June, 2023
To our LGBTQIA+ students, faculty, staff, community partners, and all allies to the community,
At the time of this writing, nearly 500 bills have been introduced nationwide which target the LGBTQIA+ community as a whole, and the trans community in particular, aiming to restrict rights which are freely available to other citizens in our nation. While it may sometimes feel like these issues are far from home, our library has seen reverberations of this hate within our walls. Moreover, the Anti-Defamation League reported significant anti-LGBTQIA+ extremism taking place in Massachusetts in 2022. At the same time, we stand firmly committed to the American Library Association’s commitment to provide access to services and materials, “regardless of sex, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.”
As such, we, the employees of the Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library, make the following commitments to our community:
To be a safe, welcoming, and supportive learning environment for all members of the LGBTQIA+ community, students and employees alike, as well as to members of the greater Fitchburg community.
To take seriously and investigate any reports of bias or hate which take place within our walls.
To practice and advocate for allyship towards the LGBTQIA+ community, locally, nationally, and globally.
To recognize that one's experience in the LGBTQIA+ community is not universal—it is shaped by lived experiences, including other intersecting identities that one holds. We will show this recognition through our daily actions, library policies, and library programming.
To provide access to information, resources, and programming centering LGBTQIA+ voices and needs.
It is our belief that hate has no home in our Library, or on our campus. We will do our part to create a positive space for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Sincerely,
The Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library Employees
If you have ideas of how we can improve, please do not hesitate to contact Olivia Rossetti (she/her), Chair of the Library Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee at orossett@fitchburgstate.edu.
Resources coming soon!