The Champaign County Historical Archives at The Urbana Free Library is committed to developing inclusive collections that document the rich history of our communities.
Archives collections include historic materials, which may contain outdated and/or harmful terminology regarding race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. While the Champaign County Historical Archives does not condone the use of this language, it has been retained to adhere to the archival principle of provenance. Language such as this can provide important insight into the creator and context of the historic materials but can also reveal hurtful biases and prejudices. Wherever possible, we will work to balance this language with the impact it may have on our patrons.
If we find problematic language created by Library staff in finding aids, item descriptions, subject headings, catalog records, or elsewhere, we will work to address it. If language within the item itself causes concern, we will work to provide more context for the material.
Lastly, we recognize our responsibility to describe collections respectfully and carefully. We also recognize that we may sometimes fail and are dedicated to a process of constant reflection and improvement. We will continually review collections and descriptions to identify harmful language. We welcome feedback from all members of our community, so that we can learn and adjust our practices. We encourage you to contact us at archives@urbanafree.org if you find language that causes concern.
This statement was developed after consulting similar statements from the Schaumburg Township District Library and Seattle Room Digital Collections at The Seattle Public Library.