Behind the Desk at the Main: A Librarian's Memoir

by Dorothy Lazard

From a celebrated librarian and public historian, a memoir about the promise of public libraries in a fractured world.

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography Memoir, Books About Books

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 18, 2026

About the author

Dorothy Lazard was born in St. Louis and grew up in San Francisco and Oakland. A librarian for forty years, she joined the staff of the Oakland Public Library in 2000. From 2009 until her retirement in 2021, she was the head librarian of OPL’s Oakland History Center, where she encouraged people of all ages and backgrounds to explore local history. She lives in Oakland.

Reviews

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who spent a lot of their youth as patron, volunteer, and worker in libraries, this book had an automatic charm. I was hoping for captivating anecdotes from working as a librarian, and this book had a number of them, but it also has a number of sections focused on the proper role of the library and identity based concerns.

Both of those topics could work, but they flounder in the book. I end up feeling like I'm reading persuasive argument essays that remind me of school assignments (very well executed assignments!) that come off as a bit patronizing, that don't feel satisfying even when I share the view. On the side of identity, only a minority of the information felt at all distinctive (the ones that were, were mostly good, though some of those were still the same very generic thoughts as opposed to experiences distinctive to being a librarian).

There were a number of pieces that give you a feel for what being a librarian is like and what it further means with her identity. Those parts are great. If the book could have been entirely kept to them it'd have been a solid 4 star read. Definitely not a regretted read, and the makeup of the book is shown in the sample, so if that's worthwhile, the quality keeps up (not something most books can claim) and its worth reading.

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Behind the Desk at the Main is a love letter to the Oakland Public Library. Through a series of connected essays Lazard shares her thoughts and experiences of working at the library. It is a thought-provoking and accessible look into the life of a Black librarian who has witnessed and worked through many evolutions of her library. Highly recommended for library loving readers.

Thanks to Edelweiss and Ingram for providing me with an eARC.