Freedom in Forgiveness

In conjunction with Freedom to Read week, Edmonton Public Library is hosting humanitarian and activist Amanda Lindhout as she speaks about her experience as a hostage in Somalia on Monday evening, February 24th, at the Centennial Centre for Interdisciplinary Science (CCIS) on the University of Alberta Campus. Ms. Lindhout will also be signing copies of her book, "A House in the Sky." The event is free and begins at 7:30 p.m. More information can be found here: http://www.epl.ca/freedomtoread.

Sometimes You Have to Hold Your Nose

Recent controversy over the parodying of the "Don't Be That Guy" posters against sexual assault have found their way into the Edmonton Public Library. The group claiming responsibility for the "Don't Be That Girl" posters, Men's Rights Edmonton (MR-E) has been called into question for the campaign in recent days. It recently caught the attention of some Edmontonians using Twitter that MR-E plans on hosting a lecture on boys in education at the Stanley Milner branch of the library.

In response to concerns expressed on Twitter, EPL cited the Canadian Library Association (CLA)'s Position Statement on Intellectual Freedom:

. @KateBoorman @brittanyinyeg Like most Cdn public libraries we support the CLA's Statement on Intellectual Freedom: http://t.co/CbqW8Pzlm5
— Edm Public Library (@EPLdotCA) July 11, 2013

The ensuing conversation debated whether or not MR-E can be defined as a hate group, which would make it exempt from coverage by the CLA's statement. Certainly, this is debatable; however, at present, MR-E has not been designated as such in Canadian law. Thus, the group is still afforded protection under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and by extension by the CLA.

Whether you agree with the group's message or not, regardless of how offensive you may find it, part of the library's mandate is to provide a space where there is freedom to speak -- and the room for debate.

10th Homeless Connect Event

Thank you to all of the FLIF volunteers who helped to make the Homeless Connect event a success this weekend! Homeless Connect is a bi-annual event hosted at the Shaw Conference Centre that provides homeless and at-risk individuals with access to many important services at no cost. FLIF has traditionally taken part in Homeless Connect by setting up a “library” of sorts containing free books. This would not be possible without the help of our volunteers, so thanks again to everyone who was able to volunteer at this busy time of year!

A special thank you as well to AP!RG and EPL for their generous support in helping us to take part in this event.

CTV News is reporting that over 1,000 individuals were able to access the 65+ services provided by approximately 400 volunteers at this event.

Freedom to Read Week Events in Edmonton

Today is the first day of Freedom to Read Week! See the event listing below to find out about the events taking place this week in Edmonton:

Sunday February 24

• The Edmonton Public Library (EPL) and the University of Alberta Libraries are hosting a talk with Chris Hedges, who will speak about his newest book Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt.
• The EPL Woodcroft Branch is having a Banned Books Café.

Monday February 25

• Members of FLIF will hosting a Freedom to Read booth at the Jasper Place High School Global Café during their Living Library event. For more information, see Vue Weekly or the Facebook event page.

Tuesday February 26

• FLIF will again be promoting the Freedom to Read at the Jasper Place High School Global Café Living Library event.
• The EPL Stanley A. Milner Library is having a Freedom to Listen event.

Wednesday February 27

• Cabaret will be shown at the Stanley A. Milner Library Theatre as part of a Freedom to View event.

Thursday February 28

• Wiebo’s War will be shown at the EPL Idylwylde Branch as part of a Freedom to View event.
• The EPL Capilano Branch is hosting a Freedom to Create event.

To find out more about the EPL events, see the EPL Freedom to Read webpage.

Thanks to the FLIF Global Café Radical Bookshelf team for putting together FLIF’s Freedom to Read event this year! Watch this blog for more information about the Jasper Place High School Global Café Living Library event.

Update: The Jasper Place High School Global Café event was erroneously first posted on this blog as a closed event. We are happy to report that it is actually open to the public!

