The Prince George Public Library (PGPL) is committing to continuously support anti-racism work within the community.
“We’ve identified a number of actions we’re going to take,” said Amy Dhanjal, Communications Coordinator of Prince George Public Library, “including providing regular and ongoing education for our staff that raises awareness for systemic racism.”
The library board has also committed to reviewing and updating library spaces and procedures to ensure that Black, Indigenous, and people of colour are treated with dignity and respect and that they feel safe and welcome at the library.
“We also want to promote cultural sensitivity and justice and inclusion,” added Dhanjal, “we will also be developing a diversity policy to support the recruitment and development of black, Indigenous and people of colour at all levels of the organization.
PGPL staff will begin working with the community to learn more about how the library can better serve Black, Indigenous, and people of colour and will prominently feature anti-racism in the library’s 2021-2026 Strategic Plan.
“We did start thinking about this in June, and we started looking at the events happening in Canada and Prince George,” said Dhanjal, “we know that systemic racism is a real problem, in Canada and we needed to look at how our organization is challenging that.
The library is now asking PG residents for their input on their commitments and plans to address racism in the city on their website.
Anti-racism is a priority at the Prince George Public Library. To read our statement affirming our commitment to anti-racism, visit: https://t.co/uT5QY3NH4D. We welcome your feedback: https://t.co/viVwDjodPt #cityofpg pic.twitter.com/F2vfOicks0
— Prince George Public Library (@pg_library) October 13, 2020