If you’re looking for a great new read, Book Marks has started a weekly series called Secrets of the Librarians. Every week, they interview a librarian (“be they Academic, Public, School, or Special”) about “their inspirations, most-recommended titles, thoughts on the role of the library in contemporary society, favorite fictional librarians, and more.”
In mid-May, they interviewed OlaRonke Akinmowo, who is the founder of a social-justice initiative called the Free Black Women’s Library.
Says Akinmowo:
I have to say that I do not have a master’s degree in Library Sciences or any official training and did not go to school to become a librarian, I started the Free Black Women’s Library as a social art project to because I wanted to do something that smashed together the things I am passionate about: books, black womanhood, and community. I wanted to explore the idea of using books by black women to build community, create change, educate, heal, inspire spread joy. I wanted to do something that centered black women but in a way that didn’t feel tragic, traumatic or pathological, something that showed our brilliance, imagination, strength and diversity. I love books and I love libraries, they feel like one of the few safe places on earth (depending on who is running the space).
Akinmowo recommends readers check out Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde, and The Sun is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon. Though the Free Black Women’s Library is in Brooklyn, NY, you can can a head start on this recommended reading by checking out Sister Outsider from The Ames Library! We have both a physical copy and an e-book. There are also several books by black women writers in our free lending Social Justice & Diversity Room collection on the main floor.
