Scope of this Guide

This guide is by no means exhaustive and is limited to items that Penfield Library owns in print or are able to provide remote access for. Our library has some valuable online videos, eBooks, and literature highlighting discussions about racism that we want to share with you.

We welcome your suggestions on strengthening this guide as we view it as a constantly evolving resource.   If you know of a related book or film that you would like to suggest the Library purchase you can suggest it here, or if you want us to add a book to this guide please send your suggestion to askalibrarian@oswego.edu.

Library Statement on Black Lives and Diversity and Inclusion

The faculty and staff at Penfield Library stand with the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA), and support the universal condemnation of racist acts and prejudices towards Black people and People of Color in an unjust United States of America. Furthermore, we join with and support the recent statements from the American Library Association (ALA), the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), the Council of the Society of American Archivists, the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL), the New York Library Association (NYLA) and the New York Black Librarians Caucus (NYBLC) and others in our profession in condemning the systemic and institutional racism which continues to oppress Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in this country. We must continue to say the names George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, David McAtee, Laquan McDonald, and so many more murdered Black people. We believe that Black lives matter, and we support the right to protest.

The faculty and staff at Penfield Library reaffirm our commitment to the mission, vision, values, and institutional diversity goals presented in the SUNY Oswego Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan, and the library’s Mission, Vision, & Values Statement, including our commitment to celebrate underrepresented voices in our community of personnel and users by showcasing them in our collections, services, and programs. We believe that diverse voices and perspectives contribute to a richer and fuller community. As such, we continue to commit to a core value of providing equitable access to all users, and addressing any challenges to full access. While we strive to develop and maintain collections that reflect a variety of experiences and perspectives, we also recognize the historical inequality in the access and materials in our collections. We recognize the important role we have in promoting opportunities for student employment and internships in libraries and archives, and promise to assist underrepresented students to explore career opportunities in library and information science to encourage change. We hope the SUNY Oswego community will hold us accountable when instances of institutional racism and bigotry presents itself in our work. We will listen, and we will take action to change our practices and ourselves.