Invitation to participate in the current state assessment survey to help shape BCLA’s anti-racism work
Dear BC library community,
Please consider participating in the BCLA current state assessment survey, and sharing this invitation with others in the BC library community. The survey will remain open until January 13, 2023.
BCLA is embarking on a journey to become an anti-racist organization, supported by The Commons Consulting and a project advisory group. This survey, created in collaboration with the project advisory group, is part of a multi-phase approach that will move BCLA towards becoming an anti-racist organization.
We are looking for members of the BC library community to continue guiding this work by sharing their experiences through this survey to identify existing barriers to participation within the BC Libraries Association (BCLA) faced by Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour (IBPOC). We are seeking survey responses from IBPOC and non-IBPOC members of the library community, and from members and non-members of BCLA.
We want to recognize some of the tensions that exist in this work. Anti-racism initiatives need to be guided by Indigenous, Black and people of colour and simultaneously IBPOC communities are already engaged in and have already done significant work to address racism in the library and broader community. We also know that in the past, members of the IBPOC library community have been asked to share their lived experiences and identities in ways that have been used to only benefit the sector.
We acknowledge this survey benefits BCLA as an organization and requires the time, labour, and effort of IBPOC people. BCLA, The Commons Consulting and the project advisory group commit to practicing reciprocal accountability by reporting back to members on the results of this survey.
The information collected in this survey will be used for an Independent Organizational Assessment done by an external party, The Commons Consulting, that will result in a final Report that showcases findings and recommendations for steps forward in addressing these barriers and confronting systemic racism within the organization. Access to your responses will be limited to The Commons Consulting Project team. The team will maintain, analyze, anonymize, and incorporate the data into the final report to be shared with BCLA staff, Board, members, and the wider BC Libraries community.
We look forward to sharing the report and the plan for next steps that will result from this survey.
With thanks,
Rina