[Music]
HANNA: I came to the United States. My English was poor so
I went to the library and took all the free classes,
and rewrite my resume a thousand times.
And I found a job, met wonderful friends.
[Music]
HAN-YU: Tell us some of the things you enjoy the most
about the Family Garden. EVERETT: Well the thing I
like to do is eat the stuff we grew. Say it's a tomato—
we might just pop them in our mouths.
HAN-YU: Tell me about how to grow potatoes.
EVERETT: When you put it underground, eventually the
eye will start growing. When you dig it up, you find a
couple brightly colored potatoes.
[Music]
ANN CLARE: Libraries are magical to me. As a child, I
was included in programs even when I could not communicate.
I participated in summer reading programs. I went to
movies even without closed captions. And I felt so happy
there. The work I do in the library, I'm constantly
trying to stretch the boundaries and doing things I
never imagined I would be capable of doing.
[Music]
ARLETTA: One day I was looking for a question for a
customer in the Local and State History Room. I ran
across this picture. It was Baptist Union. And it talked
about four generations being at that church. And it
happened to be my aunt, my grandmother, my great-
grandmother, and my aunt's child. And I thought that was
the greatest find— GINNY: That was a blessing.
ARLETTA: —in a room that I worked in for 20 years.
[Music]
JERRY: You spend your adult life trying to hide the fact
that you are functional illiterate, looked at as
being stupid or dumb. But when you come to the literacy
program, you start to learn to read and spell. That is a
completely life-changing experience.
[Music]
CHIP: I just adore coming here with you and one of the
things I love to see when I walk in is that big, huge
sculpture. DONOVAN: Yeah, the mastodon
sculpture. I usually go under it. Sometimes I accidentally
bonk my head on it. [Laughs]
[Music]
THOMAS: At Perryville Library, I received my first
email address. KATHY: It's empowering!
THOMAS: Oh my goodness. I started volunteering, and I
really really enjoy what I do.
KATHY: I just know that you'd make it a good day for
everybody who comes in that library.
[Music]
NIKKI: What drives you to work tirelessly on behalf of
the Chicago Japanese American Historical Society?
JEAN: When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Franklin Roosevelt
signed an executive order to exclude all the Japanese off
the west coast. I remember my first day at relocation camp,
being terrified. After 9/11, you had this talk of rounding
up all the Muslim Americans. And I think it's important to
learn about history, so it will not be repeated.
[Music]
AARON: The first museum I ever visited was the
Anchorage Museum. As a small child, I remember the
dioramas. Putting Alaska Natives behind glass and
confining them to the past becomes highly problematic.
We are the indigenous tribe of Anchorage. My hope is
continuing to get people to care about this place.
[Music]
GASPAR: Before, it was a museum for the elite and it
was not for the community. JESUS: Our art is supposed to
be in these spaces and these museums. Our people need to
be represented and you created a piece that they
feel proud of. GASPAR: That's the reason I
started painting my students is because they had a lot to
say with their eyes, their hardships. And being
exhibited in the museums brought it out to the people
from the community.
[Music]
PHYLLIS P: You know, Phyllis, when you have a book, you
always have a friend. PHYLLIS R: It also can bring
you friends if libraries have places where people want to
be and are open to talking to people.
PHYLLIS P: The library has really become a gem.
[Music]