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The Free Press Education Subject English Language Arts

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Please review each article prior to use: grade-level applicability and curricular alignment might not be obvious from the headline alone.

FILE - This Dec. 17, 2015 file photo shows a sign outside the building housing the Las Vegas Review-Journal in Las Vegas. AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Why one Las Vegas newspaper just stopped printing its rival

Jessica Hill, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Why one Las Vegas newspaper just stopped printing its rival

Jessica Hill, The Associated Press 5 minute read Saturday, Apr. 25, 2026

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Las Vegas Review-Journal announced Friday that it will no longer print its rival the Las Vegas Sun for the first time in decades, sharpening their legal dispute over the nation’s last joint operating agreement stemming from a 1970 law designed to preserve newspapers.

Readers “will not find a printed Las Vegas Sun insert inside,” the Review-Journal wrote in an editorial, noting the Sun maintains a website, has a few hundred thousand followers across social media platforms, and is free to produce its own newspaper.

“We encourage them to do so. The Review-Journal competes with countless sources of news and entertainment, but we would welcome one more. We just don’t want to foot the bill. It is time the Sun stood up on its own two feet,” the editorial said, without specifying the cost.

It was the first day in 76 years the Sun hasn’t been printed, Sun attorney Leif Reid said in an email.

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Saturday, Apr. 25, 2026
Incarcerated women read books in the library of the Djanira Dolores de Oliveira women's prison in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Brazilian inmates find relief and reduce sentences through reading

Eléonore Hughes, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Brazilian inmates find relief and reduce sentences through reading

Eléonore Hughes, The Associated Press 6 minute read Saturday, Apr. 25, 2026

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — When 33-year-old Brazilian woman Emily de Souza heard about a program allowing her to shave off four days from her prison sentence by reading a book, she seized the opportunity to reconnect with a cherished habit.

Like tens of thousands of detainees across the country — including former President Jair Bolsonaro — she signed up for a sentence reduction program that encourages inmates to immerse themselves in literary works in exchange for reducing their sentences by up to 48 days per year.

The possibility of reuniting earlier with her 9-year-old autistic son, who her mother and aunt are looking after, only ramped up her motivation to participate in the project.

“One day is an eternity because it feels like it’s never going to end,” said de Souza, who is incarcerated at the Djanira Dolores de Oliveira Women’s Prison in Rio de Janeiro, which houses approximately 820 female detainees.

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Saturday, Apr. 25, 2026
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AI literacy and confidence tricksters

Riley Enns 5 minute read Saturday, Mar. 28, 2026

Canada’s first AI Literacy Day was March 27.

SiR’s upcoming season a case of all’s fair in love and war
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SiR’s upcoming season a case of all’s fair in love and war

Ben Waldman 3 minute read Preview
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SiR’s upcoming season a case of all’s fair in love and war

Ben Waldman 3 minute read Saturday, Mar. 21, 2026

A month before Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation of The Odyssey invades cinemas worldwide, Shakespeare in the Ruins’ 2026 season will feature a solo version of The Iliad, giving audiences a crash course in Homer’s epic prequel just in time for a blockbuster summer.

With global conflict and the threats of unmitigated re-armament on his — and everyone’s — mind, artistic director Rodrigo Beilfuss says it only made sense for the outdoor theatre company to return to the Trojan War as a window into the everlasting human cost of international conflict.

Beilfuss, who joined SiR as artistic director in 2019, made a concerted effort throughout the company’s return from pandemic-induced hiatus to program gentler fare. But with last year’s well-received production of Macbeth, the company indicated it was ready to return to tragic terrain.

During a season backdropped by wildfire, the artistic director was reminded of the potential for the classics to cut through the smoke and reveal eternal truths as the world burns.

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Saturday, Mar. 21, 2026

Education taxes not a ‘hot mess’

John R. Wiens 5 minute read Saturday, Mar. 21, 2026

While I mostly agree with Dan Lett’s analysis (Councillors brace for impact when provincial education property tax hikes hit mailboxes, March 19), there are some significant reasons to challenge his statement about education funding being “a hot mess.”

