Dorothy Lazard Explores the Future of Libraries and Her Own Past

Are the libraries we grew up with still relevant? How have the demands on librarians changed, particularly in urban libraries? And what should libraries do when community members or politicians insist that certain books be banned or reclassified for adults only? Dorothy Lazard is tackling these and other questions in a book she is writing about the public library as a civic institution. 

During her distinguished nearly forty-year library career, including a dozen years as the revered head of the Oakland History Center in the Oakland Public Library, she inspired others, regardless of their backgrounds or skills, to dig deeper, to learn more. A skilled researcher and a talented author, she also delivered lectures, mounted exhibits, and wrote articles about Oakland history.  Even in retirement, she remains a vital community asset, someone KQED talk-show host Alexis Madrigal called “a knower of the city.”

Last year, Lazard published a widely-praised memoir, In it, she explored how her early intellectual pursuits — including an encounter with Alex Haley —  lay the groundwork for her career as a librarian. 

On Wednesday, November 6, at 7 p.m., Lazard will be our speaker at Arts & Culture. In a welcome respite from election news, she will discuss her life’s work and the increasing challenges under-funded and under-staffed libraries face. She also will explain how her memoir evolved  — what she calls a “recovery mission” — and what it’s been like to share her life’s journey with both readers and audiences. 

Tickets for this program are $5 for club members and $10 for non-members. Please register early so we can be sure to accommodate everyone comfortably. Wearing masks for this event is strongly encouraged.

In her second book, Lazard is delving into how libraries have changed since she earned a master’s degree in Library and Information Studies at UC Berkeley and then began her career as a librarian in 1983. (She also earned a master of fine arts degree in Creative Nonfiction at Goucher College.) In “Practicing Seva,” a thoughtful essay she wrote for the book, , she described how her training did not equip her for the role she increasingly was asked to fill:

Her memoir, which will be on sale at Arts & Culture, was shortlisted for the 2024 Northern California Book Award for Creative Nonfiction, and the Oakland Public Library named it a Best Book of the Year in 2023. It primarily focuses on her youth in the Bay Area, between 1968 and 1978, and how she became “the queen of [her] own nerdy domain.” The Chronicle praised the book as a “fascinating, startling, moving memoir” written in  “clear, calm, resolute prose.” It recounts both the tragedies she faced — including the death of both parents — and her triumphs. Her publisher, Heyday, proclaims that the book is “animated by curiosity, careful reflection, and deep enthusiasm for life,” qualities that apply equally well to Dorothy herself. 

Invite your family and friends to join you for what surely will be a lively and thought-provoking evening with this local treasure.

Host or Publisher Berkeley City Club