BCLA’s anti-racism work over the next year is being guided by the Anti-Racism Project Advisory Group (PAG) composed of members of the BC library community. An open call was put out for members in June, 2022 to submit an expression of interest. The composition of the PAG is a mix of perspectives and expertise, and has regional representation while also being representative of the diversity of the BC libraries community.
The composition and workings of the Project Advisory Group are described in the PAG Terms of Reference which include the Trauma Informed Meeting Guidelines provided by The Commons.
Minutes of PAG meetings will be posted, and serve as one way for BCLA members and the larger BC library community to stay informed about the work being done by this group. Minutes are posted after each meeting in draft form to prevent delays in sharing information, and updated after they are revised and approved at the subsequent meeting.
Members of the Project Advisory Group:
Laurie Angus
Josh Chan is an Outreach & Legal Reference Librarian at the Vancouver Courthouse Library in downtown Vancouver, Canada. He graduated with an MLIS from the UBC iSchool in 2020 and enjoys providing reference, research, and community outreach services to clients of Courthouse Libraries BC (CLBC). In 2020, he wrote Beyond Tokenism: The Importance of Staff Diversity in Libraries. Freely available in Volume 12, Issue 1 (2020) of the BCLA Perspectives journal, this article contextualizes the harmful practice of tokenism, including suggestions for how to overcome it. This paper led to a BCLA panel presentation in May 2021 called Colourful Perspectives, which featured a panel of librarians of colour who spoke candidly about their experiences with racism in the profession. As a Chinese Canadian, Josh gratefully acknowledges that he has been able to live and work his entire life as an uninvited settler on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.
Aditi Gupta
Emily Guerrero is a Community Librarian at Burnaby Public Library, where they are the co-lead on the library’s Anti-Racism Working Group. They have been working in libraries since 2014, and have been a part of social movements against racism in BC for over a decade.
Christian Ibister
Sajni Lacey
Dalia Levy has over a decade of experience working in libraries including as a Library Technician with UBC’s X̱wi7x̱wa Library, Vancouver Public Library and presently as a Customer Services Librarian with Vancouver Island Regional Library. She works, plays, and crafts on unceded Snuneymuxw, Sna-Naw-As, and Stz’uminus territory on beautiful Vancouver Island.
Courtney Miller is a mixed-race settler on the traditional, unceded, and stolen lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ nations. She is currently attending the iSchool at UBC in the dual MAS/MLIS program and has worked in libraries for more than ten years.
Sarah Tarcea
Abi Ward
Rina Hadziev is the Executive Director of BCLA. She is the daughter and granddaughter of immigrants; born and raised in various areas of this province, she now lives on the unceded lands of the lək̓ʷəŋən Peoples, specifically the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations. Rina has been a librarian for over 20 years – she became a librarian because libraries have been an important resource for her and her family throughout her whole life, and she wants that for everyone.
Todd Mundle is the current President of the BCLA and University Librarian at Kwantlen Polytechnic University where he works in a region south of the Fraser River which overlaps with the unceded traditional and ancestral lands of the Kwantlen, šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmaɁɬ təməxʷ (Musqueam), sq̓əc̓iy̓aɁɬ təməxʷ (Katzie), Semiahmoo, sc̓əwaθenaɁɬ təməxʷ (Tsawwassen), Qayqayt and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) peoples. He is a settler born and raised in various unceded and treaty lands of what is known as Saskatchewan and Alberta and for over half his life has been honoured and grateful to live on the unceded lands of the šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmaɁɬ təməxʷ (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh-ulh Temíx̱w (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ təməxʷ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples. While initially planning to be a high school librarian, he has worked as an academic librarian for 30+ years and enjoys the riches our public libraries have to offer.
Tracey Therrien is the Incoming-President of BCLA and Chief Librarian at the Nelson Public Library, located on the unceded traditional and ancestral lands of the tum-ula7xw (Sinixt), Ktunaxa specifically the Yaqan Nukiy and the Sylix. In addition to her current post, her past work in public libraries provided opportunities to explore, learn from and live in other unique and beautiful regions, including those of the Wetʼsuwetʼen, specifically the Wetsit Nation, Skwxwú7mesh-ulh Temíx̱w (Squamish) and shíshálh (Sechelt) Nation.