Freedom to Read Week celebrates 40 years
Books have been banned for centuries. Libraries have been burned under threat of what thoughts might exist in historic libraries such as the Library of Alexandria or the Leuven Library.
In 1984, Canadian librarians, archivists and book and periodical councils started a movement to bring awareness to the banning of books and the importance of intellectual freedom. It’s called Freedom to Read Week and this year marks 40 years of the right to read books. This year’s Freedom to Read Week runs from February 19-24.
In northern British Columbia, librarians and library staff are passionate about the right to read books. CICK News spoke with library staff from Hazelton, Prince Rupert and Smithers as well as Superintendent of School District 54 about the protocols regarding challenged resources in school libraries.