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Community Voices

Your Library, Your Voice!

APLD invites Aurora residents to participate in our Community Voices project and share your story!

Pride Voices - Submissions Accepted February 1 - March 31

  • Pride Month is an annual celebration, usually in June in the United States and sometimes at other times in other countries, of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) identity. Pride commemorates the Stonewall riots, which began in the early hours of June 28, 1969, after police raided the Stonewall Inn bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village neighborhood. 

  • If you live in Aurora and identify as LGBTQ+, please consider sharing your story.

  • Submissions will be accepted February 1 - March 31.

  • The library will collect stories from our LGBTQ+ community, culminating in an exhibit that will be displayed at all three library locations during Pride Month in June 2024.

What is Community Voices?

  • The Aurora Public Library District will periodically invite our community to share their story in coordination with an observance, event, or theme.
  • Participating community members will respond to 2-3 prompts provided by the library, and library staff will create posters to display at all locations for the designated month.
  • Participants are encouraged to include photographs with their submissions to illustrate their story and bring life to the exhibit.

Why share your voice?

  • This is YOUR library, and you BELONG here! Claim your space at the library and in your community by sharing your voice.
  • Introduce yourself and your heritage/identity to your neighbors to foster connections in the community.

  • Cultivate empathy and emphasize critical engagement: specific stories from people, communities or neighborhoods make it harder to deny those people their agency, identity, and place in the larger narrative.

As you think about your response, consider what your heritage/identity means to you and how it shows up in your life here in Aurora.

Heritage is the cultural legacy we receive from the past that influences our activities, meanings, and behaviors in the present. Examples include art, food, clothing, legends, music, and values.

Identity refers to our sense of who we are as individuals and as members of social groups. We develop ideas about our identities through our interactions with family and friends, our schools and institutions, the media, and our encounters with other individuals. 

Submission:

By Email 

  • Send your responses to any or all of the questions via email to communityvoices@aurorapubliclibrary.org.  
  • Attempt to write no more than 250 words. 


Audio Recording 

  • Use the Voice Memo app on your device to record your responses to any or all of the questions.
  • Please limit your recording to 2 minutes.
  • Email your recording to communityvoices@aurorapubliclibrary.org.
  • Library staff will transcribe your responses into written format for your review. 


Zoom Interview 

  • Request a Zoom interview with a library staff member by emailing communityvoices@aurorapubliclibrary.org. 
  • Library staff will conduct a short, recorded interview using the three questions noted here.
  • Library staff will transcribe your responses into written format for your review. 

 
 
Questions? Email communityvoices@aurorapubliclibrary.org. 

Prompts:

Please respond to any or all of the following prompts and submit your responses.

  • Tell us about yourself.

  • What is a source of pride for you in your heritage/identity?

  • What do you wish our greater community knew about your heritage/identity?

  • Please share 2-3 pictures to illustrate your story via email to communityvoices@aurorapubliclibrary.org.

Instructions for Participants

By participating in the Community Voices project, you are granting the Aurora Public Library District permission to display your Voice poster in all library branches. Additionally, we may feature your Voice in our digital communications, such as social media, our newsletter, or on our website. Submissions will be reviewed for consistency with our Exhibit Policy.