In California, we know libraries hold more than books - so much more. We’ve even worked with Dolly Parton to establish a Statewide Imagination Library. Together, we’ve accomplished some incredible things: investing hundreds of millions to equitably improve and modernize your workplaces working to preserve and share our historically and culturally significant materials by investing in library digitization renovating and enhancing the Jewish Family and Children’s Services Holocaust Center Library and Archives building expanding and diversifying our library resources to promote health and wellness and reflect our multilingual and multicultural communities and beyond. We must refuse to dabble in the zealotry of whitewashing literature and banning books. It is more important than ever that we have your back and that we ensure and expand access to public libraries and defend your essential role in preserving freedom. You are facing censorship, battling record numbers of book bans and challenges, as you defend free access to literary works, especially those written by authors who are often targeted: LGBTQ+ writers, writers of color, and those daring to challenge the status quo.
Idealogues and demagogues are attacking you for championing diversity, inclusion, and equity - for making sure our children and all people belong. You guard the sanctity of our pasts, good and bad, as you shepherd the possibilities of our tomorrows.Īnd yet, despite your indispensable contributions - or perhaps because of them - you have become the target of unjust attacks across the nation. You are the heart of our communities, providing a way out and a way up for those unsure of where they’re going - including those who are unhoused, unemployed, or simply looking for a new path. You help us start new chapters at every stage of our lives, showing us the magic of reading as children, and teaching us new skills in our golden years. Your impact goes far beyond book recommendations (although, you have recommended many great books over the years). Because people - people like you - took the time to care about me, to show me the power of words and the power of books, I was able to find my footing in business, service, and eventually, elected office. Through support, advice, and mentorship from specialists, educators, and librarians too numerous to list, I didn’t just fall in love with words… my life started revolving around them. Without them, my world was far smaller than it could have been: I avoided classrooms and libraries for reasons I couldn’t fully understand or articulate.
Books and words weren’t just difficult to read - they felt entirely out of reach. In my childhood, I struggled with undiagnosed dyslexia. You share words with the world, and as we close out National Library Week, I want to share two words with you: Thank you.
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