The BC and Yukon Book Prizes have been honoured to work with teachers and school librarians to support their necessary and empowering work. Annually we work with generous donors and schools across British Columbia and Yukon to add powerful, inspiring, and affirming titles to their library bookshelves.
The Alberta Government’s recent decisions to move towards banning books isn’t simply concerning or disappointing, it takes steps towards discriminating against students and undermining the skill and expertise of the teachers and librarians.
Since 1985, the BC and Yukon Book Prizes has had the honour to celebrate and uplift books by marginalized and underrepresented voices. When readers don’t see themselves reflected on the page it impacts their sense of self and the way we see ourselves in the world around us.
The titles that the Alberta Government has defined as not being “age appropriate” are focused on those by LGBTQ2S+ authors that they’ve arbitrarily determined are “dangerous” to readers. As a western Canadian book awards organization, we can’t help but be deeply disturbed by the growing trend of politicians politicizing education which directly targets marginalized authors, illustrators, and students.
As Canadian School Libraries stated, “Not every book in a school library is meant for every student. Schools need to have a wide range of age and developmentally appropriate resources that cover the needs of the student population.”
The BC and Yukon Book Prizes stands with teacher librarians, and the authors, illustrators, and publishers of challenged books. Whenever possible we will continue to uplift the voices of marginalized and underrepresented voices so that we work with our community partners and the creators in our communities to help build strong, vibrant, and empathetic communities.
Children have a right to learn about themselves in the pages of books. Children have a right to feel empowered by the stories they read. Children have a right to feel included because of being seen in the characters and worlds they experience in books. By excluding and banning books from library collections, we isolate children who are vital members of our communities.