Skip navigation 
Previous Page
MIDWINTER MEETING HIGHLIGHTS DENVER COGNOTES 3
Libraries Represent Resistance and Regeneration
“Books help us make a way when there is no way.” Junot Díaz delivered an animated, deeply powerful Auditorium Speaker presentation February 11, recounting the influence of libraries in his own life as well as the role of libraries in society. “Throughout my childhood, libraries were my one constant. How could they not be?” Díaz said that no matter what happened, he never turned away from libraries.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao held nothing back as he recounted how central libraries were to his childhood. As an immigrant child, Díaz said nothing came close to the utter desolation felt during the first few months in America. He gave a nod to his elementary school librarian for giving him a tour of the library and making sure he understood that the library was his. “I’d never seen a non-Bible book before or a library. To be honest I didn’t even know a library existed. On a cold sunny February day, a librarian gave me the gift of libraries.”
Díaz spoke on his own depression in high school causing him to start skipping school. While cutting school in his neighborhood was endemic, “My ass cut school so I could spend time at the library. Who in the world does that?” Díaz made the four-mile trek to the Old Bridge Public Library three to five times per week. He buried his head in the books, stating that reading was his Olympic event.
Libraries and librarians know about crises; it’s no surprise that people turn to them during their own. Díaz stated that while we are faced with a nation of exclusion and exclusivity, libraries are doubling down on inclusivity. “If it wasn’t for librarians and the fact that so many of us grew up in libraries and were made by libraries, this shit would be a whole lot worse.” He likened libraries to symbols of resistance as well as powerful totems of regeneration.
Díaz received a standing ovation, followed with an enlightening question-and-answer session. One librarian recounted her struggles with young boys getting into fights. “Hyper-masculinity is alive and well. It’s an acquired culture. We are addicted to the politics that destroy us. We have to try; we have to figure out a way to create a wedge to destroy it,” replied Díaz.
Librarians are faced with a wide array of tough issues. “One cannot do any of this alone. Find a team in your school or community to engage in an issue.” In addition, Díaz recommended that every year we recognize the history of segregation as it relates to libraries. “Every year, we must remind ourselves from which we come. At the heart of decolonization is to remember.”
Díaz’ debut children’s book, Islandborn, is due out next month. “Those of us who have been historically excluded from books through erasure or non-presence, know the pain of that is something we have not accounted for. We’ve only begun to express that pain.” Díaz compared the lack of diversity to “living next to the ocean and never being permitted to put your feet or any part of you near it. I always wanted to be in that water. Islandborn is an attempt to provide that for some readers.”
Each of us, he said, has our own library story. “We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t. Yours is not an easy calling.” No matter what struggle libraries face, “the work of the library lives on in the hearts of people like me.”
‘EACH OF US HAS OUR LIBRARY STORY’
In his latest children’s book Her Right Foot, Eggers investigates a seemingly small trait of America’s most emblematic statue, the Statue of Liberty. Sandra Farag, youth material selector at New York Public Libraries and Brooklyn Public libraries, sat down with Eggers to discuss his latest books and nonprofit during a February 10 Auditorium Speaker Series talk.
The seeds for Her Right Foot were planted when Eggers visited Ellis Island with his family. He was struck by the fact that the statue of liberty was in mid-stride. Not long after their visit, anti-immigrant rhetoric come to the front in the public sphere. Eggers first wrote an op-ed about the topic, but decided to aim his book at children. “We need to remind the youngest readers who we are. This is a message I hope we can impart to our younger readers.”
Her Right Foot is illustrated by Shawn Harris, his first picture book. Eggers stressed that Harris’ illustrations elevated every sentence.
Eggers and Harris are teaming up once more for a nonfiction children’s book, What Can a Citizen Do. Eggers noticed a lack of civics knowledge. “People often aren’t aware of what to do to try and make society better,” Eggers said. “Both books have welcoming others as a central theme. I’m most proud as an American of our ability to take in and lift up the most vulnerable people.”
Eggers enjoys writing children books from a different perspective. He noted that children’s books don’t have to stop at 32 pages. He strives to find a way to reach reluctant readers and help them to get through a longer book and feel a sense of accomplishment.
Eggers’ latest work of nonfiction, The Monk of Mokha, is a true story of a Yemeni American man who sets off to become a coffee farmer. Eggers and Moktar Alkhanshali worked together on the project for three years. Eggers believes Alkhanshali embodies the American dream.
In addition to his writing, David Eggers started a growing nonprofit movement for children. After learning of an L.A. County Library study which noted that 35 – 40 hours of one-on-one attention can bring kids up to grade level, Eggers decided to start his own after-school tutoring center for kids.
Eggers opened 826 Valencia, a writing and tutoring place for kids. The space was zoned as retail, so Eggers came up with a creative solution. He opened The Pirate Supply Store, which sells pirate supplies and accessories, while the writing and tutoring center is located in the back. 826 Valencia has since grown to literacy and writing nonprofits across the country. Each nonprofit has its own creative storefront, such as The Robot Supply and Repair in Michigan and The Superhero Supply Company in Brooklyn. This series of literacy and writing nonprofits across the country works with kids and provides them with a method of discovering their own creative paths.
