Junot Díaz has become an advocate for the New York Public Library. The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist credits libraries for helping him grow and develop into a creative professional.
Here’s an excerpt from Díaz’s letter: “Libraries are one of the greatest American institutions — they are not only treasure houses of knowledge, they are also fiercely democratic spaces. It kills me that New York City — the home of one of the greatest library systems in the world — has been under-funding libraries for over a decade. This has to stop.”
In recent years, the NYPL had to deal with a number of funding cuts; this is one of the factors that propelled Díaz to write a letter to library patrons urging them to contact New York City’s mayor and city council members. Fellow author Judy Blume also wrote a piece on behalf of the NYPL. Both Díaz and Blume hope to mobilize bibliophiles to fight for a budget increase.