At its October 2022 meeting, the BCLD Library Board of Directors approved a statement condemning institutional racism and expressed its desire that BCLD continue to strive toward being an effective antiracist and egalitarian organization serving all members of the community fairly and with dignity. It invites staff and the public to raise concerns and make suggestions for proactively improving BCLD’s internal and external policies, practices, and behaviors.

 ANTI-RACISM STATEMENT

We, at Baker County Library District, stand with American Library Association (ALA) and the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) in condemning violence and racism toward Black people and people of color. We stand with ALA and BCALA against the systemic and systematic social injustices and racism endured by Black people and people of color. We also stand with the Oregon Library Association (OLA), Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA), REFORMA, and American Library Association (ALA) to condemn hate crimes and racist language towards Asian, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander communities.

Baker County Library District is actively committed to antiracist values, which informs all policy development, operational procedures, and staff and volunteer training for the library. We urge library patrons to look out for actions and policies that condone bigotry, systemic racism, and prejudicial misinformation and to do their part to eliminate them in our organization and community.

We urge staff, volunteers, and patrons to actively support and protect Black, Indigenous, Latin, and people of color communities from discrimination and hateful actions and find ways to serve as allies to our fellow community members across the county, state, and country.

Library staff, volunteers, and patrons are charged with the responsibility to report instances of bias and racism in support of our racially and socially marginalized communities. For more information and assistance, contact Oregon Hate and Bias Information and Reporting.

We are dedicated to amplifying the diverse voices of our communities and authors of color as we evolve to connect our diverse communities to reliable resources, technology, and information, envisioning a community where diverse ideas and people come together to share knowledge, experiences, and perspectives.

We embrace the American Library Association’s Code of Ethics and the Library Bill of Rights — adopted in 1939 and supplemented with modern interpretations to evolve with the times. We also acknowledge the historical legacy of unequal access that public libraries have in the United States and we are actively involved in rebuilding an equitable institution.

Approved by Library Board, Oct 11 2022