FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 6, 2021

ULC Press Contact Curtis Rogers (202) 750-8658 [email protected]

North American Libraries Send Strong Message of Commitment to Racial and Social Equity

206 urban libraries sign statement aimed at achieving racial and social equity

WASHINGTON – In a strong act of commitment to a more equitable society, 206 public libraries across North America have signed the Urban Libraries Council’s Statement on Race and Social Equity. This statement serves as a baseline upon which libraries can build policies and actions that make their communities more inclusive and just. The statement reads as follows:

As leaders of North America’s public libraries, we are committed to achieving racial and social equity by contributing to a more just society in which all community members can realize their full potential. Our libraries can help achieve true and sustained equity through an intentional, systemic and transformative library-community partnership. Our library systems are working to achieve equity in the communities we serve by:

• Eliminating racial and social equity barriers in library programs, services, policies and practices • Creating and maintaining an environment of diversity, inclusion and respect both in our library systems and in all aspects of our community role • Ensuring that we are reaching and engaging disenfranchised people in the community and helping them express their voice • Serving as a convener and facilitator of conversations and partnerships to address community challenges • Being forthright on tough issues that are important to our communities

Libraries are trusted, venerable and enduring institutions, central to their communities and an essential participant in the movement for racial and social equity.

The following libraries have signed on to the above statement:

ALABAMA Douglas County Libraries Birmingham Public Library Jefferson County Public Library Poudre River Public Library District ALASKA Anchorage Public Library CONNECTICUT Bloomfield Public Library ALBERTA The Ferguson Library Bibliothèque de Beaumont Library Hartford Public Library Calgary Public Library Manchester Public Library Edmonton Public Library New Haven Free Public Library Lethbridge Public Library Norwalk Public Library System

Otis Library ARIZONA Pequot Library Pima County Public Library Russell Library ARKANSAS Wallingford Public Library Central Arkansas Library System DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BRITISH COLUMBIA DC Public Library Fort St. John Public Library FLORIDA Surrey Libraries Broward County Library CALIFORNIA Jacksonville Public Library Alameda County Library Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach Berkeley Public Library Miami-Dade Public Library System Carlsbad City Library Palm Beach County Library System Contra Costa County Library Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library Fresno County Public Library GEORGIA LA County Library Athens Regional Library System Los Angeles Public Library Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System Marin County Free Library Chattahoochee Valley Libraries Oakland Public Library DeKalb County Public Library Oceanside Public Library Gwinnett County Public Library Pacific Library Partnership

Palo Alto City Library ILLINOIS Pasadena Public Library Arlington Heights Memorial Library San Diego Public Library Bloomington Public Library San Francisco Public Library Chicago Public Library San José Public Library Oak Park Public Library San Mateo County Library Schaumburg Township District Library Santa Clara County Library Skokie Public Library Santa Monica Public Library Sonoma County Library INDIANA Sunnyvale Public Library Allen County Public Library Chatham Area Public Library District COLORADO Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library Anythink The Indianapolis Public Library Aurora Public Library Johnson County Public Library Denver Public Library Lake County Public Library IOWA Kent District Library Cedar Rapids Public Library Loutit District Library Coralville Public Library Monroe County Library System Des Moines Public Library West Bloomfield Township Public Library James Kennedy Public Library Knoxville Public Library MINNESOTA Marion Public Library Hennepin County Library North Liberty Library Saint Paul Public Library Waterloo Public Library MISSOURI KANSAS Kansas City Public Library Johnson County Library Mid-Continent Public Library Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library St. Charles City-County Library Wichita Public Library St. Louis County Library St. Louis Public Library KENTUCKY Lexington Public Library NEBRASKA Louisville Free Public Library Do Space Lincoln City Libraries LOUISIANA Omaha Public Library East Baton Rouge Parish Library New Orleans Public Library NEVADA Shreve Memorial Library Douglas County Public Library Henderson Libraries MAINE Las Vegas-Clark County Library District Portland Public Library Washoe County Library System

MARYLAND NEW JERSEY Anne Arundel County Public Library Jersey City Free Public Library Baltimore County Public Library Newark Public Library Enoch Pratt Free Library Paterson Free Public Library Howard County Library System Montgomery County Public Libraries NEW MEXICO Prince George’s County Memorial Library Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library System System NEW YORK MASSACHUSETTS Albany Public Library Boston Public Library Brooklyn Public Library Cambridge Public Library New York Public Library Springfield City Library Queens Public Library Turner Free Library Rochester Public Library

MICHIGAN NORTH CAROLINA Detroit Public Library Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Grand Rapids Public Library Durham County Library Grosse Pointe Public Library Forsyth County Public Library Kalamazoo Public Library Greensboro Public Library

OHIO PENNSYLVANIA Cleveland Public Library Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Columbus Metropolitan Library Free Library of Philadelphia Cuyahoga County Public Library Dayton Metro Library RHODE ISLAND East Cleveland Public Library Providence Public Library The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County SOUTH CAROLINA The Public Library of Youngstown & Richland Library

Mahoning County TENNESSEE Stark County District Library Chattanooga Public Library Toledo Lucas County Public Library Memphis Public Libraries

OKLAHOMA Nashville Public Library Metropolitan Library System Pioneer Library System TEXAS Tulsa City-County Library Austin Public Library Dallas Public Library ONTARIO El Paso Public Library Brampton Library Fort Worth Library Hamilton Public Library Frisco Public Library Kitchener Public Library Harris County Library Markham Public Library Houston Public Library Milton Public Library San Antonio Public Library Mississauga Library System San Marcos Public Library New Tecumseth Public Library Ottawa Public Library UTAH Toronto Public Library Salt Lake City Public Library Vaughan Public Libraries Salt Lake County Library Services

OREGON VERMONT Canby Public Library Hartland Public Library Estacada Public Library Gladstone Public Library VIRGINIA Happy Valley Library Alexandria Library Hillsboro Public Library Arlington Public Library Lake Oswego Public Library Chesterfield County Public Library Ledding Library of Milwaukie Fairfax County Public Library Molalla Public Library Newport News Public Library Multnomah County Library Prince William Public Library System Oak Lodge Public Library Roanoke County Public Library Oregon City Public Library Virginia Beach Public Library Sandy Public Library West Linn Public Library WASHINGTON Wilsonville Public Library Bellingham Public Library Fort Vancouver Regional Library District King County Library System Kitsap Regional Library Pierce County Library System Sno-Isle Libraries Spokane Public Library Tacoma Public Library

WISCONSIN Madison Public Library Milwaukee Public Library