Name: Dorothy Lazard: Behind the Desk at the Main
Start: 2026-10-17T14:00:00-0700
End: 2026-10-18T16:00:00-0700

Dorothy Lazard: Behind the Desk at the Main

Saturday October 17, 2026 2:00pm - Sunday October 18, 2026 4:00pm PDT

Museum of the African Diaspora

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FREE, $10-$15 suggested donation

Co-presented with Museum of the African Diaspora

Dorothy Lazard’s celebrated 2023 memoir What You Don’t Know Will Make a Whole New World traced the beloved Oakland librarian’s coming of age through books. Now she’s back to tell more of her story, relating her experiences over two decades at the Oakland Public Library. Along the way, she makes a powerful case for the essential role of the public library as a pillar of democratic ideals, and she crafts a tribute to the library workers who have devoted their careers to supporting intellectual freedom as well as to the countless Oaklanders whom she had the privilege of serving. Lazard will be joined in conversation by Pendarvis Harshaw, community engagement reporter at KQED. Doors at 1:30pm.

Moderators

Pendarvis Harshaw

Pendarvis Harshaw is a journalist from Oakland, covering arts and culture in the Bay Area for KQED.

Speakers

Dorothy Lazard

Dorothy Lazard worked as a librarian for nearly forty years. In 2000 she joined the staff at the Oakland Main Library where she provided reference services and programming for Oakland's diverse community. From 2009 until her retirement in 2021, she was the head librarian of OPL's Oakland History... Read More →

Saturday October 17, 2026 2:00pm - Sunday October 18, 2026 4:00pm PDT
Museum of the African Diaspora 685 Mission St, San Francisco

Nonfiction, FREE

City San Francisco

Litquake 2026

Pendarvis Harshaw

Dorothy Lazard

Get help with the event

Litquake 2026

Pendarvis Harshaw

Dorothy Lazard

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