Dorothy Lazard at the San Francisco Public Library
May 25, 2023 | 6:00 am – 7:00 pm
In her new memoir, Dorothy Lazard, a longtime and now retired librarian, tells a migration story, a Black Power story, a multi-generational family story and a story that celebrates the enduring quest for education and freedom.
Sit down with Lazard at the San Francisco Public Library to discuss her new book, What You Don’t Know Will Make a Whole New World. Lazard will talk about her love of San Francisco and Oakland, her career in libraries and how reading transformed her life. The deeply beloved and now retired doyenne of the Oakland Public Library system, Lazard built a career carrying the torch for the potent role of libraries as a haven for youth, the ever-curious, the underserved and the often marginalized.
Register HereAbout the Speaker
Dorothy Lazard
Dorothy Lazard was born in St. Louis and grew up in San Francisco and Oakland. A librarian for forty years, she joined the staff of the Oakland Public Library in 2000. From 2009 until her retirement in 2021, she was the head librarian of OPL’s Oakland History Center, where she encouraged people of all ages and backgrounds to explore local history. Lazard was the 2023 recipient of the Oscar Lewis Award in Western History from the Book Club of California. She lives in Oakland. Photo by Gene Dominique.
