Finding Canadian magazines featuring homegrown content more relevant to readers north of the 49th parallel will be made that much easier at the Sundre library.
The Sundre Municipal Library board, of which I am a member, recently discussed an alternative approach to collection purchases for magazines in light of tariffs imposed by the U.S. administration that have prompted retaliatory measures from the Canadian government.
While much of the library’s content otherwise comes from a supplier that provides books by both American and Canadian authors, there has been some debate with respect to magazine subscriptions, and we considered whether to focus more on Canadian content.
As it is, approximately half of the library’s magazine subscriptions are Canadian while roughly the other half are American, with a handful of exceptions.
The most checked out magazine at the library is People, which is an American publication that was borrowed about 250 times last year. That was in contrast to the roughly 10-12 times Scientific American, also a U.S.-based publication, was checked out.
We unanimously agreed against any move to boycott or remove U.S. titles as such a decision would stand in direct contrast with the library’s stated goal of making information readily available and also be a great disservice to residents who want to learn more about the world.
Furthermore, the board also remains firmly committed to supporting publications like Scientific American that are fact-driven and provide a crucial service towards enlightening readers who are so inclined to actually read its pages.
On a side note, I could not help but to find myself wondering how vastly different the world might be if Scientific American was being borrowed hundreds of times per year as opposed to People magazine.
But I digress.
Although we weren’t about to start pulling publications off the library’s shelves, there was also a consensus towards not only branding Canadian publications with maple leaf tags for easier identification but also defaulting to Canadian publications wherever applicable, such as instances involving comparable magazines that feature similar content about subjects like cooking, sports or the outdoors.
Chatelaine Magazine, which has a Canadian presence, used to be available at the Sundre library but was eventually removed as it wasn't going out. Yet its editors have in recent years mandated a focus to feature a higher percentage of content written by Indigenous people and women of colour that includes coverage spotlighting a variety of different demographics in Canada.
Library staff monitor which titles don’t seem to get checked out throughout the span of the year and plans future purchases accordingly. However, our library is receptive to requests from residents, so the fate of Chatelaine has not necessarily been sealed and could potentially make a comeback pending demand.
Among some of the Canadian magazines that are available at the library are Macleans, which offers a wide range of analysis and perspectives on politics, pop culture, trends and current events, as well as GoodLife, which is geared more towards retired lifestyles.
So anyone who might be on the lookout for all kinds of Canadian content as a reminder of what makes this country a unique nation that has no interest in trading in the maple leaf for the stars and stripes is encouraged to check out our library’s shelves.
And if you don’t yet have a library card, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. While we certainly accept and greatly appreciate any donations, a membership with the Sundre Municipal Library is available at no cost.
Simon Ducatel is an editor with the Albertan.
