Why are libraries being attacked?

By Gabrielle Parent, Communications Manager

When thinking about locations that have influenced my life, none are more impactful than the libraries I frequented as a child, teenager, and young adult. The small public library in my rural Ontario town was a regular destination on weekends, my arms carrying out stacks of books nearly taller than I was. When I needed to complete volunteer hours in high school, I participated in the library’s Book Buddy after-school program, reading to local children and doing fun crafts. In university, I spent nearly every Sunday at the UVic library, taking advantage of the quiet space on the third floor to study and write essays. To this day, going to the public library remains one of my favourite activities.

Libraries are foundational to not only my life, but to the lives of countless others in our communities. They provide free resources, program important events, and make space for connection. For example, the Vancouver Public Library organizes family play time, tech help, creative spaces for teenagers, ESL conversation practice, and so much more–all while lending free books (and much more!) to those in the city. Libraries are meant to be safe, warm, and welcoming environments to all who wish to enter.

For many, the books, films, and resources available at a library can be gateways to understanding people, cultures, and places that are different from their own. These mediums can broaden our worlds, stretch our imaginations, and introduce us to new ideas. That is what’s so beautiful–or, to some, terrifying–about libraries.

Recently, we’ve seen an increase in political scrutiny and misinformation surrounding libraries, especially in the United States. Book bans are reaching unprecedented levels, with PEN America–a non-profit dedicated to the freedom to write–recording 10,046 instances in the 2023-2024 school year. The bans are predominantly impacting school libraries, but public libraries are also feeling political pressure. Across the U.S., public libraries are facing threats to their funding, efforts to restrict books, relentless protests, and harassment of staff. It’s very important to note that according to PEN America, the most commonly banned books predominantly feature characters of colour and LGBTQ+ people. Amidst a rise of legislation restricting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives (DEI), clawing back transgender health care, and increasing censorship, American libraries are just one of the many spaces being targeted and politicized by those who wish to silence marginalized voices.

Our country is not immune to this rhetoric–as the adage goes, when the U.S. sneezes, Canada catches a cold. Hate, divisiveness, and fearmongering also exist in this country, and the political climate south of the border is already impacting our public libraries. From 2022 to 2023, challenges to library materials doubled with the targets mostly being books with 2SLGBTQIA+ themes and discussion of gender diversity and sexuality. A recent investigation by the CBC’s Fifth Estate found that there “is a shadow war in Canada against libraries and books.” Some of the activists waging this war will run for school or library boards, while others issue book challenges at libraries. The Fifth Estate traced many threads of this activism to the United States, "where an anti-2SLGBTQ+ campaign evolved from right-wing campaign rhetoric to laws that threaten libraries in Republican states.”  

An example of the “shadow war” can be found in Chilliwack, B.C., where the RCMP investigated a claim made by a far-right group, Action4Canada, that local school district libraries contained child pornography (they did not). Another can be seen in Valleyview, Alberta–the focus of the Fifth Estate’s investigation–where a fierce debate over the library has divided the small community. Members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, their allies, and defenders of the library were advocating for the protection of the space, while the opposition wanted it to move to the soon-to-be-built school. In late January 2025, the board voted to close the library and move it to the new location–which will be half the size and subject its materials to the restrictive provincial rules around 2SLGBTQIA+ expression in schools.

As hate crimes against the 2SLGBTQIA+ community continue to rise across Canada and provincial governments restrict the rights of queer and trans youth, the safe spaces, resources, and services provided by libraries are more important than ever. Nobody became gay or trans because they read a book, that’s simply not how it works. But reading a book and finding a character with whom the reader relates can open one's mind and prompt buried (but already existing) feelings. That’s why books are so powerful–they can help nurture an ember of an idea into a flame. But it’s for that reason that some people are seeking to extinguish them.

As Wendy Burch Jones, a teacher-librarian in Toronto, said: "Books are art, and just like any piece of art, some people are going to like it, and some people aren't. But that doesn't mean that we should then not make it available to everybody else." 

The written word is a form of artwork, and libraries are their galleries. So, to anyone who picks up a book and does not like its contents, I invite you to simply put it down. Move on. Find another. Keep browsing. But please, don’t force your opinion onto other readers. And don’t use the notion of ‘protecting children’ as a shield for hatred and censorship. 

To help defend libraries, I urge all who read this blog to join your local library (if you haven’t already), to donate books, to volunteer, and to stand up for the marginalized communities most impacted by censorship and book bans. Libraries helped me grow into the person I am today, and they will do the same for the next generation. We must all do our part to protect them.