Smiths Falls Public Libray CEO and Chief Librarian Amanda Foster wants local government to flag the recently passed Bill 28 in Alberta, which allows their provincial government to age-restrict access to some books, and allow access to an individauls borrowing history.
Foster’s heard no talks of it coming to Ontario, but notes similar legislation has been implemented in some US states before making its way to the west coast, so it’s a future possibility.
The Alberta government says the bill is meant to modernize library laws and does not automatically ban books or make borrowing records public.
The library itself continues to thrive since the completed renovations, with nearly 29,000 in-person visitors from last June through March, and events and program participation continues to climb.
When asked about long-term community growth, Foster flagged a couple of concerns.
Foster says there’s a little discussion about a new location for the library to accommodate more community growth, , but that wouldn’t be for a couple of decades.
Story by Grant Deme
