Alberta school boards remove dozens of library books as provincial ban in effect

Alberta’s two biggest school divisions say dozens of library books have been taken off the shelves as the province’s ban on sexually explicit material took effect this week.

Kim Smith, a spokesperson for the Edmonton Public School Board, says 34 titles were removed to comply with the government order. The division doesn’t plan to share the list with the public.

“It’s important to note that the list is not exhaustive; it is a living document that can be adjusted,” Smith said Tuesday, adding that books can be added or removed to the list as seen fit.

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The Calgary Board of Education said 44 titles were removed from its libraries. It also didn’t share a list of the books.

A spokesperson for the public board, Joanne Anderson, said the number reflects a tiny fraction of the division’s overall library collection.

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“We have a total of 3,192,457 items in our library collection, with approximately 700,000 unique titles,” Anderson said.

A spokesperson for the Edmonton Catholic School Division said six books were taken out of its libraries but didn’t say which titles.

The provincial policy, announced in the fall, requires schools to remove books containing explicit images or illustrations of sexual content.

The policy had initially covered books with written descriptions of sexual content, but the province changed it after Edmonton Public Schools said it planned to remove a number of famous books, including Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, in order to comply.

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Premier Danielle Smith and Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said at the time that they had always been more concerned about images and it wasn’t the government’s intention to see classics put out of the reach of students.

“Classic literary works that work to provoke the mind and challenge our thinking are exactly the type of material that should be provided in a school library,” Nicolaides said in September.

As part of the revised policy, school divisions were required to submit a list of books they planned to remove to the education ministry.

Garrett Koehler, the press secretary for Nicolaides, said Tuesday the government had no input on the final lists.

“School boards had the final decision and full discretion on creating the lists based on the ministerial order,” Koehler said in an email.

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The public divisions in Edmonton and Calgary said they also finalized new policies dictating how library materials are to be managed, including how students, parents and community members can request that certain books be reviewed for content issues.

Edmonton Public Schools is to form an internal committee to handle reviews, which would need to be completed within 60 operating days of receiving a request. Its policy also states books under review are to remain available to students until a decision is made.

School principals or designates are to conduct book reviews for the Calgary Board of Education, with additional input from other officials as necessary.

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