Ontario high school library's 10,000-book cull sparks censorship debate
https://nationalpost.com/news/local-news/london-high-school-librarys-10000-book-cull-sparks-censorship-debate/wcm/30a3d874-93c9-4f27-8733-5b65fa0e8a82
More than 10,000 books were tossed from Beal secondary school's library in London last year, leading to the resignation of its teacher-librarian
More than 10,000 books were tossed from the library of London’s H.B. Beal high school last year, a process that led to the resignation of its frustrated teacher-librarian.
Larry Farquharson, who eventually resigned after 25 years of teaching at the age of 58, says the situation began last January when Thames Valley District school board staff trashed thousands of books that he said they argued posed “harm” to students, weren’t inclusive or were deemed too old, among other reasons.
“Many of them were irreplaceable and priceless – we had an incredible history section, which was ravaged,” he said.
Farquharson called it a “book purge.” He said he supports steps toward being inclusive, “but by definition if you choose to be inclusive, you’re excluding. That means denying people access to information.”
Amid his frustration, Farquharson wrote about the situation in a Substack blog and says he was placed on home assignment by the school board. He wrote, in part, that the board’s move “has the net outcome of censorship.”
On March 31, Farquharson was suspended for seven days for insubordination and making “disparaging remarks” about the school board, according to a letter from his employer that he posted online. Over the summer, with this school year looming, he resigned.
“It became untenable to stay” in the job, he said.
Before the process began, the library at the 113-year-old downtown high school known for its arts and robotics programs housed 18,000 books – the largest collection in the entire Thames Valley board. Now, according to library records, it’s home to roughly 8,300. Continue…