Calgary Public Library Recognizes Freedom to Read Week

Library participates in Digital Day of Action around intellectual freedom

Libraries across Canada are celebrating the 41st annual Freedom to Read Week, taking place from February 23 to March 1, 2025. This national campaign highlights the importance of freedom of expression, challenges censorship and encourages open access to diverse ideas and perspectives.  

“As libraries across Canada continue to face book challenges and questions around content on our shelves, we want to highlight the importance of different opinions and alternative perspectives,” says Sarah Meilleur, CEO of Calgary Public Library. “We are stronger as a community when we engage in a space of learning, debating, and discussing. This is where new ideas come from and how we find ways to build a better future — together.” 

Calgary Public Library joins other libraries across Canada for a Digital Day of Action today to raise awareness around the freedom to read and to promote the right to access books that have been challenged or banned. Calgary joins leaders from the Book and Periodical Council, the Canadian Urban Libraries Council, Library and Archives Canada, and the Ontario Library Association to fill social media feeds with engaging and informative content about the role of libraries in protecting our intellectual freedom. 

This unique collaboration is one of several activities the Library has engaged with as part of Freedom to Read Week, taking place February 23 – March 1.  

CEO Sarah Meilleur will visit City Council on Tuesday, February 25 to speak about the importance of intellectual freedom and Freedom to Read Week. She will be sharing a book that has been challenged and the implications that come from books being restricted or banned. 

Freedom to Read will be celebrated at all 22 Library locations this week, with book displays and informative bookmarks available for members to take home. 

Earlier in February, the Library also released a unique stop-motion video about Page who explores Central Library after dark. You can watch the video here. Page shows us that when we have access to different books, ideas, and ways of thinking and knowing, we have endless opportunities to grow and change. We may find ourselves on a new adventure completely. Because we have the Freedom to Read.  

“You may not agree with everything you find in our collections, and that’s okay,” continued Meilleur. “Our role at the Library is to give you access so you can learn, grow, and create your own story.” 

To find out more about Freedom to Read Week and the Library’s commitment to intellectual freedom, visit calgarylibrary.ca/collections.