The Cecilia Bard Multicultural Collection for Peace and Social Justice

Project Flight founded in 2000 an on-going special book collection that fosters peace that resides in the E.H. Butler Library at Buffalo State University. The library receives approximately 500 volumes a year, including scholarly, adult, reference, and children’s books that include groups such as African American, Asian, Latino, African, Arab, Caribbean, Native American: various religious denominations such as Catholic, Buddhist, Muslim, and other diverse groups etc., and books on special constituencies, such as women, for the creation of the Cecilia Bard Multicultural Library for Peace.

This special collection of over 8,000 volumes is available to anyone in Western New York. The collection was named after Dr. Bard’s mother who died an untimely death.  According to Dr. Bard, these books, “…will improve students’ lives, and provide a way for them to appreciate the beautiful mosaic that makes up world cultures; these books also offer pathways for students to discover a common ground for unity and peace as well as respect for their differences.”

The creation of this collection also aids the University, the largest teacher-education institution in the state, in addressing 3 issues of importance: the New York State Standards for Education, and for the National Certification, Accreditation for Teacher Education Programs (N-CATE) and lastly for Middle States accreditation process for the University. 

In the September 2023 issue of the American Libraries Association's journal, American Libraries, an article written by Megan Bennett entitled "Keep the Peace", identified this as one of three special library collections in the nation that highlighted worldwide peace efforts. According to the article “Peace and social justice movements are often 'seeds that take a while to bear fruit.' " and notes that libraries and archives that commemorate them allow for people, especially activists, to stay encouraged even in tough times.

To view the article, please click the image to the left.