In Ottawa, the federal Liberal government’s group of 12 experts whoconsidered ways and means of limiting harms on the internet finished theirmeetings and released their findings this summer. The Expert Advisory Group on Online Safety concluded their 10 meetings onJune 10, 2022, and released their findings on July 8, 2022. The federal Liberal government is …
The Durham District School removed ‘Louis Riel: Le Pays Improbable’ by Andre Leblanc and ‘Sisters of the Wolf’ by Patricia Miller-Schroeder in April 2022, the Toronto Star reports. The DDSB reversed their decision and returned all three texts to shelves later that month. https://www.thestar.com/local-oshawa/news/2022/05/05/along-with-the-great-bear-these-are-the-other-two-books-the-ddsb-pulled-from-school-libraries.html
The DDSB released a statement outlining their decision to return ‘The Great Bear’ to library circulation following discussions with the local Indigenous community. https://www.thestar.com/local-oshawa/news/2022/04/27/the-great-bear-is-back-durham-school-board-returns-david-a-robertson-s-book-to-school-libraries.html
The Durham District School Board (DDSB) has responded to the controversy surrounding their decision to temporarily remove ‘The Great Bear’ by David A. Robertson from their school library collection: https://www.thestar.com/local-oshawa/news/2022/04/18/ddsb-responds-to-criticism-after-book-by-indigenous-author-pulled-from-school-library-shelves.html
In Ontario, the Durham District School Board has withdrawn several books from school libraries, saying they “could be harmful to Indigenous students and families.” One of the books is David A. Robertson’s The Great Bear. Robertson is a Cree author and a two-time winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award. School authorities promise to conduct …
After facing publication pushback from school officials, young Vancouver journalists want a Student Press Freedom Act in BC. https://thetyee.ca/News/2022/03/03/Inside-Student-Newspaper-Battle-Against-Censorship/
PEN America has released a report exploring the alarming rise in school bans in the US: https://pen.org/banned-in-the-usa/
The American Library Association has released their annual list of the most challenged books in the US, along with a report on the state of American libraries: https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2022/04/national-library-week-kicks-state-america-s-libraries-report-annual-top-10
“Every time we ban a book, we eliminate yet more truths, comfortable or otherwise,” writes the Toronto Star Editorial Board in a piece acknowledging Freedom to Read Week 2022. The full editorial can be read here: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2022/02/20/every-time-we-ban-a-book-we-diminish-ourselves.html
“Every book in a library is there because a librarian believes it is worth reading. Unlike the self-appointed censors in Tennessee, my librarians in Kelowna were willing to go the extra length to open doors and share the joy of learning with young people,” writes Barry Rueger. His full opinion for the Globe and Mail …