26 April 2026

The Ex Libris Association has grave concerns about the content and implications of the Alberta Government’s Bill 28.

The Ex Libris Association (ELA) is a national organization whose more than 200 members are chiefly retired information professionals, many with deep experience in and knowledge of the public library sector. We believe that the basic premises informing the reasons for this bill to be unfounded and fundamentally false.

We affirm the position of the Library Association of Alberta (LAA) in that “public libraries in Alberta do not collect or distribute illegal, obscene, or pornographic materials. Collections are developed by trained professionals using established policies, industry standards, and community-informed processes. We intentionally and thoughtfully consider age appropriateness in everything we do - from materials we select, to how we support families, to how we design welcoming spaces for children and youth.”

We are deeply concerned about the government overreach in this bill that allows government inspectors and officials to overrule the local authority of library directors, library boards and local governments to determine what is appropriate for their communities in regard to library materials, processes, and policies. Such measures would undermine a trusted system that Albertan library users rely on and value.

A further concern, in the words of Ron Sheppard, Director of the Parkland Regional Library System, is that Bill 28 will “undermine access to information ….and the privacy of Albertans.” And it would “place library workers in gatekeeping roles that don’t reflect how public libraries operate” in the 21st Century.

A recent survey of Albertans found that 82% trust their local libraries to make appropriate decisions about what materials are available in their collections, while 69% believe that decisions about library materials should be left to locally trained library staff.

The Ex Libris Association stands with the Coalition of Alberta Public Libraries and the Library Association of Alberta in asking the Government to reflect the trust of its constituents in how Alberta’s public libraries are managed.

We strongly urge the withdrawal of the changes to the Libraries Act proposed in Bill 28.

Advocacy Committee
Ex Libris Association