The Edmonton incident concerned a complaint regarding the library's
acquisition of certain "revisionist histories," books whose central
premise is a denial of the historical record concerning the Jewish
Holocaust of 1939-1945. Thus there was no concern with obscenity or
immorality in the usual sense, nor was there a concern with politics, as in
the film. The controversy was, in the final analysis, the collision of two
noble ideas: the cause of intellectual freedom pitted against those who
objected to ideology masquerading as history. Additionally, certain
aspects of this controversy suggest a classic case of the correct defence
of intellectual freedom, by the book, as it were. What shows on the
surface, however, masks a turbulent and complex problem.
To explicate the nuances of this controversy, the first three chapters
provide the necessary background information, not to the problem
encountered, but to what provoked it, as well as the various defences of
actions taken. Chapter one is a brief historical overview of the debates
over the proposed "hate literature" amendments to the Canadian Criminal
Code. These discussions, which began in the early 1960s, were resurrected
twenty years later with the arrest and trials of Jim Keegstra and Ernst
Zundel. The tenor of the discussion was further altered by the impact of
the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms and proper account is made of
that legislation.
Chapter two is an account of the idea of intellectual freedom in the world
of librarianship. Intellectual freedom and it's corollary, the right to read,
are the ethical bases of any librarian's defence against censorship. Their
origins and relation to the right of freedom of expression in the Western
legal tradition is traced.
The third chapter is a consideration of the revisionist
methodology. Differences between mainstream and revisionist history are
explicated with specific examples. An account is offered as to why
revisionist studies of the Holocaust are so much more controversial than
other revisionist studies. A history of the Institute for Historical Review
is given with an attempt to determine its raison d'etre.
Once this background has been assimilated the reader should be in a better
position to assess the controversy at the Edmonton Public Library during
1988. The rest of the book is concerned with detailing the chronology of
events from April until October 1988. In order to make these events clear,
the participants are quoted at length in Chapters Four and Five. While
these lengthy quotations may seem to impede narrative flow, this remains
the most effective method of demonstrating the diversity of opinion
involved. Chapter Four considers the substance of the complaints, the
support of defenders of the Library, and media coverage. Chapter Five
evaluates the response of the Edmonton Public Library Board. It is clear
that the Board wished to support the library but needed time to consider
both the problem and possible courses of action. Through an examination
of the minutes of the Board meetings, it is possible to trace its
participation in this affair, as well as the effect of both public protest
adn media coverage. Chapter Six concludes the essay with some
reflections on censorship, holocaust denial, and public librarianship,
especially in relation to their effect on public policy. These last remarks
attempt to put the entire affair in perspective.