The CUPE Alberta Library Employees’ Committee is devastated to see that Bill 28 has passed.
Bill 28 requires the segregation of public library material with content that is deemed “visually explicit”. It also mandates parental permission for youth under 16 to borrow them. Government-appointed inspectors will have the authority to investigate libraries, which raises concerns about political overreach and enforcement.
This bill will affect all library users. It will create barriers to collections and can cause a sense of guilt or shame if users want access to the materials. Age verification will add another element of restriction. It also means that it will take longer to access your library materials. This takes away the ability to quickly browse the shelves and explore collections. Restrictions like this are a direct violation of our intellectual freedom. The government shouldn’t be the ones telling us what we can read, watch, or listen to.
The legislation comes with no funding. It is expected that libraries will need to undertake costly renovations to comply. This could mean creating areas inaccessible to users, storing “visually explicit” books behind counters, splitting collections, and changing the catalogue. Accessing these materials might need specific staff to verify ages. These changes would mean adding more workload to already overworked staff.
The Libraries Act only allows inspection of board records. Bill 28 expands this to the collections, services, and operations of our public libraries. Public libraries are already governed by elected Boards and staffed with capable and qualified library workers. There are already policies and procedures in place at Alberta libraries which address book bans and challenges, and access to information. We disagree that the Minister should be able to appoint inspectors to enter our public libraries, inspect, and restrict what the public can access, use, or borrow.
If you believe the government has overreached and should not restrict free access to information, please send a letter to your MLA.
“Perhaps no place in any community is so totally democratic as the town library. The only entrance requirement is interest.” – Lady Bird Johnson