Highlights Part 4 - Libraries and Librarians: From COVID Lifelines to Book Bans

Listen Now | VOC Producers | Share | Transcript | Donate | Resources

*Series Highlights: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Other Episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 100 | 101 | 102 | 103 | 104 | 105

Enjoy our slide show of photos from the organizations that are featured below in our Highlight Episode Part Four focused on Libraries as Lifelines: How Community Institutions Responded to Crisis from our Covid-19 special series.

Stay updated on future episodes by subscribing to Voices of the Community on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and YouTube, or where ever you listen to your podcasts

"Libraries have recognized that we can make a difference in anything that's facing our community. There are very few agencies that are equipped to deal with the effects of a racial equity reckoning, an economic crisis, a public health crisis all at the same time.” - Derek Wolfgram

This highlight episode brings together voices from the front lines of public service and documentary filmmaking to celebrate the resilience of our libraries. We start off with Dawn Logsdon and Lucie Faulkner of Serendipity Films, creators of the documentary “Free For All: The Public Library”. In the second half, we welcome a panel featuring Susan Stuart Clark of Common Knowledge, Jayanti Addleman from the City of Hayward, and Derek Wolfgram of the Redwood City Public Library.

Public libraries serve three vital roles in our communities. First, they act as crisis responders—providing food distribution, mental health support, and essential services when other agencies close. Second, they bridge the digital divide by offering homework help, technology lending, and reliable internet access to ensure equity for students and families. Third, they serve as guardians of democracy, delivering trusted information and maintaining free, inclusive public spaces—a legacy rooted in the women’s suffrage movement.

As Dawn Logsdon reminds us, philanthropists alone cannot sustain these institutions; public support is essential. Learn more about the guests in the bios below, then listen to and share the episode to help amplify the enduring value of our libraries.

Dawn Logsdon—Co-Founder, Serendipity Films, Producer, Director, Editor

DAWN LOGSDON's career has been dedicated to making films about civic issues and city life, particularly at the neighborhood level. She directed and produced Faubourg Treme: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans (2008) which premiered nationally at the Tribeca International Film Festival. It went on to win the SFIFF Golden Gate Award for Best Documentary and was a PBS Black History Month feature presentation three years in a row. Dawn co-directed and edited Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton (2013) and Lindy Boggs: Steel and Velvet (2008). Dawn edited the Sundance Award-winning Paragraph 175 by Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Freidman, Academy Award-nominated Weather Underground by Sam Green, Emmy award-winning Have You Heard from Johannesburg? by Connie Field, the Peabody award-winning The Castro by Peter Stein and the critically-acclaimed feature-length essay films The Joy of Life and The Royal Road by Jenni Olson. Short films Dawn produced and directed include Tomboy, which was exhibited at the Whitney Museum and aired on PBS. Dawn received a BA in Philosophy from UC Berkeley. Her honors include a Soros OSI Media Fellowship, California Arts Council Artist Residency, BAVC Media Maker Award, Djerassi Artist Residency, Louisiana Division of the Arts Fellowship, New Orleans Contemporary Art Center Artist Fellowship, and the New Orleans Arts Council Award. If you'd like to dive deeper into Dawn's work or learn more about what they're documentary film about the power and importance of Public Libraries.

Be sure to check out the full conversation in Episode 10 and an update on how you can watch “Free For All: The Public Library”.

Lucie Faulknor—Co-Founder, Serendipity Films, Producer, Co-Director

LUCIE FAULKNOR produced and researched Faubourg Treme: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans and has worked with award-winning directors Dorothy Fadiman and Lynn Hershman-Leeson in the areas of fundraising, publicity, outreach and community engagement. Faulknor has also produced Dublin Ireland's first Women in Film & Television film festival and presented a lecture series that included Laurie Anderson, Bobby McFerrin, Wayne Shorter, Sydney Pollack and others. She has worked for a number of arts organizations including City Arts & Lectures, SFJAZZ, Presidio Theatre, Palace of Fine Arts Theater, the Irish Arts Foundation, Stern Grove Festival, Yerba Buena Gardens, Dublin (IRL) Fringe Festival and for a number individual performing and visual artists including Jim Campilongo, Storm Large, Tracy Snelling and Kevin Woodson. She has a Master's degree in Nonprofit Administration from USF's School of Business & Professional Studies and a B.A. in Arts Management from SFSU. Lucie is a fourth generation San Francisco Public Library user.

Want to hear the complete story? Head over to Episode 10 for the full interview with Lucie. Visit the Free For All Web site to find out how you can host a screening of Free For All: The Public Library and explore their incredible work in the making of the documentary film.

