In Ontario, the Waterloo Region District School Board is reviewing its library collections to identify and remove any texts deemed “harmful to staff and students.”
The review, which is expected to take two or three years, will affect 121 school libraries in seven municipalities, including the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge.
But some parents and school trustees have expressed worries about the possibility of censorship.
School trustee Cindy Watson has formally asked for a report on what the review will look like, who will be involved and what books will be considered.
“We don’t know the process, and I think it’s important to have those conversations in the public,” she said. Parents “don’t want a process that is behind closed doors, where texts are being removed and it’s being decided … what books our students can read.”
REPORTAGE
Philip Drost of CBC News reports:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/book-review-process-1.6244713
In The Record, Johanna Weidner reports:
Library review in Waterloo Region’s public schools has no ‘hidden agenda’ | TheRecord.com
In the National Post, Adrian Humphreys reports:
COMMENTARY
Danielle McLaughlin comments:
What Were They Thinking? | Centre for Free Expression (ryerson.ca)
In The Record, Sharon Wohlgemut writes:
In The Record, Colleen Rose writes:
Censorship has no place in libraries of any kind | TheRecord.com
In The Epoch Times, Michael Zwaagstra comments:
https://www.theepochtimes.com/censorship-is-a-poor-way-to-promote-literacy_4086091.html
In The Record, Joseph Brannan writes:
In The Record, Jay Moore writes:
Freedom of speech, thought are not to be given up lightly | TheRecord.com
In The Record, Brendin Waekens writes:
In The Record, Brenda Klee writes:
In The Record, John Ryrie writes:
Where will censorship end of school library books? | TheRecord.com
BONUS REPORT
In Ontario, the Upper Grand District School Board is reviewing its library collections for materials that may cause harm or trauma in its schools.
In Guelph Today, Anam Khan reports:
https://www.guelphtoday.com/local-news/ugdsb-reviewing-library-catalogue-to-remove-materials-that-may-cause-trauma-or-harm-4709266
News byte courtesy: R. Franklin Carter