Harry Potter and Diary of Anne Frank still circulating in PDSB libraries despite criticism, says school board

The Peel District School Board has issued a statement following backlash over the ongoing “weeding” of some dated books from its libraries.

“Weeding” refers to the process of removing books from circulation as the information inside them becomes dated or inaccurate. Books can also be weeded when they fall into disrepair, or when they fail to circulate a minimum number of times within a certain timeframe. Weeding is a common practice within libraries that ensures any given collection stays current and relevant.

In a statement to CP24, PDSB director of education Rashmi Swarup said that teacher librarians have been directed to keep books “with any publishing date,” as long as they are “accurate, relevant to the student population, inclusive, not harmful and support the current curriculum from the Ministry of Education.”

The statement, issued in the aftermath of social media backlash from parents due to the alleged removal of books like the Harry Potter Series and “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank, emphasizes that such books remain in the PDSB collection, “and, where needed, newer versions may be purchased if the book is in poor condition,” per the statement.

“Training is conducted annually, and we will be reviewing our training process to ensure consistency in replenishment of Library Learning Commons Resources across PDSB schools,” the statement continues.

In May of this year, Peel schools issued a report on their diversity and equity rollout plan, which includes an item on weeding. The first of a three-step curation cycle in Peel schools, weeding is described as an equity measure to ensure the removal of books that might “perpetuate negative stereotypes and promote deficit-thinking.

“The remaining resources must reflect anti-racist, anti-oppressive and anti-colonial content,” says the report.

Once weeding is complete, Peel schools will perform a “representation audit,” which will ensure the school board’s book collection “intentionally affirm students’ identities that continue to be sparsely represented in PDSB’s current collections and classrooms.”