Defend your right to read, write, publish

For the Love of Libraries

This week’s column was written by Dallas Husar, , Invermere library assistant. Visit the website or call 250-342-6416 for more information.

Freedom to Read Week is an annual event that takes place the last week of February. It “encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom” (freedomtoread.ca). 

Established in 1984 it brings awareness to the often quiet acts of censorship that happen to Canadian writing, while also encouraging Canadians to defend their rights to read, write, and publish freely.

According to an article by Pearce J. Carefoote (2025), the Canadian book censorship began with the play Tartuffe by Moliere in 1694. France had suppressed it 30 years previously as it was considered an affront to the Catholic Church. The book was subsequently banned in Canada for the same reason by the Governor of Quebec on the advice of a local bishop (https://digitalcollections.mcmaster.ca/hpcanpub/case-study/censorship-canada). Since then, there have been a wide variety of reasons books have been censored. I highly recommend reading Carefoote’s article for a more thorough view. Something that has not changed throughout the years is the fact that material is often challenged with the challengers never having read the material.

In Grade 9, my English teacher taught a unit focused on critical thinking. He taught us about propaganda and how to notice when print media was trying to sway our opinions. He taught us to pay attention to the language and graphics that were used and to analyse what we were seeing. He taught us to take in what we were being given and to dismantle it to discover what was really being said. This lesson continued to be taught as I made my way into university. We were taught to use peer reviewed articles, which means they had to be reviewed by experts in the field to ensure that what is presented has high quality evidence to support what they are claiming. In essence, we were taught to make sure the information we were using was valid.

Censorship of books continues today, the reasons may change depending on society but the goal is still the same: to prevent ideas and messages from being shared with others. The world, however, and the way it accesses printed material has changed dramatically. The internet has made it possible to access books, theories, opinions, and facts with just the touch of a button. Anyone, anywhere can post their thoughts and opinions. And with the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), even a simple Google search has changed. No longer are you simply given a list of websites to scroll through to determine which information source best suits what you are looking into. It’s set up in a way that we often don’t consider the validity of where the information is coming from. In this new age, rife with instant gratification and information overload, the ability to think critically and consider your sources may be more important than ever.

Now how does all of this relate to libraries? Libraries are a wealth of information and do not support the banning or censorship of materials. This means that even if a book does not align with the personal views of the library workers or a patron, it is not a reason to remove it from the collection. The biggest limiting factors to a library’s collection are most likely budgets and space. Luckily, libraries in British Columbia are able to share resources with each other, so if a book is out there, chances are we can bring it in for you. Libraries are also a non-judgemental space; you can take out material without fear of judgment, and we encourage people to take in multiple views and sides to any subject. 

We want you to expand your horizons and knowledge in the world, be it through facts (non-fiction) or stories (fiction). We are always happy to help people look for resources as well. So, please, come and browse the shelves and read and learn to your heart’s desire!