Anti-Racist Statement
The California School Library Association (CSLA) stands with Black Lives Matter and supports all efforts to end institutional, structural, and systemic racism and inequity in both our organization and in California’s school libraries. As a part of this, we are examining our history as a predominantly White organization, identifying and removing racism where it exists in our organization, and centering our work on equitable access for students and staff in California.
Responsibility for Past Actions
CSLA stands with the American Library Association (ALA) to accept and acknowledge our role in upholding unjust systems of racism and discrimination against Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) within the association and the profession. Some examples include: lack of diversity in leadership roles within the organization, lack of representation at conferences by presenters, content, and insufficient focus within the organization on racism. We apologize for our participation in the systematic denial of knowledge for our students which is necessary to be successful in an ever changing world.
CSLA answers the call from The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) to reflect on the evidence of injustice in school communities and take action against such systemic injustices. CSLA will actively work to develop inclusive school libraries that celebrate Black American experiences, honor all home cultures, and provide mirrors, windows, and microphones for all students in California.
Equity
Equitable access to school library programs is essential for student success. The digital divide in California is also racist. Our most vulnerable populations are often the ones lacking computers and access to Wi-Fi. It is alarming that in our state, one in five students do not have access.
CSLA commits to improving current California school library programs to promote anti-racist and inclusive policies and practices. Credentialed Teacher Librarians provide direct instruction in areas that are necessary to thrive in the world today, specifically information and media literacy.
A strong library program is crucial for all students in California. The disparities that exist in school library services worsen the achievement gap, perpetuates racism and white privilege, and undercuts a just and democratic society.
As the most populous state in the nation, California ranks 4th in the world for Gross Domestic Product and makes up 14% of the U.S. economy. In contrast, California, which serves 6,543,800 public K-12 students, ranks 37th in spending for K-12 education. It is not only 50th in high school graduation rates, but also last in providing school library services. California has by far the poorest ratio of students to Teacher Librarians in the nation. The most recent data (2015-16) exposes California having only one Teacher Librarian to 32,000 students, despite the state’s model standards recommending employing one full-time Teacher Librarian for every 785 students. California’s refusal to mandate library services for all California schools is a systemic failure for the neediest students.
The State of California maintains an unjust funding system that underfunds public education and widens the achievement gap by abdicating its responsibility to ensure equity for our most underserved students. California’s unequal distribution of state monies, exacerbated by unequal tax bases, creates a funding vacuum to be filled at will at the local level. This leads to discretionary local control funding decisions, local bond measures, parent and foundation funded school libraries, all of which continue to segregate school libraries and cement in place an enduring racist system. Each district is left with the impossible decision of local control to decide who will have access to qualified library staff, resources and materials, and who will not. Students of color, immigrant students, socio-economically challenged, unhoused, and foster youth are the ones most left out.
Dedicated Steps for the Future
CSLA will address the following areas to build a more equitable association and best serve our students, current and future members, and school libraries. CSLA commits to the following actions:
Ensure representation and support of BIPOC in leadership, professional development within the organization, and beyond. Additionally, collaborate with other educational associations to educate, advocate, and promote school libraries and literacy rich environments as a support in building anti-racist schools.
Provide professional learning, anti-racist/anti bias resources including an inclusive rubric for collection development and school library programs and services.
Collaborate with and reach out to K-12 credentialing programs and other educational organizations to encourage diverse entry into school library services.
Eradicate institutional racism and racist policies from CSLA’s guiding documents by reviewing the CSLA mission statement, policies, and position papers to refine and update as needed.
Incomplete data and ineffective dissemination of the California Department of Education (CDE) annual school library survey, compels CSLA to make transparent the current demographics of its members and the state of staffing and funding for California school libraries to bring to light the inequities that CSLA anticipates exists in California.
A Call to Action
Recognizing the disparities of funding and a community’s access to the school library services and materials, CSLA commits to the following actions:
Insist the CDE identify areas in California that do not have library services and highlight socio-economic and cultural ethnic makeup of those districts.
Demand accountability and action from our educational leaders and organizations, who need to answer for denying California’s students instruction on the skills and knowledge necessary to become well-informed and empowered global citizens.
Demand the CDE to revise, update, promote, and share the results of the school library survey to obtain important data on library staffing, districts, percent of budgets allocated to school libraries, resources available, the cultural responsiveness of school library collections, current library staff in an effort to be culturally responsive and more inclusive in the resources, professional development, and advocacy efforts.
Compel all of California’s stakeholders to join the advocacy efforts for student access to relevant and anti-racist school libraries. Every student in California deserves access to a fully funded and staffed quality library program.
A Plea on Behalf of California’s Students
The narrative of California’s school libraries is alarming, appalling, and racist, and without radical measures they will deteriorate further. The abysmal statistics on school library services are the worst in the United States. The bottom line is school library services as they exist in California are NOT equitable. CSLA adamantly invites all stakeholders to join this narrative of disruption and progress to empower the state’s younger generations. Work must be done to ensure BIPOC students have full access to robust school library programs. Equity means providing equitable access to vital resources, tools, and trained professionals. It also means hiring library staff reflective of the diversity throughout our state. Teacher librarians fill the integral role of collaborative teaching to instill in students a love of reading at an early age and to help students build critical thinking, inquiry skills, and vital 21st century literacies. Beyond that, there is a call, too long unanswered, to decentralize the White point of view. Creating an anti-racist library environment begins with school libraries embracing a fully inclusive narrative of all cultures, showcasing diverse voices, and developing culturally relevant and responsive collections. The next chapter mandates the decolonization of curriculum and embedding an Ethnic Studies framework throughout K-12 education to amplify the all too often silenced stories so that all students in California are prepared to engage as just and vibrant global citizens.
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