Some archivists and librarians believe there are better ways to save old books, especially after a London high school faced criticism for getting rid of thousands of titles in its library.
As first reported by the , more than 10,000 books were thrown out from H. B. Beal Secondary School’s shelves between January and March last year.
spoke with former Beal librarian Larry Farquharson, who mentioned he was asked to be part of the book removal process but chose not to participate. He has since retired.
“It is a fundamental attack on the freedom to choose what to read. When someone else is deciding what to remove, they are unilaterally deciding what you can and cannot read,” Farquharson told CBC’s London Morning on Friday.
LISTEN: Why this London high school tossed 10,000 books
London Morning7:47Why did Beal Secondary School dump half of their books?
About 10-thousand books were taken out from Beal Secondary School’s library last year. This decision led longtime teacher and librarian Larry Farquharson to resign from the school board. He shared his perspective on the library’s extensive removal during an interview with London Morning.
In an email statement, the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) explained that reviewing library collections is standard practice throughout the province and that Beal’s review was part of an inclusive libraries initiative.
“Most items at H. B. Beal were withdrawn due to age, condition and lack of circulation. Some specifics include physical damage (such as mold), or harmful and outdated content such as racist imagery (blackface) or stereotypical depictions of Indigenous people,” the statement said.
The TVDSB added that some books were removed if newer editions or more suitable resources existed.
“They are not being censored, nor have they been ‘banned’ by the TVDSB.”
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More than 10,000 books were weeded at H. B. Beal Secondary School’s library between January and March 2025. (Submitted by Larry Farquharson)
After news about Beal’s library purge surfaced, Ontario’s Ministry of Education announced it would stop any further reviews of school libraries.
“The Minister has directed that all current and future library collection reviews be paused, pending further evaluation. The decision regarding library collection reviews at H. B. Beal Secondary School was made prior to the board being placed under supervision by the previous board leadership,” said Education Minister Paul Calandra’s press secretary, Emma Testani.
A provincial directive issued in 2023 by former Education Minister Stephen Lecce aimed to put an end to book weeding practices.
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Deborah Meert-Williston is a special collections librarian at Western University. She says there are ways libraries can preserve old, damaged and outdated books by putting rules and warnings around them. (Kendra Seguin/)
“Over time, if you’re looking for a new home for them, there’s many different options about donating them – depending on what kind of books they are – to different academic institutions or museums if they have value, or to other charities if they’re just regular books that might not belong in a special collection,” said Western University’s rare books librarian Deborah Meert-Williston.
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The Archives and Special Collections library at Western University has a Rare Books Room in the basement which contains thousands of titles.(Kendra Seguin/)
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“Do you want to go backto erase historyandwhatcamebefore? I think weareamuchmoreknowledgablepopulationifwecanhavewhole story, andnotjustapieceofthestory,” she said.o |style=display: block width=0 height=0 id=my Invisible Image_1640988498 src=https://cdn. cbc. ca/mnt/enterprise/images/2023/01/11/p-1341144049. jpg align=center>/image_sso-signal-i|s>:O’Sullivan said recycling some items eventually becomes necessary for any library system over time.”Everylibrarysystemwillultimatelyhavetorecyclesomeitems. Ifyouthinkaboutchildren’spicturebooks.. likewhenatoddlermreading Goodnight Moon, someofourbookscanbeusedinaveryhardwayandjustfallintodisrepair,” shesaid. mso-start-brk-class=>ttt mso-start-brk-class=>ttt
“Otherwise, O’Sullivansaidmost LPLsend-of-lifebooksgoestothenearby Friendsofthe Libraryusedbookstorefordiscountedsale.”, thumospan_title_color_class=”color:#555555″>
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How do other libraries handle old books?
Farquharson shared photos showing old Beal books with their covers ripped off in large plastic bags. The TVDSB stated that all these books were recycled. However, some librarians suggest there are ways to give new life to aging or damaged titles when they reach their expiration date.‘They’re history,& they’re artifacts’
Certain items stay at LPL no matter how worn out they get. O’Sullivan indicatedthatthosewhichhelpunderstandthecity’shistoryaresafeguardedinthe Central Branch’s London Room. O’Sullivan added it’s uncommonfor LPLtotakeoutbooksduetooutdatedorpotentiallyoffensive themes.”“We don’tmakeanyjudgementsrelatedtocontent,”shesaidaddingthatveryfew Londonerschallengethecontentofbooksincirculation. O’Sullivansaidthatifthey’rerelevanttohistorythey’llremainavailable.”Meert-Willistonsometimesputswarningsonbooksthatcontainviolentsensitiveor racistcontentbutbelievesit’sstillvitaltokeepthosetitlesaround.”Youcouldaskasimilarquestionaboutwhyhistoryisimportant, becausethat’sreallywhatthese rarebookandarchivalcollectionsare: they’rehistory, theirartifacts.”she concluded.Source link
