Welcome to Bradford Libraries of Sanctuary
Bradford Libraries are officially recognised as Libraries of Sanctuary.
The Libraries of Sanctuary award celebrates the work Libraries do in showing hospitality, solidarity and welcome to new arrivals across all communities.
Libraries of Sanctuary is a stream of the City of Sanctuary movement. Bradford has been recognised as a City of Sanctuary since 2010 and as a Local Authority of Sanctuary since 2021. You can find out more about what this means on the City of Sanctuary page.
Bradford Libraries pledge to build on our existing offers to ensure people seeking sanctuary can fully access Library services. We will also promote awareness of the positive contribution sanctuary seekers, and all new arrivals make across our District. Here is what we are doing to meet our pledge:
Learning about Sanctuary
We are working with partners and people with lived experience to increase our awareness of the needs of sanctuary seekers and the barriers people face when accessing our services. We are further developing our skill resources to support individuals and engaging with sanctuary seekers and partners in planning the services we offer.
Embedding best practice
We are building on our existing offers to extend a warm welcome to sanctuary seekers and everyone new to the District. This includes making our joining procedures easier to use, providing access to key information resources and supporting colleagues to offer more Welcome sessions and outreach activities, as well as welcoming sanctuary seekers to existing family events and story times.
Sharing the message
We are actively sharing stories of sanctuary across our communities and partnering with others to promote a message of Welcome. This summer several of our Libraries hosted the vibrant and colourful Schools and Colleges of Sanctuary Poster Exhibition on the Refugee Week theme of Home.
Libraries of Sanctuary webpage
This webpage is part of our Sanctuary Pledge – it includes information on how to access Library services and highlights Library resources and those of other organisations that may be of value to new arrivals - as well as existing residents. It also features links to stories of sanctuary and the history of Welcome across our vibrant and diverse District. This page will be updated to reflect the development of our role as Libraries of Sanctuary.
Keep in touch
Keep checking this page and our social media for updates on our Libraries of Sanctuary journey. You can get in touch about Libraries of Sanctuary via public.libraries@bradford.gov.uk.