This ancient Latin adage prompts us to ask ourselves who in society oversees those with discretion, such as spending public funds, judging, pruning.
On November 25, in the article “Youth titles too white for school libraries”, the journalist from To have to Catherine Lalonde mentioned the choice of the librarian at the Center de services scolaire des Mille-Îles, Lyne Rajotte. According to the article, the latter, to meet the needs of the 72 libraries it manages, made the decision four years ago “to buy 100% of children’s books where a child of diversity appears.” This book, we acquire it, good or not ”.
Two years earlier, the Providence Catholic School Board in Ontario, under the leadership of “knowledge keeper” Suzy Kies, undertook the destruction of just under 5,000 books deemed discriminatory and conveying prejudices contrary to the principles of the exclusion. The dossier was widely commented on in the press and the public a few months ago. Acquiring a book, “whether it is good or not,” as well as destroying another, in both cases under the guise of inclusion, raises questions that are far from trivial.
Who decides on policies for acquiring or pruning school libraries? And who oversees those who make such decisions? The file is complex, and it is not my intention to pass judgment on the value or relevance of the inclusion of minorities in society, but to nourish a reflection on how we want to go about it for succeed in this transition harmoniously. Since it is a question of inclusion, wouldn’t it be wise, precisely, to include representatives of the communities concerned in the process? Especially when it comes to eliminating or buying books from school libraries?