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Freedom to Read

Challenges to books, magazines and movies in public libraries request that material be labeled, moved or removed from library shelves. Most challenges don't make headlines but they affect the right of Canadians to decide for themselves what they choose to read. In recognition of Freedom to Read Week, this list collects some of the titles that have been challenged or damaged in Alberta's public libraries.

User from Calgary Public Library

12 items

  • Described by the publisher as explicitly a resource for parents who want their children to flourish but don't believe medicalization is the best way. It has been challenged for inaccurate or misleading content and for being transphobic.
    Book, 2023Durham, North Carolina : Pitchstone Publishing, 2023, ©2023. — 649. 1564 AYA
  • Alphabet Soup

    the Essential Guide to LGBTQ2+ Inclusion at Work

    Bach, Michael, 1971-
    Described by the publisher as everything you need to know about creating an LGBTQ2+ inclusive workplace. It has been vandalized.
    Book, 2022[Canada] : Page Two, 2022, ©2022. — 658. 30866 BAC
  • War in Ukraine

    Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict

    Benjamin, Medea, 1952-
    The publisher says War in Ukraine is for anyone who wants to "get beneath" media propaganda, to an understanding of a war with consequences that could prove cataclysmic. It has been challenged for inaccurate or misleading content and for being…
    Book, 2025New York : OR Books, 2025, ©2025. — 947. 7062 BEN 2025
  • There Is No Difference

    An Argument for the Abolition of the Indian Reserve System and Special Race-based Laws and Entitlements for Canada's Indians

    Best, Peter
    Best's self-published book proposes legal equality as a solution to the "separate but equal" status quo which, he argues, has harmed the "vast majority of vulnerable, marginalized Indigenous Canadians". It has been challenged for being racist…
    Book, 2018[Place of publication not identified] ; Tellwell Talent, 2018. — 333. 2 BES
  • Sophie Crumb

    Evolution of a Crazy Artist

    Crumb, Sophie,
    Described by the publisher as a selection of drawings and paintings from Sophie Crumb's sketchbooks, depicting her "artistic and psychological maturation", and edited by her parents, Aline and R. Crumb. It has been challenged for explicit content.
    Graphic Novel, 2011New York : W.W. Norton & Company, 2011, ©2011. — GRAPHIX 741. 092 CRU C
  • Described by the publisher as an intensely cathartic autobiography that charts Kobabe's journey of self-identity as nonbinary and asexual. It has been challenged for explicit content.
    Graphic Novel, 2019St. Louis : Lion Forge Comics, 2019, ©2019. — GRAPHIX 741. 5973 KOB K
  • The story of a young artist in Oakland, CA, in the late 1970s, and the characters she meets as a waitress. It has been challenged for explicit content and the depiction of substance abuse.
    Graphic Novel, 2017Montreal, Québec : Drawn & Quarterly, 2017, ©2017. — GRAPHIX 741. 5 PON
  • Described by the publisher as a daring and clever dissection of a crumbling marriage between two people, each exploring identity, insecurity, intimacy, and desire. It has been vandalized.
    Book, 2025Toronto : Random House Canada, ©2025. — FICTION WIL
  • Baby Making for Everybody

    Family Building and Fertility for LGBTQ+ and Solo Parents

    Rachlin, Ray,
    Described by the publisher as a step-by-step guide for the process of pursuing parenthood for queer and solo people. It has been vandalized.
    Book, 2023New York : Balance, 2023, ©2023. — 618. 30086 RAC
  • Irreversible Damage

    the Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters

    Shrier, Abigail,
    In its description, the publisher says Shrier has "dug deep into the trans epidemic" and that her book will help parents understand the trans craze and how to inoculate their daughters against it. It has been challenged for objectionable content.
    Book, 2020Washington, District of Columbia : Regnery Publishing, a division of Salem Media Group, 2020, ©2020. — 306. 768 SHR
  • Raising LGBTQ Allies

    a Parent's Guide to Changing the Messages From the Playground

    Tompkins, Chris (LGBTQ advocate),
    Described by the publisher as a resource for opening up conversations with parents about homophobia, the possibility they may have an LGBTQ child, and how heteronormativity can be harmful. It has been vandalized.
    Book, 2021Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, 2021, ©2021. — 306. 766 TOM
  • Grave Error

    How the Media Misled Us (and the Truth About Residential Schools)

    Grave Error, published by True North and Dorchester Books, describes itself as a factual compendium about residential schools and states recent "unmarked graves" hysteria will subside. It has been challenged for inaccurate or misleading content and…
    Book, 2023[Calgary, Alberta] : True North/Dorchester Books, 2023, ©2023. — 302. 2308997 GRA