UWB/CC Campus Library Commitments to Anti-Racism: Policing & Safety in the Library

The Campus Library recognizes that the presence of police officers and other uniformed security officers impacts our community members in a variety of ways.  While the presence of these officers is meant to ensure safety in our spaces, we know that safety is not guaranteed, particularly for our Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) community members.  We are committed to examining this issue and taking action to make our spaces safer for our BIPOC community members.   

Our broad commitments are as follows: 

• Examine our own roles and responsibilities in creating a community-based approach to safety in our library spaces. 
• Identify and implement concrete actions related to policing and safety in the library.
• Initiate and continue discussions with Campus Safety to address questions and concerns about policing that occurs in our spaces.
• Identify and make intentional connections with Cascadia College, UW, UW Libraries, and other campus groups addressing campus safety relationships at the institutional level.  

As we take actions to reach these commitments we will detail them below.  

Examine our own roles & responsibilities in creating a community-based approach to safety in our library spaces.

   Summer 2020

• All library staff invited to have a conversation about the library's work with Campus Safety. List of reasons why Campus Safety might be in our library spaces was created in preparation for the meeting. 
  • Outcomes: An action chart created broken into four categories: General/Misc, Data Gleaning, Staff Information Needs, and Trainings
• Data review begun: internal interaction reports and public Campus Safety reports
• Review of list of reasons Campus Safety would be in library begun, examining what value Campus Safety offers these scenarios
• Held two staff dialogues on issues surrounding policing, defunding, and safety, broadly and our campuses.  Discussions held as part of our Summer Anti-Racism Staff Discussion series. 

Identify and implement concrete actions related to policing & safety in the library.

   Summer 2020

• Deescalation training module created in a new online emergency and safety course for staff, all staff enrolled in course

Initiate and continue discussions with Campus Safety to address questions and concerns about policing that occurs in our spaces.

Identify and make intentional connections with UW, UW Libraries and other campus groups addressing campus safety relationships at the institutional level.

   Fall 2020

• Head of Public Services serving on the Decriminalizing the UW Libraries Working Group.