As for the suburban councillors’ despondency, I find it hard to be sympathetic. My experience has been that most homeowners, even if they do not understand fully the purposes of all property taxes, do understand that some of them go to fund city services and some to the school division they live in. This has been made clear repeatedly by the separation of the taxes on the tax notices.

In my view, councillors should be pleased that some citizens might actually consider them an essential part the adequate funding of children’s education. The issue is not, as implied, lack of accountability or ownership — nothing is hidden and trustees are quite willing to take credit for their decisions. The councillors’ complaints seem more self-serving than conscientious leadership.

What is a hot mess is what the current government was left with at the end of the last Conservative era, akin to what they were left with after the previous one — the Conservatives would do well to rethink several aspects of their political strategies. Manitobans have repeatedly let them know that they are less concerned about tax savings than they are about support for public education.

Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture Marc Miller rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby
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Culture minister says ‘serious conversation’ needed about AI systems and news media

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview
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Culture minister says ‘serious conversation’ needed about AI systems and news media

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Friday, Apr. 24, 2026

OTTAWA - Culture Minister Marc Miller says the government must have a serious conversation about AI systems’ use of news.

"Having the news cannibalized and regurgitated undermines the spirit of the use of that news in the first place and the purpose for which it's used and we have to have a serious conversation with the platforms that purport to use it including AI shops," Miller said.

Miller was asked whether the government is open to extending its Online News Act to AI companies. The Online News Act requires Meta and Google to compensate media outlets for displaying their content. Meta pulled news off its platforms in response, but Google has been making payments under the act.

He said it’s not a question about opening up the legislation but of making sure companies are acting responsibly.

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Friday, Apr. 24, 2026
MICHELLE BLAIS PHOTO
                                Kyra Soo (right, with corps de ballet member Logan Savard) is charismatic as Princess Aurora.
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RWB turns classic 'Sleeping Beauty' fairy tale into waking dream

Holly Harris 5 minute read Preview
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RWB turns classic 'Sleeping Beauty' fairy tale into waking dream

Holly Harris 5 minute read Saturday, Mar. 14, 2026

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet unveiled its dreamy new production The Sleeping Beauty Thursday, with the beloved ballet throwing more sparks than a spray of pixie dust.

Considered one of the pillars of the classical ballet canon, the lushly romantic story ballet features Tchaikovsky’s masterful score. American guest conductor Ming Luke crisply leads the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra throughout the production, with the maestro officially stepping onto the podium as RWB music director this fall, taking over the baton from outgoing conductor Julian Pellicano.

The Sleeping Beauty, composed of a prologue and three acts, is essentially an archetypal tale of goodness triumphing over evil. Its protagonist, Princess Aurora, is doomed by evil fairy Carabosse to die on her 16th birthday, until the benevolent Lilac Fairy of Wisdom saves the day by switching the curse to a 100-year slumber.

Only a tender kiss by Aurora’s true love, Prince Desire/Florimund, can awaken her, as they all live happily ever after.

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Saturday, Mar. 14, 2026
Andrea Pratt photo
                                Betty Baxter… TK
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Former volleyball star recalls struggles for gay rights during 1980s

Reviewed by Greg Klassen 4 minute read Preview
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Former volleyball star recalls struggles for gay rights during 1980s

Reviewed by Greg Klassen 4 minute read Saturday, Mar. 14, 2026

In 1981, tennis star Martina Navratilova made international headlines off the court for coming out as a lesbian. Around the same time, a less prominent Canadian athlete named Betty Baxter was beginning a public battle for equality.

Baxter was well-known in the queer community, having played on the national Canadian women’s volleyball team at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. She caused a media frenzy a few years later when she became the first female and youngest ever coach of the same team.

Less well-known was that after only 18 months as coach she was fired, behind closed doors, as rumours swirled that she was a lesbian. Baxter had not come out publicly; she lost her job for not denying she was a lesbian.

She was told by a human rights lawyer that she had no recourse. This was common practice before sexual orientation was enshrined in the Human Rights Act in 1996; contemporary readers may have a difficult time imagining how brave it was to come out publicly in the ‘80s.

