We notice the Edmonton Public Library has a number of activities lined up for Freedom to Read Week, which runs from Feb. 22 to 28. Among them is a screening of a documentary about a group of librarians working against book bans. The Feb. 27 screening of The Librarians at Metro Cinema will be followed by a panel discussion where artists and arts leaders will discuss their work to uphold free expression.
The panelists include Vicky Varga, director of collections and technology at EPL; Murray Utas, artistic director of the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival; Arianne Smith-Piquette, content director at CKUA Radio; and Peter Midgley, an author, editor, and translator. EPL has also compiled lists of commonly banned books, including titles for children, works by Canadian authors, and books by women. EPL also compiled a list of challenged and banned books that includes Gender Queer, a memoir by Maia Kobabe that Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides used as one example of content the province deemed inappropriate when introducing new rules on what books are allowed in Alberta schools.
EPL CEO Pilar Martinez encourages Edmontonians to mark Freedom to Read Week by visiting the library and celebrating their right to read, think, and learn. "In a democratic society such as ours, an individual's right to engage in the creative works of fellow humans enriches our lives," she wrote in an op-ed. "Public libraries enable individuals to access and discover a broader range of knowledge than individuals could do on their own, fostering deeper engagement with the intellectual and cultural creations of our society."