This week was Freedom to Read week.
It started 40 years ago and is an annual event that encourages Canadians to reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom.
Many Libraries shared books that have been banned or challenged to recognize the week.
We spoke with Madawaska Valley library CEO Natalie Barrington about some of the books she has on display at the Barrys Bay Library:
“Harry Potter, The Handmaids Tale, The Golden Compass” Barrington listed, “These are some of the books that have been challenged”
We also spoke with Hastings Highlands Library CEO Wendy Keating who shared with us a quote from The Canadian Federation of Libraries:
“Libraries have a core responsibility to safeguard and facilitate access to constitutionally protected expressions of knowledge, imagination, ideas and opinions” She quoted, “including those which some individuals and groups consider unconventional, unpopular, or unacceptable”
Fellow librarian Jessica O’Reilly also weighed in on the importance of intellectual freedom:
“The idea is that what is acceptable today may not be acceptable tomorrow” Said O’Reilly, “If we start censoring, it’s a slippery slope, where do you stop?”
Other Challenged books include:
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, The Wars, To Kill a Mockingbird, Fifty Shades of Grey, The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin, Captain Underpants and Lord of The Rings.