Auraria Library
Black Lives Matter
The Auraria Library stands in solidarity with the protesters demanding justice for Black lives taken by the police. The recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, follow a long and tragic history of violence against Black people in the United States, and we are proud of the members of our community who are speaking out against these injustices. These acts are based in institutional and personal racism, as well as white supremacy. We recognize that many of our students, faculty, and staff are in pain.
Libraries are not neutral spaces
As a library, we strive to cultivate an equitable and inclusive environment but we recognize that we often fall short of achieving this goal. We denounce all acts of injustice, inequity, and violence against people based on their ethnicity, class, gender/gender expression, sexuality, nationality, and religion. We also recognize that American libraries are historically rooted in white supremacy, and we are often complicit in upholding this history. We want Auraria Library to be a place where our users are welcome, safe, and free from harm or discrimination, and we realize that in order to achieve this goal, we must take action.
Words aren’t enough
We acknowledge work needs to be done within our own organization. The Library promises to listen to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in our communities and believe them when they tell us where we have failed them. The Library Senior Leadership Team will continue to discuss equity, diversity, and inclusion, and examine how to incorporate these values into all our services, resources, spaces, policies and practices. We are developing an action plan with measurable goals to ensure we are accountable to our campus community. While we are still developing the specifics, this process will include reviewing the materials that we purchase, the vendors from whom we purchase, how we describe those materials in our systems, the information services we provide, our recruitment and hiring processes, and our relationship with law enforcement. We look forward to sharing these actions with you, receiving your feedback with open minds, and improving library services for the students, faculty, and staff we have overlooked in the past.
