If damaged books have strong circulation the board says they can be replaced regardless of publication date, and older titles can stay in the collection if they are "accurate, serve the curriculum, align with board initiatives and are responsive to student interest and engagement." "Books published prior to 2008 that are damaged, inaccurate, or do not have strong circulation data (are not being checked out by students) are removed," said the board in its statement. Takata is concerned that no one asked students for their opinions about what books should and shouldn't be in school libraries. Instead, the board issued statements explaining that the process of weeding books from school libraries was completed in June and has always been a part of teacher librarian responsibilities within PDSB and at school boards across the country. The board did not address questions about empty shelves, the volume of books removed and reports about weeding books based on the date of publication. School board defends processĬBC Toronto requested an interview with the PDSB to discuss how the weeding process works and how the board plans to proceed in the wake of concerns from parents and students. A spokesperson said staff were not available to speak as they were "focusing on students and school families this week." He's also contacted members of the provincial government, but says he hasn't received a substantial response about what happened in the spring and how the process is intended to work. "It's not clear to the teachers who've provided us this material, and it's not clear to me as a parent or as a taxpayer."Įllard says he's talked to the parent council, his son's principal and his school board trustee. "Who's the arbiter of what's the right material to go in the library, and who's the arbiter of what's wrong in our libraries? That's unclear," he said. Tom Ellard, a PDSB parent and the founder of Libraries not Landfills, said teachers reached out to them to help raise awareness about the weeding process. Tom Ellard, whose son attends a PDSB high school, is one of the founders of the group Libraries not Landfills, which Ellard says started after teachers came to them with concerns about the new weeding process. Parents and students are looking for answers as to why this happened, and what the board plans to do moving forward. They say the new process, intended to ensure library books are inclusive, appears to have led some schools to remove thousands of books solely because they were published in 2008 or earlier. Takata is one of several Peel District School Board (PDSB) students, parents and community members CBC Toronto spoke to who are concerned about a seemingly inconsistent approach to a new equity-based book weeding process implemented by the board last spring in response to a provincial directive from the Minister of Education. In the spring, Takata says students were told by staff that "if the shelves look emptier right now it's because we have to remove all books prior to 2008." She estimates more than 50 per cent of her school's library books are gone. "This year, I came into my school library and there are rows and rows of empty shelves with absolutely no books," said Takata, who started Grade 10 last week. When she returned to school this fall, things were more stark. In May, Takata says the shelves at Erindale Secondary School were full of books, but she noticed that they had gradually started to disappear. Those are all examples of books Reina Takata says she can no longer find in her public high school library in Mississauga, Ont., which she visits on her lunch hour most days. Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
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