The Alberta Teachers’ Association agrees that it is critically important to ensure that materials available in school libraries are developmentally and age appropriate. The Association is calling for efforts to ensure that materials available in school libraries are selected through meaningful consultation with teacher–librarians, teachers, students and parents.
We are concerned that the selection process that the government has initiated has the potential to prioritize special interest groups arriving with their own predetermined agendas and to further target diverse communities. We support transparency and parental involvement and recognize the need for age and grade appropriateness of texts.
″It seems like there is no coincidence that the government's announcement on library materials specifically singled out 2SLGBTQIA+ materials. The Association welcomes being included in policy decisions concerning school libraries and learning commons spaces.”
Jason Schilling, ATA president
Due to decades of education underfunding, school libraries are rarely staffed by certificated professional librarians or, preferably, teacher–librarians, who can help identify and develop guiding principles for the selection of appropriate materials.
The Association has formal policy that urges school authorities, in collaboration with teachers, to develop local policies to guide teachers and school leaders in responding to book and resource challenges in a manner that defends teacher professionalism and judgment and affirms students’ freedom to read and experience a variety of media that represents and respects the dignity and diverse lived experiences of all persons.
The Association calls on the Government of Alberta to
- engage in meaningful and broad consultation with librarians, teachers, students and families—including those from 2SLGBTQIA+ communities; and
- provide targeted and stable funding to restore teacher–librarians in Alberta schools.