MBA) as law in 1989 which allows the censorship of any media deemed to be potentially harmful to Japanese society by deploying agents in the Media Betterment Committee (MBC) with the mandate to go after individuals and organizations that are trying to exercise the act of conducting freedom of expression activities in the media.[5]Ep 01 However, local governments opposed to the Media Betterment Act establishes armed anti-MBA defense force units to protect libraries from being raided by MBC agents under the Freedom of the Libraries Law.[6] The conflict between MBC agents and library soldiers has continued to 2019, when the story begins.[6] In accordance with the Japanese era calendar scheme, 1989 in Toshokan Sensō is rendered the first year of the fictional Seika (正化?) era, rendering 2019 as Seika 31.[7]
Now this isn't a New project per-say more of a hosting, as it has been translated by a small dedicated group.
I've already approached them, to request permission to host a copy of there translation on the wiki, they have already translated one volume.
You can find their website here:
http://community.livejournal.com/toshosen_tsl/
It's a very disjointed, but still a great read and great translating.
My aim if they grant my permission is paste it on the wiki for a seamless reading experience.
