Longtime Gilroy librarian Lani Yoshimura received the Martin
Luther King, Jr. Association Mover of Mountains Award for her
service to the community.
Longtime Gilroy librarian Lani Yoshimura received the Martin Luther King, Jr. Association Mover of Mountains Award for her service to the community.
“Lani is so much more than just a librarian,” said Dina Campeau, strategic coordinator for South County Collaborative. “She’s a social services provider.”
A bit of a go-to lady, Yoshimura is a valued source of knowledge on a vast array of topics, Campeau said. Never one to turn away from those in need, “she listens to everyone and goes above and beyond her job description to provide comfort and aid to those in need – from domestic violence victims and homeless people to non-literate immigrants and elderly and disabled folks.”
*”She’s just spectacular, always for the underdog,” said Joyce Taylor who serves on the Gilroy Library Commission. She worked closely with Yoshimura on the design for a new library. “After 30 years at the Gilroy library, she’s a legend.”
During her time serving the library and the greater community, Yoshimura has initiated many of the library’s services and programs including the “Wartime Memories,” an opportunity for war veterans to share their wartime experience and personal stories with the public.
“She’s also done a terrific job with the book clubs and has created an incredible reading program,” Taylor said.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Santa Clara Valley presents the Mover of Mountains Award to individuals who volunteer their time to make significant contributions to the community.
These unsung heroes routinely perform acts of caring and compassion without the expectation of recognition. For more than 20 years, the MLK, Jr. Association has worked to seek out those individuals whose life and work perpetuates the philosophy and spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Yoshimura will be honored for her service to Gilroy at a Jan. 21 breakfast at the Wyndham Hotel in San Jose.
“I don’t know what the library would do without Lani,” said Bud Burchell, a former member of the Gilroy Library Commission. “She is such a peach.”
Yoshimura was unavailable for comment Monday.
