Some schools in Canada have removed books from their libraries published before 2008 as part of a new “equity-based” book-weeding process, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported Wednesday.
A student of Erindale Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario, said she can no longer find Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Roll of Thunder, and Hear My Cry, to name a few titles.
“This year, I came into my school library and there are rows and rows of empty shelves with absolutely no books,” said student Reina Takata, who started grade ten at the public high school last week. Takata estimated that 50 percent of the books in her school’s library are gone.
Takata told the outlet that school staff told students in the spring, “if the shelves look emptier right now it’s because we have to remove all books [published] prior to 2008.”
“Takata is one of several Peel District School Board (PDSB) students, parents and community members CBC Toronto spoke to who are concerned about a seemingly inconsistent approach to a new equity-based book weeding process implemented by the board last spring in response to a provincial directive from the Minister of Education,” according to the report.
Photo from Grade 10 student Reina Takata of her school library
“if the shelves look emptier right now it’s because we have to remove all books [published] prior to 2008.”
(Via @cbc) pic.twitter.com/wHTaVJjdSN
— Read More Co. (@readmoreco) September 14, 2023
Concerned parties told the outlet the new process, which was purportedly designed to make sure library books are “inclusive,” appears to have led some schools to remove thousands of books solely because they were published before and during 2008.
Neither Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce’s office nor the Education Ministry commented on the school board’s implementation of the directive before CBC’s publication. However, Lecce issued a statement on Wednesday announcing that he wrote to the board telling them to immediately end the practice.
“Ontario is committed to ensuring that the addition of new books better reflects the rich diversity of our communities,” Lecce said. “It is offensive, illogical and counterintuitive to remove books from years past that educate students on Canada’s history, antisemitism or celebrated literary classics.”
The report notes that the process of weeding books from libraries is not new as libraries in Canada typically weed out books by disposing of damaged and outdated books. Libraries Not Landfills, a group of parents, retired teachers, and community members, told the outlet that while it supports standard weeding practices, the group is concerned about books being removed solely because of when the works were published.
“Who’s the arbiter of what’s the right material to go in the library, and who’s the arbiter of what’s wrong in our libraries? That’s unclear,” said Tom Ellard, a PDSB parent and founder of Libraries Not Landfills. “It’s not clear to the teachers who’ve provided us this material, and it’s not clear to me as a parent or as a taxpayer.”
Ellard said he has talked to the parent council, his son’s principal, his school board trustee, and members of the provincial government, but he has not received a substantial response, according to the report.
PDSB declined an interview request from CBC Toronto, a spokesperson allegedly stating that staff were not available to speak because they were “focusing on students and school families this week.”
However, the board did issue a statement defending the process and explaining that the weeding process was completed in June.
“Books published prior to 2008 that are damaged, inaccurate, or do not have strong circulation data (are not being checked out by students) are removed,” said the board in its statement, adding that damaged books with strong circulation can be replaced regardless of publication date and that older titles can stay in the collection as long as they are “accurate, serve the curriculum, align with board initiatives and are responsive to student interest and engagement.”
“The Peel District School Board works to ensure that the books available in our school libraries are culturally responsive, relevant, inclusive, and reflective of the diversity of our school communities and the broader society,” the board said.
CBC Toronto reportedly reviewed a copy of internal school board documents obtained by Ellard’s group. The documents include frequently asked questions and answers for staff and a detailed manual for the weeding process called, “Weeding and Audit of Resource in the Library Learning Commons collection.”
The documents detail an “equitable curation cycle” for weeding and describe how the process was created to support Directive 18 from the Minister of Education “based on a 2020 Ministry review and report on widespread issues of systemic discrimination within PDSB,” according to the report. Directive 18 orders the board to complete a “diversity audit” of schools, including libraries.
“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 broader school communities,” the directive reads.
Librarians were told to review books that were published 15 or more years ago, which is 2008 or earlier. Then, they were told to go through those books and employ the “MUSTIE” acronym adapted from Canadian School Libraries to evaluate them.
The acronym stands for:
Misleading – information may be factually inaccurate or obsolete.
Unpleasant – refers to the physical condition of the book, may require replacement.
Superseded – book been overtaken by a new edition or a more current resource.
Trivial – of no discernible literary or scientific merit; poorly written or presented.
Irrelevant – doesn’t meet the needs and interests of the library’s community.
Elsewhere – the book or the material in it may be better obtained from other sources.
The second step is an anti-racist and inclusive audit whereby books must be considered “resources that promote anti-racism, cultural responsiveness and inclusivity.” Step three is a representation audit of how books and other resources reflect student diversity, the report states.
“When it comes to disposing of the books that are weeded, the board documents say the resources are ‘causing harm,’ either as a health hazard because of the condition of the book or because ‘they are not inclusive, culturally responsive, relevant or accurate,’” the report states. “For those reasons, the documents say the books cannot be donated, as ‘they are not suitable for any learners.”‘
A board spokesperson told the outlet that its schools dispose of the books by “following Peel Region’s recycling guidelines.”
Takata, Libraries Not Landfills, and at least one trustee told the outlet that some schools were disposing of books based solely on publication date during the first stage of the new equitable curation cycle.
CBC Toronto reviewed a recording of a May 8 board committee meeting focused on the new weeding process in which trustee Karla Bailey pointed out that she has seen “so many empty shelves” in school libraries.
“When you talk to the librarian in the library, the books are being weeded by the date, no other criteria,” Bailey told the committee. “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.”
Bernadette Smith, superintendent of innovation and research for PDSB, can be heard in the recording saying that it was “very disappointing” to hear that because the board was not giving direction during the training process.
Diane Lawson, another member of Libraries Not Landfills, told the outlet she believes the weeding process could explain why a middle school teacher told her that The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank was gone from shelves. She also said a kindergarten teacher informed her that The Very Hungry Caterpillar was removed.
Trustee and chair of the board, David Green, told CBC Toronto the weeding process itself “rolled out wrong.” Green said trustees have paused the process until the board can understand what is going on. On May 24, the board passed a motion ensuring that, going forward, staff weeding books during the anti-racist and inclusive audit in the second phase of the curation cycle must document the title and reason for removal before any books are rejected.
Green added that the board has asked the Director of Education to make sure that books are not being removed solely based on publication date. He also said they have plans to communicate with parents about the process.