Dear friends and neighbors,

Like many of you, we’ve been trying to educate ourselves and reflect on race, racism, and anti-racist work. When one of us (Emily Gravett) turned to the Massanutten Regional Library for resources, she noticed that some titles she wanted weren’t part of the library’s holdings, some were only available in print copies, and some had long wait lists. She decided to talk with MRL librarians to discuss how to increase the diversity of and access to such resources.

As a result of these conversations, we are working with Massanutten Regional Library to raise funds for the specific purpose of diversifying their collection. This money will go toward a range of needs: more adult fiction and nonfiction by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC); children’s books featuring non-white characters; additional copies of anti-racist resources; and more.

We are hoping to donate $2,500 to the library—an amount that we are told could have real impact across formats, genres, reading levels, and branches. If you are able, please join us in supporting anti-racist education in the Valley and in lifting up BIPOC voices and stories. As Emily Bernard, author of Black is the Body, writes, “This is American literature, American experience, after all.”

Please make your donation by August 15, 2020. No contribution is too small! While library staff will ultimately decide what titles to add to their collection, you may make suggestions in the comments section when you make your donation (you can also contact one of us or the library directly). Thank you for joining us in this small effort to make the Valley a more just, welcoming, and vibrant place.

With gratitude,

Emily Gravett, Lucy Bryan Malenke, and Lili Peaslee