Transcriber: Lisa Thompson Reviewer: Tanya Cushman
I'm going to start today
with one of my favorite quotes about the library.
"The library is the worst group of people ever assembled in history.
They're mean, conniving, rude, and extremely well read,
which makes them very dangerous."
Just like Leslie Knope, most people have a very specific view of the library:
absolutely silent,
with a librarian - usually wearing glasses -
glaring and shushing if you drop a book or dare to speak above a whisper.
Well, I'm here to tell you that the library that you think you know,
that's not the library of today.
I don't think
that the library is the "worst group of people ever assembled in history,"
but I do agree that we are extremely well read and dangerous.
Librarians are not the quiet, whispering ladies of your childhood;
they're compassionate community supporters and loud human rights activists.
Libraries have transformed themselves
to support communities and democracy and help them to survive.
My relationship with the library began when I was young.
I grew up going to the library every two weeks with my dad,
devouring book after book.
I also loved to draw,
and I would sit at the old, round tables with my sketchbooks and art books,
copying the Picassos and Monets,
learning to draw faces, trees, and flowers.
And then, maybe like some of you, I grew up, and I stopped going.
I got caught up in high school, college, graduating.
Then I made the mistake of taking the first job that I was offered.
Fast-forward five years later, and I was working at a job that I hated,
I was pushing people to buy more stuff that they didn't need,
and I felt that I had lost my way, I had lost my voice,
and I was unable to pursue any of my passions.
So I quit.
And with no other prospects in sight - and a small baby -
I took a part-time job at the library.
I started out there shelving books, helping people research,
making reading recommendations, and helping them check out their books.
Soon after, I became full-time,
and I went back to school to get my master's to become a librarian.
I now manage and support library staff.
I run book clubs.
I help purchase books for the library.
And - my favorite part of my job -
I get to curate art exhibits and hold art workshops.
Since returning, I have found that these are not the libraries of my childhood;
they've changed.
The books and the librarians are still there,
but there's definitely been an increase in not only the noise
but in activity in the library.
And just as the library has changed, the library changed me.
I now know that this is the place where I want to be every day,
where there's no limit to what I can learn
and where I can decide what I learn.
The library has allowed me to find my voice, to explore my passions,
and to help other people explore theirs.
Now, some people would say,
"We don't need libraries anymore.
Nobody reads anymore.
Bookstores are dying out.
We have our smartphones with Google and the Internet.
What do we need them for?"
But this is so not true.
Libraries have transformed themselves.
They have a purpose,
and they're more relevant and important to community and democracy
than ever before.
In 2016, the Pew Research Center found
that 66% of Americans believe that closing a public library
would have a negative impact on the community.
Every day, libraries are providing safe spaces
for learning, enrichment, and inspiration.
Walk into a public library today,
and you'll notice that increase in activity.
People are roaming the shelves.
They're asking for help at the research desk.
They're participating in group projects,
participating in story times,
reading and playing with their children.
Some people hold job interviews at the library
or conduct business meetings.
While some of these activities are pretty typical
of what libraries have, kind of, always been doing,
libraries have transformed themselves,
and they're taking on new roles in their communities
to help strengthen and save them.
Let me give you some examples.
According to Feeding America, one in four children go hungry every day.
Their only stable source of food is their free school lunch.
But what happens to these children when summertime rolls around?
Well, libraries have stepped up to fulfill this role,
and in California,
there are over 130 libraries serving meals to over 200,000 children.
And while these children are at the library,
they can sign up for the summer reading program;
they can attend a story time
or participate in STEM workshops and learn how to build robots.
Children and their families are participating in programs at the library
that are offered often in partnership with other local organizations,
such as the fire department or a local university.
Here are a few quotes from children that are in this program:
"I would like to thank everyone
for helping me learn to read, eat, and feel safe."
"It's just nice to be part of a program that all around cares."
"This program makes me feel like the community cares about us."
These are children.
It's clear to these children and their families
that libraries are providing the whole package:
food, education, a safe space, and community services.
And they're doing this by taking on a nontraditional role for the library,
but they have a goal of helping communities thrive and survive.
From August to November of 2014,
a library helped a community through a tragedy.
Riots had erupted.
Protests and vigils were being held all across the town of Ferguson, Missouri.
This was after the shooting of Michael Brown by police
and the resulting non-indictment of those same officers.
The National Guard had to be brought in.
The streets were in complete chaos.
And businesses and schools all closed.
I watched this on TV,
and I watched this spread across my social media feed,
saddened and distraught by what I was seeing.
But also starting to spread across my feed was an article about a public library.
During all of this uncertain time,
one of the only buildings in the community to stay open
was the Ferguson Municipal Public Library.
Led by its director, Scott Bonner, the library stayed open 24 hours a day
to provide a safe space for children and families.
The library held crafts.
They had magic shows.
They created healing kits for people to check out.
They held an art exhibit to allow artists to respond to the shootings.
And they provided special outreach to adults and local businesses
to help them pick up the pieces.
