Nova Scotia libraries see surge in demand for anti-racism books

For Nova Scotians looking to learn more about anti-racism, it may take longer than usual at your local library.

Libraries in the province are seeing a surge in demand for books about anti-racism following weeks of protests, rallies and vigils across Canada and around the world.

"It's been really heartening to see ...because it shows us people really want to learn more about this and fight injustice," said Cynthia Gatto, manager of collection development with Halifax Public Libraries.

The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, when an officer kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes, has sparked global outrage around the world and renewed calls for change.

Across Nova Scotia, thousands have turned out to peacefully protest racialized violence, police brutality and anti-Black racism.

There was also a rally held for Regis Korchinski-Paquet, a 29-year-old Toronto woman with Nova Scotia roots, who died after falling from a high-rise building while police were on scene.

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Demonstrators marched in Ottawa and other communities from coast to coast, protesting racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn

Gatto said the book people are most interested in borrowing right now isWhite Fragility by Robin DiAngelo. As of Friday, there were280 people waiting for one of 30 electronic copies.

"Which is really high, we don't normally buy that many copies for an e-book," Gatto said.

Gatto said the other booksmost in demand right now include:

• How To Be An Antiracistby Ibram X. Kendi.
• The Skin We're Inby Desmond Cole.
• So You Want to Talk About Raceby Ijeoma Oluo.

"Thetitles tell me people are interested in learning more about the Black experience and how white people or privileged people can learn to respond in a more compassionate way," she said.

Other libraries seeingincrease

It's not just the libraries in Halifax seeing more interest in anti-racism books.

Troy Myers, chief librarian of South Shore Public Libraries, said they've seen a 10 to 15 per cent increase in demand after a Black Lives Matter rally was held in Bridgewater.

"I think people really want to understand the history, particularly in Canada," Myers said.

"Often people don't have a full understanding of what racism is and the full history of people of colour, Indigenous people who have struggled for generations. I think that's the first step."

They created a reading list for people, which Myers said came after discussions with public libraries across Canada.

"People are just so eager to share reading lists, resources and book reviews," he said.

Wait times shorter than predicted

Gatto said they are checking their anti-racism holds list every day to see if they can bring in more copies or new titles to try and shorten the wait times.

She said people should know the estimated wait time is not always accurate and often people are able to get their book sooner than anticipated.

But she asks people to defer a hold if they don't have time to read right now and return e-books once they are finished with them.

Gatto said if people don't wait to wait, there are other free platforms accessible through the Halifax Public Libraries, such as Hoopla, which allows patrons to download five books a month without any waiting times, and Kanopy, a new streaming service that specializes in documentaries.

"We are listening, we understand it's frustrating to wait for items, but we will continue to add new titles and broaden the titles that we have to meet the demand as best we can," she said.

Myers said he hopes people will use their local library as a tool for education.

"We've always been places that want to welcome everybody without prejudice," he said.

"Maybe this might be one of the good things of COVID-19 because there hasn't been much but it's given people some time to reflect on where we've come from and where we want to go as a society,that little pause where we say, 'You know what, we need to do things differently.'"

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