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Saturday, Mar. 14, 2026
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS
                                Playwright Rhonda Apetagon is the director of child and family services agency, Kinosao Sipi Minisowin.
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First-time playwright’s social work training helps craft horror drama In the Shadow Beyond the Pines

Ben Waldman 4 minute read Preview
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First-time playwright’s social work training helps craft horror drama In the Shadow Beyond the Pines

Ben Waldman 4 minute read Wednesday, Mar. 11, 2026

The type of writing that thriller aficionado Rhonda Apetagon does on a day-to-day basis isn’t anyone’s idea of creative fun: as a trained social worker, the first-time playwright is accustomed to filing reports about “the real scary stuff” in life: loss, addiction, violence and the abuse and maltreatment of children.

“That’s way scarier for me than ghosts,” says the director of Kinosao Sipi Minisowin Agency, which provides child and family services to members of Apetagon’s community, Norway House Cree Nation.

Apetagon’s debut play, In the Shadow Beyond the Pines, premièring tonight at the Tom Hendry Warehouse, takes place at the intersection of those two strains of horror stories, sending three grieving men (Daniel Knight, Jeremy Proulx and James Dallas Smith) into the forest to light a sacred fire for their recently departed friend, Warren, who was the quartet’s “glue” since childhood, holding the group together even as the joys, pressures and traumas of adult life pulled them apart.

Apetagon wanted the play, set on the outskirts of an unnamed northern community, to highlight the double-edged nature of living in a remote environment, where the combination of intense togetherness and relative isolation presents both threat and opportunity.

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Wednesday, Mar. 11, 2026

Keeping books on library shelves

Frances Ravinsky 4 minute read Wednesday, Mar. 11, 2026

I love children’s picture books: good books that connect kids to others who share their life experiences and that connect kids to people and places and times outside of their own experiences.

MAGGIE MACINTOSH / FREE PRESS
                                Winnipeg’s Enhanced English Skills for Employment is closing its doors at the end of the month after losing the bulk of its funding.

Newcomer school to close amid immigration clampdown

Maggie Macintosh 7 minute read Preview

Newcomer school to close amid immigration clampdown

Maggie Macintosh 7 minute read Monday, Mar. 9, 2026

English-language teachers are warning the consequences will be far-reaching when a school for newcomers — called “a beacon of hope”— closes its doors.

Winnipeg’s Enhanced English Skills for Employment is shutting down March 31.

“It’s sad for the students. It’s sad for the teachers, but it’s also sad for the community, Manitoba at large,” said Allyn Franc, a longtime teacher at the school that rents space on the Canadian Mennonite University campus at 500 Shaftesbury Blvd.

For more than 20 years, the school has been running free intermediate-level language classes on literacy and workplace etiquette.

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Monday, Mar. 9, 2026
Marta Guerrero photo
                                Wilgis Agossa, fondateur et directeur artistique de Noir et Fier, sur scène lors de la 3e Gala et de la 5e édition du Festival, au Musée canadien pour les droits de la personne le 26 Février.
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Une 5e édition, et une incorporation pour Noir et Fier

Anaïs Nzelomona 6 minute read Preview
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Une 5e édition, et une incorporation pour Noir et Fier

Anaïs Nzelomona 6 minute read Saturday, Mar. 7, 2026

Lors du gala de clôture de Noir et Fier, tenu le 26 février au Musée canadien pour les droits de la personne (MCDP), le festival conclut le mois de février avec l’annonce d’une incorporation. L’organisation franchit donc une étape structurante importante en devenant un organisme à but non lucratif à part entière.

“Le bilan que je fais de cette cinquième édition est très positif.”

En cinq ans, Noir et Fier est passé d’une exposition de portraits pour le mois de l’histoire des Noirs, à un festival qui occupe désormais tout au long de février et qui franchit aujourd’hui une nouvelle étape avec son incorporation.

“Chacune des activités a rassemblé beaucoup de personnes. Ça a été des moments de discussion très intenses, de très bons moments d’échange, de partage, de sensibilisation et d’éducation. Nos statistiques sont assez frappantes,” assure Wilgis Agossa, directeur artistique et fondateur de Noir et Fier.

