Posted on 06 October 2026 by Ken Feser.
Starting Jan. 1, 2027, the Government of Alberta will require public libraries to restrict access to certain explicit materials. Youth under 16 will not be able to access these materials without parental approval. Provincial restrictions will apply to borrowing and in-library access, and to all materials including adult collections. Materials impacted will include adult graphic novels, art books, educational books, video games, and DVDs - items that are freely available at bookstores and on mainstream streaming services like Netflix.
In recent weeks the Province has provided information which clarifies what libraries are required to do. Some of our worst fears will not come to pass. We will not have to review all of our materials and collections; we can identify “high risk” collections and focus on those. We will not have to limit physical access to DVDs which have no content that is readable without equipment; this means we can keep this collection without making areas of the library off limits to youth.
RELATED: Chief Librarian: Implementing Government In Bill 28 Will Damage Our Service And Facilities
We are happy and relieved that Bill 28 restrictions will not be as bad as we feared, but they remain damaging and offensive. Restricted items will disappear from view. Youth under 16 will have no access. Even adults will have to identify themselves and ask staff for materials. We know from experience that these types of barriers will drive usage of these materials to near zero. The invisibility of materials plus the inconvenience and stigma of asking for access will kill demand. Burying a book is nearly as effective as burning it.
Protecting children is an important value and priority that we all share. Intellectual freedom and the democratic right to think for ourselves is also a value. One value should not be used as an excuse to undermine the other, especially when no positive change results.
We know these restrictions will not help to protect and support children. Children do not use the library to access explicit materials; we have literally no record of any such thing happening in our facility. In 2025 our Library Board members talked to hundreds of Hatters about the library and community, and not one person raised this as a concern. The Province has pushed the local community aside, taken control of a municipal service, and assumed the power to censor what we read.
A tiny percentage, well under 1%, of our materials contains images that could be considered explicit. These are always part of a larger work which has value as an educational resource or artistic expression: scientific works, art books, health guides, movies, TV series, graphic novels, and more can contain such images. These are legitimate materials that are wanted by people in our community.
Alberta libraries would be willing to work with the Province to address the concerns which are driving these regulations. Common sense, workable solutions are possible. Parents already have the ability to control children’s use of the library, but more fine-grained controls could be added. Parental advisories could be added to collections like adult graphic novels and DVDs. Improvements are always possible and we care about making our library welcoming to everyone in our community. Unfortunately, the Province has abandoned its longstanding co-operative approach to the public library network, has proceeded with no library input and is imposing regulations which damage public libraries.
Ken Feser
Chief Librarian
Follow the library on social media: @mhpubliclibrary