Ignorance is bliss, but not something we should aspire to.

This past weekend I was cocooned in the warm embrace of books at the @American-Library-Association's annual conference in Philadelphia. A fitting location for an organization providing “leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and to ensure access to information for all.” Philadelphia is “the birthplace of America.” Freedom from tyranny was decided and planned here.

I was there as the author of Fake News, Witch Hunts & Conspiracy Theories, an Infodemiologist’s Guide to the Truth and as a guest of my fantastic publisher @broadbookgroup. I was able to sign copies of my book and interact with librarians committed to literacy – particularly media literacy.

I walked around this nerd convention surrounded by books from publishers of all sorts, and I was giddy. I am surprised I didn’t skip through the convention center, but …. old knees.

My giddiness was hampered, however, when I turned a corner and saw the display for the @us-imls Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The photo at the top of this article is of the display.

You may recall that the current U.S. administration has defunded this incredible resource. The most recent court ruling allowed the funding freeze to remain in effect while the case proceeds through the judicial system.

I spoke with one of the gentlemen in the booth and he said that the ALA decided to create a stark display in contrast to past years because they wanted to highlight the gutting of this necessary institution, since IMLS couldn’t be there. The IMLS was created by Congress in 1995 and “is an independent federal agency that supports libraries, archives and museums in all 50 states and U.S. territories.” It is bipartisan and employs about 70 full-time staff. Its mission is “Supporting Education, Economic, Workforce and Heritage Opportunities Locally – Advancing National Competitiveness Globally.” It is responsible for awarding grants to museums and libraries across the country. While most libraries and museums are funded via local taxes and private funds, many also rely on federal grant funding to fill gaps to support key programming like workforce development and computer skills training, and to provide additional funds for computers, internet access and, of course, books.

Since this conference was the ALA conference, librarians were there in full force (it would be odd if they weren’t). Publishers were also there sharing their latest wares and titles representing a number of different genres.

Many, many children’s book publishers were there. I am not necessarily in the market for children’s books (except those I would sell in my bookstore – The Beekeeper’s Bookshop - online for now but physical location opening soon, I hope), but I was reminded of the books I grew up devouring and of my love of our local community library and my school libraries.

I was and still am a voracious reader. I remember my mother reading to me, though not what she read. It is the act of sitting near her as she read the words on the page and pointed to the pictures. I was rapt.

I remember the Scholastic book sales in elementary school. The flimsy, thinner than newspaper catalog we would get with a number of age-appropriate book titles all for the taking! (Well, you did have to pay for them.) I think I circled every book in the catalog and asked my dad for money to buy the books. He told me I had to narrow my selection to between one and three books, the monster! Choosing just one, two or three books was agony! How on Earth was I to decide? I wanted to read them all! Now! But decide I did.

Reading has always served several purposes for me. I love fiction because it allows me to escape. To escape to someone else’s life or some other land. I read the Chronicles of Narnia – all seven books - more than once. I looked for secret passages in the backs of closets (we didn’t have proper “wardrobes”) to no avail. Not being raised in a religious environment, the Christian symbolism was lost on me until several decades later. I remember being upset that I didn't make the connection that Aslan was representative of Jesus. It seemed so obvious in retrospect. For me, they were just damn good stories that made me think I could do great things, much like the four children in the books.

Nancy Drew was a heroine for me. I read every one of those books – or at least all of the titles available in my school and local libraries. I am old enough to remember when Nancy Drew was for the girls (like dolls) and the Hardy Boys were for the boys (like trucks or something). (Gender separation wasn’t enforced, per se, but it was understood.) It wasn’t until I was in the real world of work that I realized how true to life the books were. It took two boys to do the work of one girl. Yup, rings true.

I also remember being challenged in school to read a biography. The biographies we could choose from were written as young adult biographies not the tomes we see now that I also enjoy. My first biography was of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States (she earned her degree in the mid-1800s). I had never heard of her but I was fascinated with the “first.” Her drive and fight inspired me. The challenges she faced reinforced in me that I was capable of nearly anything. And it cemented a lifelong love of learning about others. My next young adult biography? Cleopatra. Enough said.

My school library introduced me to porn – aboriginal. National Geographic was – and still is – a seminal publication for me. I remember seeing the cover of the magazine with topless native women from South America and I was intrigued. It shattered norms for me and opened my eyes to the greater world and its cultures. [I say “porn” half in jest. I certainly do not consider it porn. I consider it cultural enrichment and nourishment for me. But there are some who would consider it obscene and would want it banned from the library. Shame on them.]

