Did you know that some of the most controversial books in history are now considered classics?
Works by Homer, William Shakespeare, and Daniel Defoe are just a few of history’s long list of authors whose words have offended emperors, kings, religious leaders, and parents.
One of Airdrie Public Library’s (APL) core values is intellectual freedom, and we celebrate this through our annual participation in the national Freedom to Read Week, which is going to be held this year from Feb. 19 to 25.
Organized by the Book and Periodical Council, an umbrella organization for the Canadian writing and publishing industry, Freedom to Read Week “encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom, which is guaranteed them under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.” (Excerpt from Book and Periodical Council website.)
This year, APL is offering several programs designed to affirm this commitment to intellectual freedom.
The Pony Wall will have a display of Read-Stricted literature, items that are challenged or even banned, that you can borrow.
Char Every Page, a blackout poetry workshop on Wednesday, Feb. 22 from 7 to 8:30 p.m., will use banned literature to discover poems among the words on a page.
APL will also host a Continuous Reading event in the library, where local officials, celebrities, and even members of the RCMP will read from banned or challenged books from 7 a.m. to closing, Tuesday, Feb. 21 to Friday, Feb. 24.
Please note, nothing overtly inappropriate will be read.
Look for Airdrie City councillor Tina Petrow, local artist Veronica Funk, and others as we read through Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, Animal Farm, Charlotte’s Web and other previously-deemed controversial books.
Members of the RCMP will also join us for a special reading of challenged or banned children’s books on Feb. 21 and 22 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Learn more about Freedom to Read Week at freedomtoread.ca.
For more information on APL’s Freedom to Read activities, visit airdriepubliclibrary.ca
