Milton is home to an increasingly diverse population including newcomers to Canada, and is one of North America’s fastest growing communities. MPL introduced the Read Woke campaign in November 2020, in which high profile voices from marginalized communities hosted virtual programs that encouraged community members to access our collection and to engage in meaningful conversations. Similarly, our multilingual storytimes expose community members to the most spoken languages locally, led by diverse staff persons and partners.

The pandemic provided MPL the opportunity to make these programs accessible to a large audience virtually. The goal of Read Woke and multilingual storytimes is to foster inclusive, equitable, and diverse cultural opportunities and experiences. These programs address systemic inequity by providing persons from diverse backgrounds, including those historically underrepresented, a voice in their community. This work serves to underpin MPL’s goal of being the most inclusive space in the community.

• Read Woke educated patrons on how to be stronger, more active and consistent allies in the fight for racial equality. Authors included authors Jerry Craft and Ijeoma Oluo. Reading materials/conversations included Indigenous, newcomer, queer, and Black voices
• Our intensive/ongoing diversity audit ensures that our children’s collection is representational (both authors and characters)
• Our multilingual storytimes highlighted our diverse children’s collection and provided a safe setting for sharing and cultural exchange