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Saturday, Mar. 7, 2026
A page from Upside-Down Iftar, about a Palestinian family preparing to break fast during Ramadan. The Louis Riel School Division pulled it because of a complaint.

Children’s book on Ramadan put back on school shelves

Maggie Macintosh 3 minute read Preview

Children’s book on Ramadan put back on school shelves

Maggie Macintosh 3 minute read Friday, Mar. 6, 2026

A Ramadan-themed children’s book is returning to elementary school shelves in Winnipeg following public outcry.

The Louis Riel School Division announced on Friday afternoon that it was bringing Upside-Down Iftar back into circulation.

The newly released picture book by Palestinian author Maysa Odeh is about a girl and her grandmother preparing a traditional dish for their family to break their fast together after sunset.

It was temporarily pulled from schools last week following a complaint about an illustration of a map.

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Friday, Mar. 6, 2026

Not just tempests in teapots

Romeo Lemieux 5 minute read Friday, Mar. 6, 2026

The Cambridge dictionary defines “a tempest in a teapot” as being an idiom for a great uproar, anger, or worry about a trivial, unimportant matter. It describes an excessive, exaggerated reaction to a minor issue.

As we review the outcome of the Olympic hockey USA/Canada gold medal game and the subsequent actions of star goalie Connor Hellebuyck, there are certainly many reasons to comment. Everyone, it seems, has an opinion that screams to be heard. These opinions cover all the fields of interest.

Politically, our hockey hero raised our hackles by accepting praise and honours from U.S. President Trump, who is generally held in great contempt by the vast majority of Canadians and elsewhere. Ethically, Hellebuyck is being judged as being disloyal to the many thousands who have enthusiastically cheered him on ice and in the community he lives. Called into question is his commitment to the essence of that community and in a much larger sense all that is fundamentally Canada.

Financially, it could be argued that Hellebuyck was enhancing his personal stock value in the market place by aligning himself with Trump. Does it raise eyebrows to know that our prized goalie earned US$8.5 million in 2025 and currently holds a seven-year contract with the Winnipeg Jets for US$59.5 million? It begs the question “how much is enough?”

U.S. Navy via The associated press
                                This image, provided by U.S. Central Command, shows an F/A-18E Super Hornet launching from the USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 2.

West has long history of vilifying Iran

Alex Passey 5 minute read Preview

West has long history of vilifying Iran

Alex Passey 5 minute read Friday, Mar. 6, 2026

In 1953, Britain and the United States worked together to overthrow the democratically elected, secular government in Iran.

Shockingly, this intervention did not end up being the advent of a long and fruitful friendship between Iran and the U.S. Instead, as so often happens when imperialist actors impose their will on foreign nations, it fostered a deep resentment amongst the Iranian populace.

This malignant animosity was a primary ingredient to the social climate which brought us the Islamic revolution of 1979, when the current regime seized power.

And an undeniably brutal regime it has been.

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Friday, Mar. 6, 2026
A page from Upside-Down Iftar, about a Palestinian family preparing to break fast during Ramadan. The Louis Riel School Division pulled it because of a complaint.
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Kids’ book pulled from division shelves over map illustration

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read Preview
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Kids’ book pulled from division shelves over map illustration

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read Friday, Mar. 6, 2026

A school library-technician is raising concerns about the swift removal of a new children’s book about a Palestinian family preparing to break their fast during Ramadan.

The Louis Riel School Division has taken Maysa Odeh’s Upside-Down Iftar off its shelves in response to a complaint about an illustrated map.

The superintendent says the decision isn’t final, but the case has left one elementary school employee “feeling quite uncomfortable.”

“The process for challenging books is supposed to be quite long and involved,” said the library technician, who agreed to an interview on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution at work.

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Friday, Mar. 6, 2026

Reflecting on February’s ‘I Love to Read’ Month

Xiaoxiao Du, Melanie Janzen and Paige Boyd 4 minute read Wednesday, Mar. 4, 2026

In schools, February is widely known as “I Love to Read Month,” a dedicated celebration aimed at cultivating a love of reading.