Human Library Events Recap

Local libraries and other centres across Canada, in partnership with the CBC, hosted a number of Human Library events on Saturday January 26. Events took place in Yellowknife, Surrey, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Windsor, Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, and St. John's. In Edmonton, the event took place at the Stanley A. Milner branch of the Edmonton Public Library. The Edmonton Journal has written an article about the event and includes the perspectives of the “books” as well as the “readers.” An associate manager of Stanley A. Milner was also quoted, describing the purpose and importance of the event:

“An event like this provides people with the opportunity to have a conversation with a person they might not otherwise meet and to help them understand the world, maybe, in a different way.”

The CBC hosted live webcam chats with a variety of Canadians: Susan Ormiston, Measha Brueggergosman, Robert Munsch, Shad, Grace Park, Margaret Trudeau, and Tammy Marquardt. A recording of the sessions is available from the CBC.

Sweater Vest Sunday

Today is also Sweater Vest Sunday! Raise awareness of the need to report challenged material to the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) by wearing a sweater vest. Visit the OIF Blog to find out more about Sweater Vest Sunday and how you can show your support.

Freedom to Read Week at EPL

Freedom to Read week begins February 26 and FLIF will be hosting a display of banned and challenged materials on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in HUB on the U of A campus. Look for our table near the passage to Rutherford Library and stop by to check out some of the Freedom to Read information and pick up a button (for a donation to the Women's Prison Library Projects). Keep an eye on the blog for the next week for other events and updates. 

EPL will be hosting the following event at Stanley Milner, hope to see you there! 

In celebration of Freedom to Read week 2012, Edmonton Public Library presents War of the Words: Language and Politics.

Reports in the corporate media reveal another victim of U.S. imperial policy: language. The use of words is a powerful tool in shaping public opinion. In military briefings repeated by the media, we have "collateral damage" instead... of civilian deaths. Designated enemies are ruled by "hardliners" while we have leaders. They launch "aggressive" wars while we "defend" ourselves. Euphemisms make the bloody reality of war a more palatable sell to the public.

Join EPL in welcoming David Barsamian – award-winning founder, director and host of Alternative Radio, the independent weekly talk radio series heard around the world – to close out Freedom to Read Week 2012.

When: Saturday, March 3, 2012 | 7:00pm

Where: Stanley A. Milner Library Theatre (Basement Level)

More: http://www.epl.ca/freedomtoread and http://on.fb.me/barsamian

Cost: FREE

About David Barsamian

One of America’s most tireless and wide-ranging investigative journalists, David Barsamian has altered the independent media landscape, both with his weekly radio show Alternative Radio—now in its 26th year—and with his books with Noam Chomsky, Eqbal Ahmad, Howard Zinn, Tariq Ali, Arundhati Roy and Edward Said. His latest book of interviews with Noam Chomsky is How the World Works. Barsamian, who was deported from India a few months ago due to his work on Kashmir and other revolts, discusses world affairs, the state of journalism, censorship, the economic crisis and global rebellions.

Homeless Connect 7 - Thank you volunteers!!

A tremendous THANK YOU! to our amazing group of volunteers who came out this past Sunday to make the 7th Homeless Connect in downtown Edmonton a huge success. 

 We had our largest number of volunteers yet attend and gave away over 1000 books to the event attendees. 

This is just a small group of our many (many!) volunteers who came throughout the day.

We really want to thank everyone who gave their time on Sunday (some of you VERY early in the morning) as well as your box hefting abilities and your librarian knowledge to help out the homeless and at risk community in our city. This is an incredible event in the city and it is easy to see what an impact just one day can have on many lives. This event grows each time it is held and I hope that many of our volunteers can attest that it is not only fun but also interesting and moving to see how this city can come together to create an event like this. 

You guys are not only brilliant, hard working, fun, organized, and knowledgeable, you are also very artistically gifted!

We would also like to thank everyone who participated in our Most Wanted Books Challenge - we were able to meet a lot more of our specific author and title requests this year than we have previously. Huge thanks to our booth mates - Edmonton Public Libraries for their very generous donations to this program and Community Bookshelf. We couldn't do this event without your donations. 

I'm still reeling with positive energy from how great this event was, we had so much great feedback from the attendees and other service providers and I hope to see many of you back in the spring for Homeless Connect 8 in May 2012. 

Thanks again! from you FLIF board members Shannon & Carly :)