This is Freedom to Read Week (February 26 to March 4) and one way that the week is being celebrated is to read what one wants.
That’s what the readers’ group at the Kamsack Library has done. For the month of February, Nicole Larson, librarian, ordered copies of many of the 30 “challenged publications” and members of the group read them.
Those banned and challenged books include the following titles: Mordecai Richler’s The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz; Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird; J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series; Margaret Lawrence’s A Jest of God and Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass.
Freedom to Read Week is an annual event that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom, guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, said a release from the Saskatchewan Library Association. The Canadian Federation of Library Associations Statement on Intellectual Freedom and Libraries clearly articulates this freedom.
Freedom to Read Week is organized by the Freedom of Expression Committee of the Book and Periodical Council.
Events are being held across the province to encourage people to read, and to think about their right to maintain this most basic freedom. Persons may visit the Saskatchewan Library Association website for the main Freedom to Read website.
