Advocacy

On February 6, 2024 I joined Minister Lumsden, Ministry officials, surrounding library CEOs and the lovely staff at the Gravenhurst Public Library as Minister Lumsden announced a $122,000 increase to the existing Internet Connectivity Grant! This new investment of funds will enable up to 155 of Ontario’s more rural, northern and First Nations Public Libraries…

The CFLA-FCAB Intellectual Freedom Committee has been hard at work and in light of the current state of censorship attempts in Canada have proactively drafted the following letter that the CFLA-FCAB board approved to send to related federal Ministers. It primarily seeks to remind Ministers of this important topic and to urge the Government of Canada to take…

Library CEOs and representatives have been making deputations to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs since December 12, 2023.  Deputations are still ongoing, and the committee seems invested in hearing how the Ontario Digital Public Library and enhanced provincial funding will impact local public libraries and their communities. Thank you to everyone who…

In today's world, the battle against censorship is more critical than ever. We believe in the power of knowledge and the importance of unrestricted access to information. That's why we're excited to share a video that addresses the rising censorship issue in America and how it affects libraries, books, and the right to read. This…

FOPL and OLA met with Minister Lumsden (Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport) immediately following the Ontario Public Library Week celebrations in Hamilton, ON. Margie Singleton, CEO of Vaughan Public Libraries and FOPL Interim Vice-Chair,  and I sat down with Minister Lumsden together with our OLA partners and Hamilton CEO Paul Takala to talk in…

FOPL and OLA have created a new government relations priorities document to guide our advocacy work throughout the fall and winter. While this document may look familiar, there are two main changes to note; Our ask regarding the Provincial Libraries Operating Grant has changed. We are now asking for an increase to the PLOG of…

The Canadian Urban Institute has released a new report titled “Overdue: The Case for Canada’s Public Libraries”. It was written as part of the Canadian Urban Institute’s role “to highlight the critical components of the urban and community fabric that are essential to Canada’s social, economic and environmental resilience and post-pandemic recovery.” It includes lots…

FOPL attended the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO) Conference earlier this summer and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conferences just last week to continue our campaign to reach out and spread awareness among our municipal partners. We spoke to hundreds of delegates at each, highlighting the importance of…

Documented attempts to restrict library materials rose 20% in the first eight months of 2023 On September 19, the American Library Association (ALA) announced findings that challenges to books and other library materials and services are on pace to set a record for the third straight year in 2023. The release reads, in part: ALA has released…

Libraries as Battlegrounds: Defending Access to Information in a Polarized World Monday, September 11, 2023 at 1- 2pm ET What's at stake when libraries and librarians become targets for censorship? As institutions whose mandates often include the furthering of democracy and prioritizing equal access, libraries are becoming critical battlegrounds between disparate forces, facing pressures to…

The website Statecraft analyzed 1626 books that have been reported to PEN America and the American Library Association as banned. Author Arman Madani sought to find out exactly what these banned books have in common. The results point to a concerning shift in the US that Canadian Libraries should look out for. Read the full…

This is a reminder that the CFLA-FCAB Intellectual Freedom Challenges Survey continues to be available (here) for the recording of incidents in our libraries that challenge intellectual freedom.  The results for 2022 have been added to the CFLA-FCAB website (here) with reports from previous years.  The Intellectual Freedom Committee working group encourages reporting of incidents…