The woman who couldn’t tolerate her first attempt at librarian
school has been a cornerstone of the Gilroy Public Library for 32
years. She just finished Jon Krakauer’s
”
Into the Wild,
”
keeps a life-size cardboard cutout of Patrick Stewart as Captain
Jean-Luc Picard from
”
Star Trek: The Next Generation
”
in the corner of her office and has a passion for Latin American
culture.
The woman who couldn’t tolerate her first attempt at librarian school has been a cornerstone of the Gilroy Public Library for 32 years. She just finished Jon Krakauer’s “Into the Wild,” keeps a life-size cardboard cutout of Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” in the corner of her office and has a passion for Latin American culture.
“Into the Wild” was hard to read because she already knew the ending. The cutout is an old friend – she’s a closet Trekkie. And “the magic” of Latin America has had her hooked since her first visit as a teen.
A member of the first graduating class at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Lani Yoshimura, 61, took the advice she received from her professors to heart: “Go out there and make change. Whether you’re a politician or a corporate leader or digging ditches, make change.”
That advice set the stage for the rest of her life. Recently, the change she has enacted in the Gilroy community snared the attention of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Santa Clara Valley. Yoshimura will accept the Mover of Mountains award as an individual whose life and work perpetuates the philosophy and spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“It’s so funny that I got this award,” Yoshimura said, modestly shrugging her shoulders. A permanent smile is creased into the lines of her face and her office is cozy and cluttered with electronic equipment, Latin American artwork and feline trinkets. “I guess I make a difference but not in any big way.”
Citizens of Gilroy beg to differ.
“After 30 years at the Gilroy library, she’s a legend,” said Joyce Taylor, a longtime Gilroyan who serves on the City of Gilroy Library Commission. “She does a terrific job with the book clubs and has initiated incredible reading programs. She’s always on top of anything new.”
Dan Daniels, a regular library patron, approached Yoshimura Wednesday with a question about lowering his blood pressure. Although she didn’t know the answer to his question, she promised to find it for him.
“This lady is one of the most positive parts of this town,” Daniels said, slinging an arm around her shoulders. “She’s a splendid resource and is responsible for keeping this library an open institution.
Yoshimura has been identified as a bit of a connector in the community and has a knack for putting people in touch with other people and information.
“She’s so much more than just a librarian,” said Dina Campeau, strategic coordinator for South County Collaborative, a local nonprofit human service agency. “She’s a social services provider.”
After earning her Bachelor’s degree in literature at UCSC, Yoshimura began working toward her Master’s degree in library science at the University of Hawaii, but decided the major wasn’t for her. She returned stateside, taking a break from her schooling. Despite her initial aversion to studying library science, she accepted a job as a clerk at the San Jose public library. The job rekindled her interest and eventually, she returned to school, earning her Master’s from San Jose State University.
Finished with her studies, she began working with mentally disabled people displaced into the streets of San Jose when the old Agnews Insane Asylum was closed in the 1970s.
Yoshimura, who first began working at the Gilroy library as a reference librarian in 1975, has developed dozens of programs to extend aid to those in need and give a voice to those overlooked. In the 1970s, she organized art and reading groups for the mentally disabled and today, she fuels numerous community programs at the library, one of her favorites being Wartime Memories, a forum for the Greatest Generation – those who lived through World War II – to share their experiences with each other and the public. Yoshimura has hosted everyone from American fighter pilots and bombardiers to European civilians who were bombed during the war and loves hearing their stories. Yoshimura is a fourth generation U.S. citizen but her family is originally from Hiroshima, Japan.
Yoshimura never strays far from history and literature. On a trip to Mexico when she was a teenager, she stumbled upon Leon Trotsky’s final dwelling in the Coyoacan neighborhood of Mexico City. The inhabitant at the time showed her around and she noticed an overflowing bookcase. The titles all belonged to Trotsky and included many American writers.
“Leon Trotsky read all those books,” Yoshimura said, still astounded. “It was so cool.”
Yoshimura’s taste in books is immense but she recommends that everyone read the great American authors.
“American poetry, Steinbeck, Hemmingway, Willa Cather, Edna St. Vincent Millay …,” Yoshimura trailed off. “You must read them all.”
The Mover of Mountains Award Breakfast will be held at 7 a.m. Monday, Jan. 21 at the Wyndham Hotel on 1350 North First St., San Jose.
View more photos of Lani Yoshimura at work in our
