By 2040, the Sonoma County Economic Development Board forecasts that 40% of the county’s population will be Latinx, in comparison with 27.3% reported currently. Sonoma County Library staff demographics do not reflect our county — only 10% of staff identify as Latinx, while 73% identify as white. The stark difference in demographic data clearly identified a priority to increase the number of Spanish-speaking staff in 15 branches, along with a need to diversify staff to reflect community demographics.

The library created a Racial Equity Team made up from staff across the county and library administration, who received a full year of racial equity training through the “California Libraries Cultivating Racial Equity and Inclusion Initiative,” an LSTA funded initiative. The team recommended improvement in: improving hiring/recruiting to attract a more diverse staff; clarifying the role of police in libraries; working with BIPOC communities; improving marketing and publicity in Spanish; and gauging staff training needs.

The team created a measurable plan to improve hiring and recruitment efforts and issued a staff survey to assess training needs and organizational commitment to racial equity. In addition, 37 supervisors and managers were also enrolled in a series of anti-racist supervisory courses. The library is committed to dismantling racist practices in our structures and practices and our efforts build off the library’s statement released in June 2020.