Dorothy Lazard at the New Parkway
Join celebrated Oakland librarian, public historian, and author Dorothy Lazard for a special evening celebrating the release of Behind the Desk at the Main: A Librarian's Memoir. Lazard will be joined by journalist and author Alexis Madrigal for a wide-ranging conversation about the enduring role of public libraries, the people who sustain them, and why these civic institutions matter more than ever.
Hosted at The New Parkway Theater in Oakland, with books provided by Nomadic Books in partnership with the Bay Area Book Festival, this event offers a rare opportunity to hear from one of Oakland's most beloved librarians as she reflects on two decades behind the scenes at Oakland's Main Library.
Drawing from stories in her new memoir, Lazard illuminates the often-unseen work of librarians—from helping patrons uncover family histories and navigate archives to fostering lifelong learning, cultural connection, and democratic access to information. She also explores the growing challenges facing libraries today, including censorship efforts, funding pressures, and the evolving role of public institutions in an increasingly polarized society.
Together, Lazard and Madrigal will discuss libraries as places of memory, possibility, and civic life, and consider what it means to protect these essential public spaces for future generations.
Following the conversation, Dorothy Lazard will sign copies of Behind the Desk at the Main, available for purchase from Nomadic Books.
Whether you're a devoted library lover, a history enthusiast, or simply curious about the hidden life of one of our most treasured public institutions, this promises to be an engaging and timely evening.
Dorothy Lazard is a writer, public historian, and former librarian. She is celebrated for her library career at the Oakland Main Library (especially at the Oakland History Center) and for her 2023 memoir, What You Don’t Know Will Make a Whole New World, that tells the story of her youth in the Bay Area of the 1960s and ’70s, connecting her early intellectual pursuits to the career that made her a community pillar.
Alexis Madrigal is a journalist in Oakland, California. He co-hosts KQED's current affairs show, Forum, and is a contributing writer at The Atlantic. Alexis spent many hours in the Oakland History Center while researching his book The Pacific Circuit : A Globalized Account of the Battle for the Soul of an American City, which explores how a logistical revolution that began in Oakland has reshaped American cities. He is also the proprietor of Local Economy, a community space in Oakland's Rockridge neighborhood.
Dorothy Lazard at Books Inc.
Join celebrated librarian and public historian Dorothy Lazard at Books Inc. Alameda to celebrate her memoir, Behind the Desk at the Main!
Behind the Desk at the Main details the promise of public libraries in a fractured world.
Dorothy will be in conversation with Angela Dalton.
When Dorothy Lazard became a public librarian, she returned to the building that had shaped her life from childhood. At the flagship branch ("the Main") of the Oakland Public Library, she connected with her hometown to a degree that few people experience. Helping her fellow community members and ultimately becoming the keeper of Oakland's public history archives, she witnessed the joys and dilemmas that shape one of the most diverse cities in the US.
In Behind the Desk at the Main, Lazard takes readers through the day-to-day life of library work with love, wit, and candor. As the cracks in American society grow and our public institutions are strained to the breaking point, libraries remain the cherished containers of our ideals: They are places of curiosity, imagination, memory, and togetherness. Lazard reveals the pressures that library workers face—from economic crises to book bans and political upheaval—as they uphold these ideals in a fractured world.
Filled with humor and urgency, Behind the Desk at the Main is a testament to the power of books and community in a time of division.
Dorothy Lazard is a writer, public historian, and former librarian. She is celebrated for her library career at the Oakland Main Library and for her 2023 memoir, What You Don’t Know Will Make a Whole New World, that tells the story of her youth in the Bay Area of the 1960s and ’70s, connecting her early intellectual pursuits to the career that made her a community pillar.
Angela Dalton is a children’s book author living in Oakland, California. Her picture books include To Boldly Go: How Nichelle Nichols and Star Trek Helped Advance Civil Rights, Ruby’s Reunion Day Dinner, Show the World!, and her award-winning debut, If You Look Up to the Sky. Visit her online at angeladalton.com.
Please join us!
Jose Iselin and Ellen Litwiller at Berkeley Public Library (North Branch)
Join Author Jose Iselin and Illustrator Ellen Litwiller for a discussion of their book The Mysterious World of the Bull Kelp Forest, available March 17, at the North Branch Berkeley Public Library. Copies will be available for purchase at the event.
Josie Iselin is an artist, author, and designer who has been telling seaweed and kelp stories for over a decade. Her two books An Ocean Garden: The Secret Life of Seaweed (2014, 2023) and The Curious World of Seaweed (2019) display her profound understanding of seaweed natural history and her deep connections within the seaweed science community. Iselin directs content development for the Above/Below campaign and is the lead author of the campaign’s web story, The Mysterious World of Bull Kelp (bullkelp.info). She teaches in the School of Design at San Francisco State University and lives in San Francisco. josieiselin.com
Ellen Litwiller is a freelance illustrator whose work brings art and science together in imaginative ways. She loves exploring how creativity and curiosity intersect, using a variety of mediums to tell stories that are both visually striking and scientifically accurate. She began her career creating exhibits for natural history museums, where she worked as a muralist, illustrator, model maker, and preparator. With years of hands-on experience in exhibition design and installation, she developed a deep appreciation for detail and storytelling. Through collaboration with scientists, she enjoys the shared curiosity that unite art and science—both rooted in observation and appreciation of the world around us and the universe beyond.