I grew up in a very rural area. We had our little free library that was open about three days a week. We would ride our bikes the two miles to it and spend a Saturday afternoon browsing the shelves. I read many of the fiction titles but also delved into nonfiction. I was introduced to snakes, sharks and other animals with which I am still fascinated. My love of science and the natural world may be attributed to my little library. I found stories of ghosts and witches and fine English mysteries set in drafty old estates. I read about Egypt and the mummies and the curse! I read about our National Parks.

I learned.

There was the Bookmobile that would come to school periodically with titles our library didn’t have. I think I pushed other kids out of the way to get to the books. Other worlds needed to be explored and I needed to know.

It supplemented my wonderful education. It satisfied my seemingly insatiable curiosity.

I am lucky that my family was able to afford to buy books. I am also lucky that we lived near a library and had a robust school library that allowed me to thrive. Those libraries made us all equal regardless of socioeconomic status. It was freeing.

I think back to the sparse IMLS booth at the conference. I think also of booth after booth of books. The perfect book waiting to find the lucky person for whom it was intended. I think about the cuts that are happening in our library system. I think, also, about the censorship that is preventing kids from discovering what I and so many others were able to discover. I think about the fact that our education system can only do so much but a key role is in encouraging curiosity….in developing inquisitiveness. I do not think that books or other publications indoctrinate you. I never did show up at school topless because I saw that National Geographic cover. I wasn't that surprised in not finding a hidden world at the back of the closet. And I didn’t become Egyptian reading about Cleopatra. (I did become a doctor but not a medical doctor.)

As an adult, I rely on books every day. I’m a professor so I should hope so. I don’t always read about topics that I teach, though. I’ve maintained my childhood curiosity. I’ve nurtured my inquisitiveness. Today I continue to read fiction. I still love a good mystery and a good story. I love reading fiction that allows me to learn a bit about different cultures and ways of thinking and seeing the world. I try to find authors from places I have been or want to know more about.

I also think about what we didn’t learn in school. I live in Western New York right up the road (literally) from the Seneca Iroquois Nation. We spent two weeks in the seventh grade learning about them. We didn’t learn about any other indigenous nations. I found myself craving more information and books helped fill that void.

Our school history classes dealt with Western history. I knew Africa, Asia and South America were continents and knew countries in each but that was about it. I have since tried to learn more by reading more.

I am also interested in the history of our own country. Of course, we learned about slavery (I guess I shouldn’t say “of course” because even learning about slavery is in danger in our country now). It wasn’t until years after formal school that it occurred to me that Christopher Columbus didn’t “discover” the new world he merely landed here. You can’t discover something if someone is there to greet you. But then I also learned that there was much more that happened before Columbus sailed. Vikings. The Chinese. And that’s in addition to the Native population that was already here for centuries or even millennia.

I knew nothing of the Japanese internment camps until much past formal school. Same with the abuse Chinese immigrants faced but also about the important role they played in our development of the west and the transcontinental railroad. Same with many other immigrant groups.

The Tulsa Race Massacre? No idea until rather recently (sadly).

Why did I learn more? I wanted to know more because my curiosity was nurtured. But more than that…..books.

Books.

Books can change your world. They can change your opinions. They can proffer facts. They can entertain. They can make you sad or irate or melancholy. They can be mirrors to who you are or who you want to be. They can give you insight into others in your community. They can teach.

They’ve been all of those things to me.

I shudder to think that others won’t have the opportunities I had to learn and know more and foster curiosity; that doors will be shut to them because of ignorance and bigotry. “An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.” That quote is commonly attributed to Thomas Jefferson though it is not found in any of his writings. If you don’t have access to knowledge and don’t have an innate curiosity, you wouldn’t know that or even know to question the validity of it. That blind adherence to authority is not what we need. We need to ask questions and challenge people who rely on opinions and spurious correlations and demand that they rely on and refer to facts and experts. We need the scientific method (it’s not just for the hard sciences) to ensure we examine the problem(s) and find solutions in as unbiased a manner as possible.

We need books and all the resources our libraries offer.

The best resource of all, though?

Librarians.

They know everything! Or they know how to find everything! If you don’t know how to find something or need an answer that Google or ChatGPT or other aren’t finding, ask a librarian. Need a book recommendation? Ask a librarian.