AP Photo/Petr David Josek
                                United States’ Connor Hellebuyck (37) celebrates after the United States defeated Canada in a men’s ice hockey gold medal game between Canada and the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy.
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Hockey games and missed opportunities

Jonathan Van Elslander 5 minute read Preview
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Hockey games and missed opportunities

Jonathan Van Elslander 5 minute read Monday, Mar. 2, 2026

When I was 16, I quit hockey. I was a closeted teenager, and I was sick to death of the bullying, the violence, and the culture. Hockey made me ashamed. For a decade, I found it easier to come out of the closet than to tell people I had once loved hockey.

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Monday, Mar. 2, 2026
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AI in the classroom — approach with caution

L.K. Soiferman 5 minute read Friday, Feb. 27, 2026

Teachers and administrators have always been quick to jump on the latest bandwagon because they think that makes them good educators.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t because they often adopt strategies that are quickly proven to be wrong or worse proven to be detrimental to their students. If anyone dares to point out the lack of evidence for the use of the latest gimmick — ChatGPT in the classroom — they are discredited and told that they are not open to new ideas.

I am always skeptical of people like Sinead Bovell who came to speak to educators at the invitation of the Manitoba government at an “AI in education” summit. Her directive was to provide her predications about the future of technology in education. I did not attend this conference but based on what Maggie Macintosh reported in her Free Press article (Future students will be wired differently, thanks to AI, Jan. 16) Bovell told educators that they have to prepare for a future that will include technology in the classroom. The classrooms of today already have more than enough technology in them, so it appears what she was in fact promoting was the use of ChatGPT and other similar AI programs.

Bovell stated that no one knows what the future will look like and in that she is correct.

FILE - The OpenAI logo is displayed on a cellphone with an image on a computer monitor generated by ChatGPT's Dall-E text-to-image model, Dec. 8, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

Growing more complex by the day: How should journalists govern use of AI in their products?

David Bauder, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview

Growing more complex by the day: How should journalists govern use of AI in their products?

David Bauder, The Associated Press 7 minute read Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026

Like so many sectors of the economy, the news industry is hurtling toward a future where artificial intelligence plays a major role — grappling with questions about how much the technology is used, what consumers should be told about it, whether anything can be done for the journalists who will be left behind.

These issues were on the minds of reporters for the independent outlet ProPublica as they walked picket lines earlier this month. They're inching toward a potential strike, in what is believed would be the first such job action in the news business where how to deal with AI is the chief sticking point.

Few expect this dispute will be the last.

AI has undeniably helped journalists, simplifying complex tasks and saving time, particularly with data-focused stories. News organizations are using it to help sift through the Epstein files. AI suggests headlines, summarizes stories. Transcription technology has largely eliminated the need for a human to type up interviews. These days, even a simple Google search frequently involves AI.

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Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026
Bruno Schllumberger / Ottawa Citizen files
                                Painter Norval Morrisseau was a leading figure of the Woodland art movement.
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PTE play shines a light on cultural harms caused by forgeries

Ben Waldman 5 minute read Preview
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PTE play shines a light on cultural harms caused by forgeries

Ben Waldman 5 minute read Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026

Drew Hayden Taylor explores art authentication with his signature wit in The Undeniable Accusations of Red Cadmium Light, a play inspired by the ongoing challenges to the artistic legacy of Anishinaabe painter Norval Morrisseau.

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Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026
FILE - A man crosses Wacker Drive in front of a waiting city snowplow in Chicago, Jan. 28, 2019. (Rich Hein/Chicago Sun-Times via AP, File)

‘Abolish ICE’ gets most votes in Chicago snowplow-naming contest; ‘Stephen Coldbert’ also a winner

John O'connor, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

‘Abolish ICE’ gets most votes in Chicago snowplow-naming contest; ‘Stephen Coldbert’ also a winner

John O'connor, The Associated Press 3 minute read Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026

When it comes to putting a name to Chicago's annual battle against its infamously inclement weather, it turns out that the practical is also the political.

“Abolish ICE” was the top vote-getter in the city's “You Name a Snowplow” contest. Choosing the protest slogan with a double meaning proved a potent way for voters to jab at President Donald Trump after he sent Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers into the city and its suburbs last fall in a major immigration crackdown.

