Freedom to Read Week 2024, February 18-24

Freedom to Read Week is an annual event that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom. Banning, challenging, or otherwise censoring books has a long history and likely isn't going anywhere soon, but libraries have a core responsibility to "safeguard and facilitate access to constitutionally protected expressions of knowledge, imagination, ideas, and opinion, including those that some individuals and groups consider unconventional, unpopular, or unacceptable" (CFLA-FCAB). 

To mark this year's Freedom to Read Week, we invite you to check out one of our displays featuring books that have been challenged or banned. 

Visit Level 5 in Douglas Library to borrow any of our Science Fiction and Fantasy material and view the library's display on banned science throughout history. 

The Law Library is also celebrating Freedom to Read Week (February 18th-24th, 2024) with a new display curated by MLIS student Emma Scott. The display features resources that touch on everyone's right to read as protected under the Charter and other international documents. Resources on libraries' battles with censorship are also highlighted. Some banned or challenged books in the Law Library's Mystery of the Law Collection are also highlighted.  

The Education Library will feature books from K-12 that have been challenged.  

Stauffer Library will also feature a display of banned books from the humanities and social sciences collections.