A commitment to equity and anti-racism informs all of our library work, with anti-racism being one of four library strategic priorities.
Developed collaboratively between library staff and the Board of Library Trustees in late 2023, this logic model (pictured above) provides a snapshot of strategic thinking and planning around key elements including: inputs (what we have); activities (what we do); outputs (what we produce or deliver); and outcomes (what impact we strive to make in our community). This commitment to equity and anti-racism informs all of our work. Progress is reported in monthly board reports and in annual impact reports.
Our journey timeline
As a public library in a Book Sanctuary Community inherently committed to inclusion, the library’s current equity and anti-racism journey began in 2013 by asking patrons a single question: what kind of community do you want to live in? Browse the full journey timeline »
Collection strategy
The library’s Collection Strategy Statement reflects the diverse needs of the Oak Park community, and states “through our collections—in all available formats—we work to facilitate equitable experiences for engagement, education, and inspiration. It is our intention that collections—as curated content—have measurable impact on the community.”
Staff affinity groups
The library’s Black Staff Affinity Group began meeting in 2020. A Latine Staff Affinity Group and an LGBTQ+ Affinity Group were launched in 2022. A Disability Affinity Group started in 2023 and an Older Adults group began in 2024. With all groups, the intention is to provide a safe space for library staff members to feel comfortable convening themselves and setting their own objectives.
Collaboration
As a member of the Black Metropolis Research Consortium (BMRC), a group whose mission is to connect all who seek to document, share, understand, and preserve Black experiences, we affirm that Black lives, Black stories, and Black collections matter. Of note: “Protest in the Archives” and “Collections on Black Experiences.”
As a member of the American Library Association (ALA), we refer to resources compiled for both ALA members and the public about Black Lives Matter and related issues, sharing them for informational purposes.
As a member of the Urban Libraries Council (ULC), the Oak Park Public Library is one of the 200+ public libraries across North America that have signed ULC’s Statement on Race and Social Equity. This statement, which serves as a baseline upon which libraries can build policies and actions that make their communities more inclusive and just, 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.
Land acknowledgment
We acknowledge that Oak Park is situated on the ancestral land of the Bodewamiadkiwen (Potawatomi), Kaskaskia, Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo), Myaamia (Miami), Oceti Sakowin, and Peoria. We honor them and thank them for their stewardship of this land. (Source: native-land.ca)
More about why indigenous land acknowledgment is important »
Stay informed & connected
- Subscribe to the library’s Equity & Anti-Racism monthly email updates »
- Read recent equity and anti-racism library news »
- Attend library-led equity & anti-racism programs »
- Browse the Anti-Defamation League’s annual calendar of observances »