Susan Stuart Clark—Founder & Executive Director, Common Knowledge

Susan formed Common Knowledge to pioneer “community-centric design,” demonstrating how inclusion of diverse “careholders” as well as stakeholders stimulates innovative solutions on issues such as housing, health care, the environment, civic participation and financial literacy. She brings over two decades of experience designing culturally responsive communications and engagement programs across multiple sectors and presents frequently about increasing participation of lesser-heard voices. At the core of this successful work is a unique body of knowledge about the properties of local community ecosystems and how communities can increase their collective capacity to identify and make progress on shared goals. Due to their deep reach into community life, public libraries have played a role in many of Common Knowledge’s projects and the California State Library awarded Susan their Champion of Literacy award.

Susan’s professional journey began in the communications and consumer marketing field, serving as Brand Manager at Procter & Gamble experience and as Vice President of Planning and New Products at Del Monte Foods. Her shift to applying behavioral insights to civic and community engagement includes affiliations with the Kettering Foundation, directing the annual Public Policy Institute at U.C. Davis Extension and consulting for the Institute for Local Government. Due to her interest in combining the best of in-person and digital engagement, as well as the intersection of employee engagement and community engagement, Susan has been an adviser to Paypal, Code for America, Voter’s Edge and other civic tech groups. Susan has served as a board member of the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation and as a board member for the San Francisco League of Women Voters.

We've only scratched the surface of what Susan has shared about the importance of Libraries and Librarians. For the full depth of this conversation—listen to Episode 62.

Derek Wolfgram—Director, Redwood City Public Library

Since 2014, Derek Wolfgram has been the Director of the Redwood City Public Library, where he gets to spend every day collaborating with tremendous partners from local government, the business community, the nonprofit sector, and local school districts. He also focuses his energy on the Library’s work to support equity, diversity, and inclusion for all people in our community, as well as creating experiences to help people share the joys of literacy and learning. Since earning his Master of Library Science degree from Kent State University in 1996, Derek’s 24-year career in public libraries has included management and administrative roles at Denver Public Library, Butte County Library, and Santa Clara County Library District. Derek is past President and past Treasurer of the California Library Association, and the winner of CLA’s Outstanding Librarian in Support of Literacy award in 2009.

Locally, Derek serves as a member of the Redwood City Chamber Education Committee, a Community Advisory Board Member for the San Mateo County Pride Center, a member of the Welcoming Redwood City Steering Committee for Redwood City Together, and Treasurer for Redwood City International. Derek is a 2016 graduate of the Redwood City/San Mateo County Chamber Leadership program. In 2017, he was named “Mr. Sesquicentennial” as part of the Mr. Redwood City pageant. Derek and his wife Robin live in the Roosevelt neighborhood of Redwood City with their dog Izzy, a Whippet / Carolina Dog / Border Collie / Rat Terrier mix who was rescued from Caborca, Sonora, Mexico.

Since the production of our panel discussion Derek has been appointed the Director Redwood City, Parks, Recreation & Community Services. More from Derek Wolfgram? Episode 62 has the full interview, plus all the links you need to connect with the Redwood City Library.

Jayanti Addleman—Director of Library Services at the City of Hayward

Jayanti Addleman has been the Director of Library Services at the City of Hayward since 2019 and had the privilege for overseeing the opening of a beautiful new 58,000 square foot library in the heart of downtown. Unfortunately, the building had to close 6 months later because of the pandemic, but Jayanti has been able to work with her very innovative team to continue to successfully serve the community, including the very large body of students who used to depend on the 10 library-run Homework Support Centers, during the closure. Jayanti is looking forward to the full resumption of walk-in services as the spread of the virus continues to come under control.

A passionate advocate for literacy, for outreach to undeserved and marginalized communities, and for the power of libraries to transform lives, Jayanti is President of the California Library Association and was previously President of the California County Librarians Association. She feels her 12 years as the County Librarian at the County of Monterey, and prior to that her experience in academic libraries and in private industry, has prepared her for most challenges in the profession. However, she admits that though she had seen libraries through several major disasters including earthquakes, fires, and floods, responding to the wide-reaching and long drawn impact of the pandemic was completely different.

Jayanti has won many awards recognizing her professional and volunteer contributions, including the 2015 Outstanding Librarian in Support of Literacy, the Monterey County Child Abuse Prevention Council’s Frontline Award, and was also recognized as one of Monterey County’s Outstanding Women. Earlier this year she was named one of the 10 winners of American Library Association’s nationwide “I Love my Librarian” award. The full interview with Jayanti in Episode 62 explores how Hayward’s Public Library is making an impact—and how you might be able to join them. Listen now and discover what's possible.

Subscribe to the Voices of the Community newsletter to stay updated on future episodes and issues that matter

Donate to Voices of the Community

We are fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. If you want to send us a check, please make checks payable to Intersection for the Arts and write [Voices of the Community] in the memo line of your check. This ensures that you’ll receive an acknowledgement letter for tax purposes, and your donation will be available for our project.

1446 Market Street | San Francisco, CA 94102 | (415) 626-2787