The Edmonton Public Library (EPL) says it made the “difficult” decision to start pulling books and other materials off the shelf come New Year’s Day. The library said it will be following new laws that require library materials with visual depictions of sexual acts to be kept separate and accessed only by staff. “We are complying because we are required to by law, not because we agree,” Shawna Vogel, EPL board chair, said in a media release on Thursday. The changes were passed into law by the Government of Alberta earlier this year, a move Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams said would prevent them from being seen by children “wandering these libraries.” “I’m glad the Edmonton Public Library has confirmed it will comply with Alberta’s new library regulations, which ensures visual sexually explicit material does not end up in the hands of children without a parent’s consent,” Williams told CTV News Edmonton on Friday. “No materials are being removed from Alberta libraries and any parent can allow their children to access material when they choose. Library boards are free to share their views, but this is the law.” EPL said it asked the province for a list of restricted titles but did not receive one, nor did it receive any response about what penalties would be under the new rules. Williams’ office did not answer questions from CTV News Edmonton on Friday about penalties or if the province would be helping libraries with the costs associated with implementing the new policies. The library said on Friday that it had begun reviewing materials to see which ones would have to be restricted based on the Alberta Libraries Regulation. That regulation’s definition of a sexual act includes: masturbation, ejaculation, and penetrative sex, as well as sexual touching with hands, mouths or “artificial sexual organs.” Depictions of puberty, menstruation, pregnancy and breastfeeding are not restricted, nor are kissing and holding hands. Anyone 16 and older will have to check out restricted materials – including books, magazines, video games, graphic novels and comics – at the desk with a staff member. “These restrictions effectively amount to censorship, limiting all Albertans’ freedom to access information, and we will continue to speak out against them,” Sharon Day, EPL chief executive officer, said in the release. “In the meantime, our responsibility is to comply with the law while keeping the library experience as normal as possible, ensuring our branches remain welcoming spaces for everyone.” Williams denies the changes are censorship. He said the province’s approach is “moderate” and what “Albertans, families and parents expect.” The library says parents will need to update accounts for kids under 16 if they want them to have access to EPL’s full collection. Critics have called the rules government overreach and libraries have said they already have processes in place to manage content. “EPL already has policies on collection development, intellectual freedom and public internet access, and long-standing processes for reconsidering materials when community members raise concerns,” EPL told CTV News Edmonton. “So far, only four titles have been challenged in 2026.” More information on the new policy and how parents can authorize access for their children will be announced before the Jan. 1 deadline, EPL said, and will be posted on the EPL website. The province faced backlash in 2025 over similar rules it said were needed to restrict access to “inappropriate” books in school libraries, despite Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides saying he did not know how often students were accessing those books. Around the same time, a Government of Alberta survey found most of the 77,395 respondents did not approve of the province setting standards for school library books.
