Peel school board focused on replenishing after library 'weeding' process criticized

Empty shelves at the library at Erindale Secondary School in Mississauga, Ont. are shown in a handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Reina Takata

A school board west of Toronto says it is focused on replenishing resources in its libraries while reviewing training after its so-called "weeding process" was criticized.

Last week, Education Minister Stephen Lecce wrote to the Peel District School Board asking it to halt the weeding process -- which assesses and removes older books -- after concerns were raised that some books were being removed from shelves simply because they were published before 2008, based on new equity-focused board guidelines.

Students and a group of Peel Region residents called on the board to provide a clear explanation on what happened and share details on how libraries with half-empty shelves would be replenished.

The board said last week that older books, regardless of publication date, could stay in school libraries so long as they were "accurate, relevant to the student population, inclusive, not harmful, and support the current curriculum."

The board's director of education also said the board had not given teacher librarians direction to remove all books with a publication date older than 2008.

The board says this week that it is now focused on replenishing library resources and will be reviewing its training process to ensure consistency in library management across its schools.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2023.