Category: Themes, Displays, and Library Events

W.E.B. Du Bois

American scholar and leading civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois was born on this day in 1868. Du Bois was the first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard University. Du Bois was a great thinker and researcher in many fields, including Sociology and History, and was leading Civil Rights advocate and opponent of Jim Crow throughout his adult life. He was the author of numerous works, including The Souls of Black Folk (1903) and Black Reconstruction in America (1935). Du Bois was a founding member of the NAACP in 1910, and its journal, “The Crisis.”

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February is Black History Month. Find out more by visiting us in person, or online at tweedsmuirlibrary.ca

Book Challenges in Canada

From September 2022 to the end of August 2023, Canadian libraries, especially school libraries, faced the highest number of book challenges ever for a 12 month period in Canada (source). The number of official challenge is likely just a small fraction of the challenges that go unreported– ALA studies suggest 82 -97% of challenges go unreported (source).

Intellectual freedom has been a pillar of library philosophy for nearly a century; and in our current climate, it is perhaps our most valuable tool in our efforts to amplify the voices of the most marginalized within our communities.

Michael Nyby

Read the full article, “A Rising Tide of Censorship: Recent Challenges in Canadian Libraries” by Michael Nyby of the CFLA Intellectual Freedom Committee, at Freedomtoread.ca

Bob Marley

Reggae legend Bob Marley was born on this day in 1945 in Nine Miles, Jamaica. Sadly, he died far too young, at only 36 years old, in 1981.  Marley was an international music superstar who helped catapult the Reggae sounds of Jamaica into the global consciousness. Marley was a revered symbol of the African Diaspora and was a strong voice for anti-racism and democratic rights. For more on the life of this amazing artist, take a look at some of the many books we have here in the school library.

Online you can also check out:

Hank Aaron

Henry “Hank” Aaron was born on this day in 1934. Hank Aaron was one of the greats of the sport of baseball. He was a legendary home run hitter who would also win multiple Gold Gloves. Hank Aaron was a World Series Champion, a National League MVP, and was selected for an incredible 25 All-Star Games. More than that, he was a great human being.

The legendary Muhammad Ali, in his day considered by many to be the world’s most famous, if not greatest, athlete, said of Aaron, that he was the “only man I idolize more than myself.” (Baseball Hall of Fame).

In 1973 Aaron hit his 715th home run to pass the iconic Babe Ruth with the most ever. Aaron was under intense scrutiny as he approached the record, all the more because he was a black man who was about to break the record of a white hero, something that was unacceptable to the white supremacist ethos. Aaron faced intense racism, including death threats against him and his family. Remarkably, even in the face of such despicable conditions, he continued to perform on the field, crushing the all-time record, holding it for more than 30 years. For all who knew him personally, it was not surprising that off the field he continued to live a life of humility, dignity and integrity. Hank Aaron was an outspoken supporter of the Civil Rights movement, and spent his post-playing days working for many humanitarian and philanthropic causes.

Find out more about Hank Aaron:

Baseball Hall of Fame

Hank Aaron’s Legacy…

Civil Rights Walk of Fame

Hank Aaron’s Lasting Impact

Hank Aaron: Home Run Hero

Rosa Parks

One of the icons of the US Civil Rights movement looked an unlikely hero but proved to be someone whose strength of character belied her appearance. Rosa Parks was born on this day in 1934.  In the face of the overt racism of 1950’s America, Rosa famously refused to give up her seat on the bus, as black people were expected to do for white people. She was arrested, and the resulting Montgomery Bus Boycott proved to be one of foundational events of the Civil Rights Movement.

source: wikimedia commons

For more on Rosa Parks:

Come down to the School Library to check out our titles on Rosa Parks and other books for Black History Month:

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was born on this day in 1901. Hughes would go on to become a renowned poet, playwright, novelist and social activist. Langston Hughes was at the center of the the intellectual and cultural phenomenon that was the “Harlem Renaissance” of the twenties and thirties in New York.

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Black History Month

February is Black History Month. Join us in the School Library as we explore, acknowledge and celebrate Black History, with an emphasis on the experience of Canadians of African descent, African-Americans, and other peoples in the world-wide African diaspora.

Sci-Fi Favourites

What are your favourite Science Fiction titles? Here are some of ours.

Use the comments to share some of your favourite sci-fi titles.

What is Sci-Fi?

What is science fiction? There are many different books, films, games and other media that can fall into the genre of sci-fi. There are many different definitions, many different sub-genres, and many different elements that can make something “sci-fi.” It wouldn’t be possible to come up with one definition that all Science Fiction writers and creators would agree upon. Having said that, we can examine some common themes and elements.

Science Fiction is a genre which can fit under the umbrella of Speculative Fiction, alongside, and often overlapping with, Fantasy and Horror. Science Fiction tends to be futuristic, imagining advances in technology and scientific achievement beyond our current levels. Robots, cyborgs and technologically modified humans are common in SF. Sci-fi often includes elements such as space travel, aliens, life on other planets or in other galaxies. However, sci-fi can also stay here on earth, exploring such things as utopia, dystopia, alternative histories, and post-apocalyptic scenarios. There can be an emphasis on science, with stories set in very realistic situations based on real scientific research, but can also extend into levels of conjecture that may try to extrapolate or predict where we are headed with science. In fact, SF can stray from hard science, abandoning realism altogether as it explores the paranormal and the fantastic.

Hugo and Nebula Winners

In the world of science fiction, the Hugo and the Nebula are the most prestigious awards that can be won by the author of a Sci-Fi novel. Here are those titles that achieved both distinctions and rank among the very best Sci-Fi works of all time. 

All of these novels can be found in your School Library. Come down to check them out.