Bonner could have chosen to close the building,
like so many others did,
but he knew the library had a duty
to help this community to survive and to heal.
And the people of Ferguson agreed.
The library was the only thing that worked during the Ferguson crisis.
These unfortunate events really did change my idea of what a library ought to be.
The fact that the library stayed open
and welcomed students and teachers when school didn't start
just brought an amazing response.
The library has just done so much.
The library continues to be a kind of shining star of positiveness
coming out of Ferguson.
If nothing else -
what our community has been through with this
and how it assisted in bringing some normalcy back to Ferguson -
the library is absolutely relevant now.
Libraries are transforming themselves to help communities thrive,
but they're also stepping up when others do not
to help them to survive.
You already know that you can get books from the library,
that you can use your tablet or your laptop there.
Maybe you know that you can learn to use a 3D printer there
or attend a program on obtaining your citizenship
or talk to a librarian
about how to determine what is fake and what is real news.
But libraries are also providing lunches for children.
They're providing a safe space during uncertain times.
They're hosting tough conversations between divided groups.
They employ social workers on staff
so that they can help the homeless and disadvantaged.
They're certifying their buildings as safe zones
for immigrants and refugees and LGBTQ communities.
Libraries have transformed themselves
to help their communities survive and thrive.
Libraries are also providing freedom for everyone,
not only from monetary payment -
because, maybe as you know, libraries are free, completely free -
they're also providing freedom from interference
in the knowledge that you seek and obtain.
Libraries believe that the freedom to read what you want
is part of your constitutional rights under the First Amendment.
Libraries have always had a good reputation
as an unbiased institution,
but we are most definitely not neutral.
Libraries will fight for your right to access the truth,
to read what you want,
and to have your voice heard.
Libraries have also always believed in their patrons' privacy,
but it's more recent that they've had to fight loudly for it.
The novelist Doris Lessing's quote from 1999 epitomizes this sentiment:
"With a library you are free,
not confined by temporary political climates.
It is the most democratic of institutions because no one - but no one at all -
can tell you what to read and when and how."
It was in 2001
that the US government passed the PATRIOT Act as a reaction to 9/11.
This act allows the government to look at your phone records.
You may not know this,
but libraries actually don't keep track of your checkout history
so that there are no records for the government to seize.
You might be surprised to hear that, as a society, we're actually reading more.
But although we're reading more because of the Internet,
we're not reading as deeply.
Recent studies have shown that.
We're prioritizing efficiency and immediacy
over understanding and interpretation.
We're more accepting of the information, true or not, that's in front of us
on our smartphones and in our social media feeds.
This is leading at best to complacency
and at worst to the spread of misinformation
and then action taken on that misinformation,
often with devastating results.
Accessing the truth leads to better decision-making,
better opportunities,
and ultimately a better life for all.
But with this tidal wave of information that crashes into us every day,
how do we know what is fake, what's alternative, and what is the truth?
Well, according to that same Pew study I mentioned earlier,
77% of Americans
believe that libraries are essential to providing resources that we can trust.
Accessing the truth should be considered a human right,
and librarians, like I said, are human rights activists.
Libraries have always been
the guardians and keepers of the flame of knowledge and truth,
but it is a fragile flame,
and it can easily go out,
and we're starting to see it sputter right now, before our very eyes.
But just as libraries stepped up to fight against the PATRIOT Act,
just as libraries stepped up to help people in Ferguson,
and just as libraries stepped up to feed children,
libraries are stepping up once again
and transforming themselves to fight against the changing definition of truth.
And they're doing it loudly,
like the Dallas Public Library,
who partnered with journalists
to facilitate the Storytellers Without Borders program.
This program teaches teens and young adults
how to consume news media thoughtfully and how to research accurate information.
Or like the Oakland Public Library, who, like so many other libraries,
have created webpages
to help people determine what is fake news and what is real news.
Or like the American Library Association,
who recently had to update their CRAAP test,
and that's CRAAP, C-R-A-A-P,
which is a guide to helping people evaluate information.
ALA now recommends
that the authority section is more closely scrutinized
and you must look beyond somebody's job title -
job titles such as CEO, senator, or president.
Or again, the American Library Association,
who created social media campaigns to help libraries across the nation
remind the public the importance of accurate information,
of knowledge, and the truth.
Lately, libraries have begun to hear certain words used again and again,
words like cut, limit, deny,
narrow, reduce, lessen, diminish, ban.
These words are not in any of the statements
that libraries believe and practice.
Words like access, accuracy, open,
free, all, involve, diverse, transform -
these are the words that make up a library's universe
and that help to support community and democracy.
Now when you think of libraries,
I hope that you will think of them as places that fight for communities
and fight for human rights.
If you are passionate about your community
or passionate about human rights,
come to the library and support what we do.
Libraries have changed into places of activism.
Librarians have changed into and transformed into activists.
I am a librarian.
I couldn't think of a better way to spend my life than fighting for you.
Thank you.
(Applause)