“I was shocked,” recipient of inaugural South Central Regional Library Human Rights Book Prize – PembinaValleyOnline.com

In recent years, the South Central Regional Library has been in the spotlight, both locally and nationally, amid questions about what content a public library is appropriate to offer.

To recognize its navigation through difficult times, the Manitoba Library Association awarded SCRL the inaugural Human Rights Book Award. The award, which was created this year alongside the Association of Manitoba Book Publishers (AMBP), recognizes a nominee’s “strong commitment to championing human rights, inclusiveness and equity in the library access for one’s library or in the library community of a local institution. , regional, provincial or national.

Cathy Ching, director of library services at SCRL, is touched by this gesture.

“(The Manitoba Library Association) recognizes that we value intellectual freedom and people’s right to choose,” Ching says.

Ching admits that recent years have taken a toll on SCRL.


“We sometimes felt like we were on a ship being pushed out to sea, and we didn’t know where to turn or who was going to help us. We knew our board and staff had our backs for the most part, but it was a battle. »

According to Ching, the difficult times the library finds itself in have troubled many people; From local readers and community members who use library services to residents of Manitoba and beyond, many communities have felt its impact. In this context, SCRL has used its experience to educate and inform those who have encountered or may encounter similar terrain.

“(I) took my group of administrators to a workshop in Portage la Prairie. . . as well as a few other libraries that have had other challenges with censorship and discrimination. We talked about how what seemed like a simple book challenge turned into a hijacking of our lives. We talked about how things can happen so quickly, the need to be prepared and have your policy (in place).

Ching also traveled with Gail Hildebrand (Morden Library Branch Administrator) to speak about human rights to a class at the University of Winnipeg.

“I think it was an eye-opener for a lot of people because it’s (considered) ‘a big city problem.’ No, this is not the case. It can be anywhere, and we just have to be careful not to let things get away from us.

Ching is pleased with the library’s response to the pressure of controversy.

“The Canadian Library Association’s statement on intellectual freedom makes it clear that no one should have the right to choose for anyone else. The assumption that we could stand firm and not let someone remove something they deemed inappropriate for someone else is just a victory. It just makes us proud of the fact that we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing, and I don’t think until that happened I really understood it.

In the wake of the library’s determination to maintain its policies despite conflicts, Ching sees the Human Rights Book Prize as a fitting end.

“(This award) and this recognition was the icing on the cake. I was shocked because we just did what we did. . . . (We) never realized anything would come of it, because that’s not why we did it. We did it so our customers could come and choose or not.

Ching says she doesn’t know what the price of the book that will accompany the award will be, but that “it will be of great value and interest no matter what.”

These days, SCRL is once again focusing on its books, its collections and its patrons.

“I don’t know if people understand how amazing South Central is, because we’re the second largest rural library system in Manitoba,” Ching says. “We have a major influence in the province. . . . We are dynamic, and the old saying that libraries will go the way of the dinosaur is not true.

Ching says the library’s summer reading program is just around the corner and attracted more than 1,500 children last year. The South Central Regional Library has branches in Altona, Manitou, Miami, Morden and Winkler.

“(Our) libraries are no longer silent. People come in and we hear them say “shh”. The librarian (says) “no, don’t worry about that.” It’s not us anymore. We are a community space and we want everyone to feel like they belong here.

Ching thanks the Manitoba Library Association for the Human Rights Book Award and is also grateful to the nominator of the South Central Regional Library.

~With files from Robyn Wiebe~