Latest news with #LibraryAssociationofAlberta
Calgary Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Library officials, education minister meet over book controversy
A delegation from the Library Association of Alberta met Tuesday morning with provincial Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides, warning that the government is moving into dangerous territory if it dictates what books should be weeded out of school libraries. Article content 'Our key message was that we feel that decisions about what belongs in school libraries and learning commons are best made by trained educators and librarians,' said Laura Winton, past president of the Library Association of Alberta and the organization's lead on this issue. 'Obviously, he's not in agreement with our viewpoint.' Article content Article content Article content In May Nicolaides said the government would be consulting the public about possible standards that could be implemented when it came to books that are available in school libraries. Four books were used as examples of materials that the ministry found objectionable due to their sexually explicit content: Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer, Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, Craig Thompson's Blankets, and Flamer by Mike Curato. The four books that were highlighted by Nicolaides deal with 2SLGBTQIA+ themes. Article content Article content After the education minister made the announcement, conservative Christian Canadian lobby group Action4Canada said that members of its Calgary chapter had met with Nicolaides and had highlighted the four books in question. Nicolaides confirmed he had met with Action4Canada, but said his decision to look at placing standards on what can and can't go in school libraries was based on wider feedback he received from parents. Article content Article content Winton said that if Nicolaides goes through with a ministerial order, which she said was discussed in their meeting, Alberta would be the only province where the government set limits on what goes in school libraries. Article content Article content She said if school libraries are asked to do collection reviews, it will tax a system that is already short-staffed. Article content 'It's really intensive to do a collection review. Weeding is time-intensive and requires trained staff.' Article content Nicolaides said he and the librarians disagreed on many points. Article content 'School boards and parents have been clear, they do not want these types of books on a library shelf where a young student could access them, full stop,' he said in a statement issued Wednesday. 'I'm disappointed the Library Association is advocating against the involvement of parents. Article content 'During my meeting with the Library Association of Alberta, I asked them if they could provide me with evidence-based, peer-reviewed research and literature that defends exposing young students to oral sex, pedophilia, child molestation, self harm and other extremely sexually explicit material. They had no answer and no evidence to back their claims.'
Edmonton Journal
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
Christian conservative group Action4Canada lobbied for review of books in Alberta schools
Article content The president of the Library Association of Alberta believes a Christian lobby group may have played a role in the province's targeting of 'sexually explicit' books found in school libraries. Laura Winton pointed to posts on the Action4Canada website, where the group pats itself on the back for its 'behind the scenes' lobbying of the Alberta government over books its members find objectionable.
Calgary Herald
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Christian conservative group Action4Canada lobbied for review of books in Alberta schools
Article content The president of the Library Association of Alberta believes a Christian lobby group may have played a role in the province's targeting of 'sexually explicit' books found in school libraries. Article content Article content Laura Winton pointed to posts on the Action4Canada website, where the group pats itself on the back for its 'behind the scenes' lobbying of the Alberta government over books its members find objectionable. Article content Article content Winton said that Action4Canada is known to contact librarians across the province over books that the group finds offensive. Article content Article content Earlier this week, Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said the government would be consulting the public in order to create some standards when it comes to explicit material in school libraries. Four books were used as examples of materials that the ministry found objectionable for children: Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer, Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, Craig Thompson's Blankets, and Flamer by Mike Curato. The books deal with 2SLGBTQIA+ themes, and have sexual imagery and language. Article content Tanya Gaw, Action4Canada's founder, said members of her team met with Nicolaides in the fall of 2024. This was confirmed by the education ministry, but both parties differ on the effectiveness of the meeting. Article content Gaw said Action4Canada sent binders to Nicolaides and Premier Danielle Smith which outlined the harms caused by the books in question, and also warned against the adoption of SOGI 123 by Alberta schools, Article content Article content SOGI 123 is a Canada-wide organization that makes programming and resources available to schools in the areas of inclusivity and positive acceptance of gender identities. Article content Article content 'We wanted to show the harm and risks that children are being put into,' said Gaw. 'When he (Nicolaides) saw the binder, he was genuinely shocked. We have the right to be concerned about what our children are being exposed to. We opened the minister's eyes to this.' Article content Nicolaides said his decision was influenced by what he'd been hearing from parents around the province. Article content 'No, we had been hearing from parents,' he said. 'I've been hearing from parents for quite some time, in fact, since I became minister, about items in school libraries that were of concern.' Article content When asked if Action4Canada's lobbying efforts had any impact at all, Nicolaides had this to say: 'I'm unsure. I mean, they had brought some materials to our attention so that that helped to get a better understanding of the nature of materials that was available in schools. But, you know, this is a topic that I've talked with many Albertans about.'
