Alberta Books for Schools
With over 150 new titles published every year, Alberta’s independent book publishers contribute to a vast resource of school-appropriate titles that tell Alberta’s Story and uplift Alberta’s distinct, diverse voices.
Alberta Books for Schools is a new initiative from the Book Publishers Association of Alberta, which combines an annual catalogue of selected titles with the convenience of a digital database. These resources introduce Alberta educators to the books published right in their own backyards, perfect for classroom use!
Evaluated by curriculum mappers from The Alberta Library, all of the featured titles include curriculum connections, subject headings, and grade levels. Also identified are audiobooks and eBooks with enhanced accessibility features, to allow educators to find the right formats for their students.
Each entry in the database includes the following information:
- Curriculum connections relevant to Alberta, evaluated by The Alberta Library
- Content descriptions and suggestions for classroom use
- Genres, subject areas, and appropriate grade levels
- Available formats and publisher pricing
- Any awards, honours, or recognition received
- Supplementary resources for educators, if available
Digital copies of the printed catalogue are available below:
Each year’s catalogue is available in BNC CataList:
BPAA
The Book Publishers Association of Alberta (BPAA) was founded in 1975 to support the development of a thriving provincial publishing industry, away from Canada’s traditional book publishing centres. The association provides industry support including work in advocacy, professional and business development, marketing, and other member programs.
The BPAA gratefully acknowledges the traditional homeland of the many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis people whose Elders have walked this land before us, and with whom we share this great land today. We are grateful to work and live upon this territory together, and for the means to learn from all of the traditional peoples of these lands. It is our commitment to continue to work together to build strong and positive relationships, and to consider how we can bring our resources and talents within the book industry to the important work at hand during this era of reconciliation.
Thank you to our funders who have made this project possible, in particular the Alberta government through the Alberta Media Fund and the Department of Canadian Heritage through the Canada Book Fund.
The Alberta Library
In the 1990s libraries across Alberta faced a number of challenges and opportunities, including the information explosion, the development of new technologies, the emergence of the Internet and a changing government philosophy.
A grassroots response to these challenges led to the creation of The Alberta Library (TAL) in 1997. Internationally recognized for cooperation and collaboration, TAL is a province-wide consortium that now serves 50 member libraries in over 300 locations across the province, including:
- public libraries
- regional library systems
- university libraries
- college, and technical institute libraries
- special libraries
Member libraries work together to take advantage of changing technologies, find creative solutions and seize new opportunities. As a result, Albertans at even the smallest library have access to more than 30 million resources.
Ordering Information
Please contact your local library wholesaler or independent bookseller to place an order. Most of the titles featured can also be borrowed from Alberta public libraries through the Read Alberta eBooks and Prairie Indigenous eBooks collections. Bulk ordering is also available for libraries through United Library Services.