Canada public school removes all books published before 2008 over ‘equity’ concerns
After a public high school in the Canadian province of Ontario reportedly cut the number of books in its library in half by removing all books published before 2008, saying it was due to an “equity-based book weeding process,” the Ontario education minister called for the process to end.
The Peel District School Board rolled out a process that led some schools in the area to remove books from the shelves based on publication date, according to CBC.
Among the books removed was “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank. The chair and trustee of the Peel District School Board David Green told CBC the process of book weeding was “rolled out wrong” and the board has “plans to communicate with parents about the weeding process.”
The board’s director of education Rashmi Swarup said, “PDSB teacher librarians have not been given the direction to remove all books published with a publication date older than 2008, nor has the board received provincial direction to remove particular books from our collections,” in a statement obtained by the National Post.
The book removal was reportedly “in response to a provincial directive from the Minister of Education” that “appears to have led some schools to remove thousands of books solely because they were published in 2008 or earlier.”
In a recording viewed by CBC, a school board trustee Karla Bailey said during a committee meeting in May, “When you talk to the librarian in the library, the books are being weeded by the date, no other criteria,” as she noted the many empty shelves.
“That is where many of us have a real issue. None of us have an issue with removing books that are musty, torn, or racist, outdated. But by weeding a book, removing a book from a shelf, based simply on this date is unacceptable. And yes, I witnessed it,” she said.
The directive that led to the removal of books from shelves read, “The Board shall evaluate books, media and all other resources currently in use for teaching and learning English, History and Social Sciences for the purpose of utilizing resources that are inclusive and culturally responsive, relevant and reflective of students, and the Board’s broad school communities,” per the New York Post.
This directive translated into a weeding process implemented by Peel District Board. When books started being removed by date, the process sparked concern from students, parents and community members.
Ontario high school (Erindale Secondary School) student Reina Takata said staff told students, “if the shelves look emptier right now it’s because we have to remove all books (published) prior to 2008,” per CBC. Dianne Lawson, member of Libraries not Landfills, told the news outlet a middle school teacher informed her “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank was removed from the shelves.
The Peel District School Board issued a statement to National Review about its decision to remove books from the shelves, which reads in full:
The Peel District School Board follows the library weeding guidelines set by the Canadian School Libraries Association. These guidelines direct the teacher librarians at our 259 schools to keep books with any publishing date that are accurate, relevant to the student population, inclusive, not harmful, and support the current curriculum from the Ministry of Education.
To be clear, books such as ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’ by Ann(e) Frank and the ‘Harry Potter’ series remain in our collections, and where needed, newer versions may be purchased if the book is in poor condition, regardless of publication date, older or damaged books that are accurate, relevant to the student population, inclusive, not harmful, and support the current curriculum may stay within the school or schools have the opportunity to repurchase newer copies of the same title to replace the damaged ones.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce wrote in a statement obtained by Toronto Star, “I have written to the board to immediately end this practice.”
“Ontario is committed to ensuring that the addition of new books better reflect the rich diversity of our communities,” the statement read. “It is offensive, illogical and counterintuitive to remove books from years past that educate students on Canada’s history, antisemitism or celebrated literary classics.”
This week, Peel District School Board is working on offering additional training to library staff and “replenishing library resources,” according to CTV News.