With a surge of ICE officers beginning in September, “Operation Midway Blitz” resulted in more than 4,000 arrests, a fatal shooting and a sour taste among Chicago's Democratic leaders and many of its residents, particularly in large immigrant populations. Despite mid-winter frigid cold, “ICE Out” protests in recent weeks have continued downtown, near ICE facilities and throughout the suburbs.

The snowplow-naming contest, in its fourth year, also produced winning names ranging from those paying tribute to the new pope, who hails from Chicago, to a homegrown horror purveyor and the popular quarterback of the city's NFL franchise. The top six winners will get a snowplow named in their honor.

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Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026
Marta Guerrero photo
                                Tout comme Axelle Oulé (en dessous, à gauche), Ena Mallarino (au-dessus) publie aussi pour la première fois une de ses productions.
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De nouvelles voix franco-manitobaines laissent leur empreinte

Virginie Frère 7 minute read Preview
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De nouvelles voix franco-manitobaines laissent leur empreinte

Virginie Frère 7 minute read Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026

Le 25 février prochain, un nouveau recueil de nouvelles viendra enrichir le paysage littéraire franco-manitobain. Intitulé On fait des traces, l’ouvrage rassemble dix textes écrits par de jeunes auteurs et autrices francophones du Manitoba, réunis au sein du collectif Génération d’encre, ainsi qu’un texte d’Anne-Marie Turcotte. Une initiative des Éditions du Blé visant à soutenir l’émergence de nouvelles voix.

Le lancement se tiendra le 25 février à la brasserie Kilter de 17 h à 19 h sous la forme de lectures d’extraits et d’échanges. “L’esprit du projet, c’est vraiment d’inviter de nouvelles voix et de créer de la place pour celles qu’on entend moins,” explique Katrine Deniset, directrice par intérim des Éditions du Blé. On fait des traces se veut ainsi un recueil ancré dans le territoire, tant par ses histoires que par les parcours de celles et ceux qui les signent.

Le titre du recueil, On fait des traces, puise directement dans une expression populaire des Prairies. “C’est une expression qu’on utilise beaucoup au Manitoba pour dire qu’on s’en va, qu’on quitte un endroit, qu’on part vers une prochaine destination,” raconte Katrine Deniset. “Mais ça reflète aussi l’esprit du livre, parce que ce sont des personnages en mouvement, en quête d’identité, ici, chez nous,” ajoute-t-elle. Toutes les nouvelles du recueil se déroulent au Manitoba et forment ce que la directrice décrit comme “un livre du terroir.”

“On a réussi à créer une carte fictive du Manitoba. On voyage un peu dans la province : un auteur a écrit une nouvelle qui se passe plutôt dans un contexte rural. Ensuite, il y a un qui a écrit une nouvelle qui se déroule à Churchill, dans le nord du Manitoba. Des histoires ont lieu à Saint-Boniface. Alors, on voyage un peu dans différents coins de la province avec le livre,” mentionne-t-elle. Les histoires abordent des thèmes variés — l’amitié, l’exil, la précarité, la création artistique — tout en étant reliées par ce fil conducteur du déplacement, qu’il soit physique ou intérieur.

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Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026
Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
                                Jesson Downie leaves the Millennium Library with two bags of books. Downie says he uses the library several times a week, calling it ‘a one-stop-shop’ for a variety of services.

City library visits up 28 per cent from 2022

Nicole Buffie 4 minute read Preview

City library visits up 28 per cent from 2022

Nicole Buffie 4 minute read Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026

Visits to Winnipeg libraries have increased, but changing habits may prevent them from reaching pre-pandemic levels, new data show.

In-person visits to the city’s 20 library branches in 2025 increased 28 per cent from 2022, the first year visits began to rebound after the COVID-19 pandemic, but they have yet to return to the “before” times.

There were 2.14 million visits in 2025, up from 2.08 million in 2024, but still down from 2019’s 2.4 million visits. The library’s highest year since 2012 was in 2016 when the branches saw 2.77 million visits.

During the pandemic, visits plummeted; there were only 622,000 visits in 2021 and 804,000 in 2020.

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Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026
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