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Librarianship.ca > Blog posts > Statements and Commitments from the Canadian Library and GLAM Community On Racism, Injustice, and Violence
Statements and Commitments from the Canadian Library and GLAM Community On Racism, Injustice, and Violence

Statements and Commitments from the Canadian Library and GLAM Community On Racism, Injustice, and Violence

June 5, 2020

Updated: January 9, 2022

A listing of statements and commitments made by the Canadian library, archives, and museum community on racism, injustice, and violence.

To suggest additions or updates to this page, e-mail info@librarianship.ca

ARMA Canada Region

Statement on Black Lives Matter

June 10, 2020 – In light of recent world events that have brought attention to racism against Black and Indigenous people, ARMA Canada stands in solidarity with those who have taken to the streets in protest of systemic and institutional racism that is pervasive in our culture.

 

Archives Association of Ontario (AAO)

ArQuives

Association of Research Libraries (ARL)

Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA)

Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP)

Association pour la promotion des services documentaires scolaires (APSDS)

Atlantic Provinces Library Association (APLA)

Atlantic Provinces Library Association’s Statement on Dismantling Racism in Libraries

The Atlantic Provinces Library Association (APLA) acknowledges there is a long history of racism against people of colour, Black people, and, particularly, Indigenous people in Canada. This history is present in all public institutions, including libraries, across the country. The effects of colonialism, slavery, the building of the reserve system for Indigenous people, the residential schools project, the Sixties Scoop: these atrocities, and many other actions, have manifested in the significant socioeconomic disparities present today.

APLA recognizes that library services have not been made available equitably and collections have not been as inclusive of the voices of Black people, people of colour, and Indigenous people, as they should have been, both historically and presently. We believe that representation matters. We recognize that public institutions such as libraries were built within a colonial lens, with only one set of voices at the table, therefore, only represent a portion of the populations libraries are meant to serve. Libraries are meant to be wholly democratic institutions, but for many, they are not, and despite the growing number of progressive library initiatives, as well as community outreach programs which reach populations who are exposed to vulnerability and oppression, we need to continue transforming library services, collections & acquisitions, as well as the bureaucratic structure of libraries.

APLA commits to listening carefully and respectfully to all people who experience oppression, and to learning how libraries can be truly open, diverse, democratic, and safe from racist and discriminatory behavior.

APLA also commits to working to ensure that neither racism nor discrimination taint libraries today or in the future. To do this, we start by fully acknowledging the historical wrongs libraries have reflected and acquiesced to with their inaction.

APLA’s mandate is to promote library and information service throughout New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. In recognition of the historical inequity in serving people of colour, Black people, and Indigenous people, APLA is committing to change by:

  1. Ensuring APLA adopts an intercultural lens when creating its board and programmes
  2. Adding a special focus on intercultural equity, diversity and inclusion, and properly compensating experts from whom APLA learns
  3. Promoting and encouraging the reconceptualizing of the terms on which libraries have historically been framed, by exploring how different worldviews celebrate reading, learning, storytelling, and community building
  4. Creating a channel to hear from community members and libraries in the provinces we serve to hear how APLA can better support anti-racism efforts.
  5. Supporting libraries as they carry out their missions and review their practices in a multicultural context.

APLA thanks you for joining us on this journey.

December 2021

 

BC Libraries Cooperative

BC Libraries Cooperative Statement on Anti-racism

Black Lives Matter

The BC Libraries Cooperative condemns racism and violence against Black people and all people of colour.

Through our mandate of helping libraries help people, we look to the value of Social Responsibility from the Core Values of Librarianship. As a Cooperative, we are guided by the 7 principles of cooperatives and look to principle 7, concern for community. These values and principles compel us to act.

It is our individual and collective responsibility to ensure that systemic state violence and anti-Black racism are eradicated. We don’t claim to have the answers for how best to address systemic racism in Canada, but we are listening and learning to identify the work that we need to do as an organization, as a Cooperative and as a member of the broader library community.

The BC Libraries Cooperative encourages our members to stand against racism and we will work with others in our sector to address systemic racism. We also encourage all Cooperatives and their members to take action.

June 5, 2020

 

British Columbia Library Association (BCLA)

Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL)

Canadian Association of Professional Academic Librarians (CAPAL)

Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA)

Canadian Health Libraries Association (CHLA)

Canadian Museums Association (CMA)

Canadian Urban Libraries Council (CULC)

Concordia University Library

Fédération des milieux documentaires (FMD)

Federation of Ontario Public Libraries (FOPL)

Jewish Public Library (Montreal)

Library Association of Alberta (LAA)

Manitoba Library Association (MLA)

Nova Scotia Library Association (NSLA)

Ontario Library Association (OLA)

Ontario Museum Association (OMA)

Ottawa Public Library

Prince George Public Library

Saskatchewan Health Libraries Association (SHLA)

Saskatchewan Library Association (SLA)

Simon Fraser University Library

Toronto Public Library

Twice Upon a Time

Université de Montréal, École de bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l’information

University of Alberta, School of Library and Information Studies

University of British Columbia, School of Information

University of Toronto, Faculty of Information

University of Toronto, Masters of Museum Studies Student Association (MUSSA)

Urban Libraries Council (ULC)

  • Statement on the Role of Libraries in Dismantling Systemic Racism (June 1, 2020)
    • The following Canadian libraries have signed on to the statement:
      • Brampton Library
      • Calgary Public Library
      • Edmonton Public Library
      • Hamilton Public Library
      • Kitchener Public Library
      • Markham Public Library
      • Milton Public Library
      • Mississauga Library
      • Ottawa Public Library
      • Surrey Libraries
      • Toronto Public Library

Visible Minority Librarians of Canada (ViMLoC)

Western University, Faculty of Information and Media Studies

US and International Library Statements

American Library Association (ALA)

ARMA International

Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA)

Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T)

Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE)

Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL)

Association of Research Libraries (ARL)

Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA)

Black Caucus of The American Library Association (BCALA)

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)

Music Library Association

REFORMA

Society of American Archivists (SAA)

Special Libraries Association (SLA)

Urban Libraries Council (ULC)

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