Just ask a librarian. They love to help.

And fight to make sure we can maintain our access to these incredibly important public places and the resources they hold – available to and for ALL of us.

Read.

Ignorance is bliss, but knowledge is freedom. (Did someone famous coin that phrase? Ask a librarian.)

I would love to share some of the books that I have read that have helped me to understand different topics. I would also love to hear your recommendations. [Please note, this is not an exhaustive list. I have read much and want to continue to learn. This is just a sampling.]

Nonfiction

·       1491, New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, by Charles C. Mann – a history of the Americas before they were the Americas.

·       1421, The Year China Discovered America, by Gavin Menzies – a history of Chinese exploration that will enhance and challenge what you were taught in school.

·       Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, by Jack Weatherford – we hear about how horrible Genghis Khan was but this insightful book provides more of the story.

·       Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, by Patrick Radden Keefe – I knew when I was younger that Catholics left Ireland but I had no idea why. This books sheds insights into The Troubles in Northern Ireland.

·       The Lemon Tree, by Sandy Tolan – if you are like me and know next to nothing about the war in the Middle East and the struggle between Israel and Palestine, this book is a must read.

·       The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine, by Rashid Khalidi – provides an excellent Palestinian perspective on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

·       My Promised Land, by Ari Shavit – provides an excellent Israeli perspective on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. (It is important to get both sides of the story or to get the story from as unbiased a source as possible.)

·       A Path to Peace, by George J. Mitchell – a sort of outside perspective about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

·       Ghosts of Gold Mountain, by Gordon H. Chang – an incredible look at the building of the transcontinental railroad, particularly by the Chinese workers and the treatment they experienced.

·       Triangle, the Fire that Changed America, by Dave Von Drehle – about the fire that ravaged the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and the lives lost. Perhaps a precursor to OSHA?

·       Radium Girls, The Dark Story of America's Shining Women, by Kate Moore – about our ill treatment of workers in order for corporations to make money. Again, a precursor to OSHA?

·       Eric Larson – anything – he writes narrative nonfiction and it just draws you in. Well-researched and fascinating.

·       Crisis in the Red Zone, by Richard Preston – about Ebola outbreaks. Lest you think this isn’t a good read, think again. Very well done and insight into pandemics and our response to them.

·       The Hospital, Life, Death and Dollars in a Small American Town, by Brian Alexander – if you live in a rural area, this book is for you. What is described here will be worse if the proposed Medicaid cuts happen.

·       The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu and their race to save the world’s most precious manuscripts, by Joshua Hammer – think civilization didn’t exist in Africa? Think again. In the spirit of keeping culture and history alive, read this book.

Fiction

·       Louise Erdrich – anything, just read anything. Her prose is outstanding, and her fiction gives you incredible insight into Native American culture and perspective.

·       There, There, by Tommy Orange – an amazing Native American writer [please share other Native writers with me.]

·       Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford – this story shook me. It’s an incredible look at life of Chinese-Americans during WWII.

·       Colson Whitehead – anything, just read anything. His prose, like Erdrich’s is outstanding and gives you insight into the Black experience in the U.S.

·       The Fisherman, by Chigozie Obioma – about life in Nigeria. I will say no more. Please read this book.

·       Julie Otsuka – anything – I discovered this wonderful writer by accident and am glad I did. Please read her books!

·       Songbirds and Beekeeper of Aleppo, by Christy Lefteri – two haunting books, one about Sri Lanka and the other about Syria. Stunning.

I have to stop otherwise this list will become unruly! These are some of my more recent favorites and recommendations for the curious among us. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t also recommend my own book, Fake News, Witch Hunts & Conspiracy Theories, an infodemiologist’s guide to the truth and if I didn't tell you that you can buy any of the above books at my bookstore - The Beekeeper's Bookshop.

Please share with me any titles you think I should read or any authors you think I need to look up. For example, I asked my friend and colleague who studies political science in South America, specifically Chile, for South American fiction recommendations. She was more than happy to oblige. When I read them, I will share.

Please support your local library and your librarians. Let’s ensure generations and generations have access to knowledge, and pleasure, and fun, and mystery, and …….

This week we celebrate America's independence. One of the things we can do to keep America independent, is ensure we have access to libraries. To see how you may help keep our libraries funded and save the IMLS, please visit the ALA website: https://www.ala.org/advocacy/show-up-for-our-libraries which details actions you may take to save our spaces.

Happy reading and learning.