Canada

Social conservative activist groups provided Alberta government officials with lists of books now facing prohibition under new content guidelines for school libraries.

Last week Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides announced the province is bringing in new rules for school libraries after investigations by his office found materials containing depictions of sexual acts, nudity, drug and alcohol use, profanity and other mature content on the shelves in Alberta K-12 schools.

Alberta currently has voluntary guidelines for library books, but school boards follow their own processes for selecting age-appropriate and relevant materials for students.

Nicolaides said that because of inconsistent standards between school divisions, “sexually explicit material has made their way onto school library shelves.” Public, separate, francophone, charter and independent schools will be required to follow provincewide guidelines starting in the 2025-26 school year, he said.