Dear Members,
Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures wishes to convey its ardent support of ALA’s statement condemning yesterday’s tragic violence on Capitol Hill. In particular, we express our concern for colleagues and members who work and serve their country in the many cultural and scientific heritage organizations throughout the Washington D.C. region — whether they be libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, or government organizations. We recognize that the deplorable and racist actions carried out yesterday will have lasting impact on many of our friends and colleagues in the area and across the country. Our thoughts are with you all now and in the coming weeks, as is our gratitude for your service.
This event is but the latest in an all-too-long history of events that are the direct product of hatred born from lies. The rhetoric of white supremacy is misinformation. As a division dedicated to leadership, and as a profession dedicated to providing free and equal access to information, facts are more than our bread and butter, facts are our mission. We join with those who strive to create a professional organization that supports and develops library workers in all they do to promote truth and justice.
We encourage and support Core’s members in the active pursuit of antiracism through local leadership and management within their organizations, as well as through policy development broadly. To this end, we reiterate the following from ALA’s public statement: “To advance library policy priorities and resources to do our work, ALA calls on every library worker and library supporter to join ALA’s advocacy network, follow the work of our Public Policy and Advocacy Office and sign up to advocate with state chapters.”
