EDMONTON, AB – September 8, 2025 – The Greater Edmonton Library Association (GELA) has been closely following the decisions made by the Government of Alberta concerning Ministerial Order #030/2025: Standards for the Selection, Availability, and Access of School Library Materials. As an organization dedicated to librarians, library workers, and the ethics of librarianship, GELA has been dismayed to see the provincial government’s disregard for the opinions and expertise of teachers and librarians. As reported by CBC News, of the almost 110,000 responses cut from the “cleaned up” results of the government’s school library standards engagement survey, nearly all of the excluded responses came from self-identified school administrators, teachers and librarians.
GELA is in support of the statements made by the Library Association of Alberta (LAA), including that the provincial government can best support school libraries for the benefit of students by providing adequate funding for school libraries and by entrusting decisions about the selections and management of school library materials to school librarians and teachers, not politicians.
GELA also supports organizations such as the Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) calling for the Government of Alberta to rescind Ministerial Order #030/2025.
Alberta’s students need access to information to learn and grow, not censorship. When educational spaces such as school libraries are censored, students turn to sources such as the Internet and peers to answer their questions. Students deserve to receive rich, well-informed education about sexual health, gender identity, sexuality, puberty, consent, and healthy relationships, from teachers and school librarians who are trusted and well-equipped to do their jobs.
Natasha D’Amours, GELA President
On behalf of the GELA Executive Committee
gela.ca 