COMMUNITY Five books challenged at library

Vikki Hui VHUI@RICHMOND-NEWS COM

A book was removed from Richmond Public Library (RPL) in 2022 for containing misinformation about COVID-19, while three children’s books about gender and sexuality and a cookbook were allowed to stay on the shelves

The Truth about COVID-19 by Joseph Mercola and Ronnie Cummins was the first book to be removed from RPL since 2015, according to a report from the library

Wendy Jang, coordinator of collections and customer service delivery, said the book was removed because it contained “ numerous misleading, discredited statements in the footnotes” and cited “questionable sources ”

It also prescribed treatments deemed dangerous by medical professionals and mixed sensible health advice with pseudoscientific advice One of the authors, Mercola, had been warned by the American Food and Drug Administration to stop offering Vitamin D as a treatment or prevention option for COVID-19

“McGill University’s Office for Science and Society website described the book as

‘monumentally wrong, ’” said Jang

She said she’s not sure how the book ended up on RPL shelves in the first place, but she suspects its popularity at the time might have something to do with it

The three children’s books, which RPL decided to retain in its collection, are Tabitha and Magoo Dress Up Too written by Michelle Tea and illustrated by Elvis Van der Dos; It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, Gender and Sexual Health by Robie Harris and Michael Emberley; and Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberger and Fiona Smyth

A customer complained Tabitha and Magoo “promoted pedophilia (and) pushed children to break society’s rules without good reason. ” They also claimed drag queens were not “considered reputable leaders in society ” The library pushed back saying it “offers a positive affirmation of gender expression and features a drag queen storytime” and RPL is dedicated to ensuring a balanced offering

“If (parents) do not believe something is appropriate they can select something else (that’s) right for them,” said Jang

It’s Perfectly Normal and Sex is a Funny Word were both reported to have “ sexually explicit material” and supposedly con-

Tained Child Pornography

“The final decision was to keep the two books because they provided age-appropriate information on sexuality for children,” Jang explained “These books have received accolades from book reviewers and doctors, and they do not contravene the Criminal Code of Canada ”

Politics was also a reason for such complaints, as Simply Happy Cooking by Steve and Kathy Doocy was reported for Steve Doocy’s appearance on the show Fox and Friends The customer argued the show “represented American conservative politi- cal and cultural values which shouldn’t be ‘what the library stands for ’”

RPL kept the book as it only contained recipes and anecdotes and had no “political, cultural or ideological agenda ”

What happens when people get offended?

It is not often that complaints are made about RPL materials, Jang explained Between 1982 and 2022, the library received a total of 117 complaints

At RPL, such complaints are submitted as requests for consideration, which are reviewed by a team of three librarians and later by a manager A recommendation will then be made to the chief librarian, who will decide whether to keep the material, relocate it to a more appropriate collection, buy more materials with opposing viewpoints or remove the material

“It is not often that we take a book off the shelf,” said Jang

RPL staff guidelines indicate materials are only removed if they are inaccurate or outdated, or if they contravene RPL’s code of conduct, the Criminal Code or the Human Rights Act

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