2024 marks the 40th anniversary of this annual awareness campaign that is dedicated to reminding Canadians of their right to freedom of expression and pushes back against censorship in all forms. As of this year, Freedom to Read Week is presented as a collaboration between Library and Archives Canada, the Canadian Urban Libraries Council, the Ontario Library Association, and the Book and Periodical Council.
Intellectual freedom
Why are we encouraging you to exercise your freedom to read? Because libraries worldwide hold a fundamental value of intellectual freedom! The British Columbia Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee defines this as “the right to read, view, hear, express, and discuss any idea on any subject.”
And it’s not just something we value; it is part of a series of rights identified and protected in both the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.
Challenges and censorship
In the past few years, the number of book challenges libraries across North America have seen is on a dramatic rise (a challenge is when someone follows the official process to request that a book or other piece of media is removed from a library’s collection, or access to it for certain people is restricted). The American Library Association reported 2022 as the year with the highest number of recorded challenges in the 20 years they have been tracking the data – 2023 showed a further 20% increase in the number of unique titles challenged.
While libraries expect a certain number of challenges each year – it is a process in place to allow our community members’ voices to be heard when they are not satisfied with a conversation with staff about the kinds of materials we stock after all – this rise in challenges reflects a troubling trend of coordinated efforts by groups seeking to censor or suppress information about the experiences and perspectives of certain people. By a large margin, most of the titles that are being challenged are created by, about, and for 2SLGBTQIA+ and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of colour) people.
As libraries, we have a responsibility to maintain diverse collections that represent the people in our communities and provide them with windows into the lives and experiences of people who are different from them. In this way we aim to create opportunities for connection, empathy, and understanding. We recognize the uniqueness of all our patrons, and respect everyone’s individual right to decide what materials they want to engage with. This is why we celebrate things like Freedom to Read Week, which share with our patrons our commitment to pushing back against censorship and protecting your right to choose for yourself!
