These 6 books and a film screening were challenged at Ottawa library branches in 2025

Ottawa residents peruse the aisles at the Ottawa Public Library.

The Ottawa Public Library denied six requests to remove or relocate books on the shelves of its branches in 2025.

A report for the Ottawa Public Library Board shows the library received 11 formal challenges last year, including six challenges over items in the library’s collection and five challenges to a movie screening in a meeting room last year.

There were 11 formal challenges for books at the Ottawa Public Library in 2024 and seven challenges in 2023.

Of the six challenges to books in the library’s collection last year, staff said there was one challenge to an item in the adult collection, four items in the children’s collection and one challenge to an item in the teen collection.

“All items were retained in the existing collection area,” staff said.

Here is a look at the six books subjected to requests for reconsideration at the Ottawa Public Library in 2024:

Remove

• A Map for Falasteen by Maysa Odeh (Basis for challenge: anti-Semitism)
• Meet Buffy Sainte-Marie by Elizabeth MacLeod (Basis for challenge: inaccurate/misleading content)
• Don’t Look Left by Atef Abu Saif (Basis for challenge: anti-Semitism)
• My Life with Anxiety by Mari Schuh (Basis for challenge: Inaccurate/misleading content)

Relocate

• Big Nate From the Top by Lincoln Peirce (Basis for challenge: age inappropriate)
• The Maid I Hired Recently Is Mysterious by Wakame Konbu (Basis for challenge: age inappropriate)

While the Ottawa Public Library received five challenges to a movie screening in a branch meeting room last year, the event proceeded as planned.

According to the report, there were five requests related to “Adult Human Female Documentary Screening” by Women’s Rights Matter Ottawa. It was scheduled for Feb. 15 and did proceed, staff said.

The basis for the challenges was transphobia and anti-trans, staff said. The five desired actions related to the film were:

• “Ensure those in a position of authority to grant access to the OPL spaces be better screened for homophobic tendencies.”
• “A public apology to the trans community from OPL; that OPL publish a statement that commits to preventing such a booking in the future.”
• “Reconsider allowing harmful transphobic groups to host future events promoting transphobic content in their auditoriums.”
• “A public apology for hosting anti-trans activists and a statement to the LGBT community committing to better vetting guests and preventing such groups from using public spaces.”
• “Publicly apologize to the trans community of Ottawa for the harm done; publish a statement detailing plan to prevent this kind of harm from reoccurring; ensure such events are not programmed in the future.”

Staff said there were no challenges received for art exhibits, library programs or displays in library branches last year.

• Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App