Fall 2020 The Beacon
Q&A with Inspiring Leaders in the World of Dyslexia
Brian Bannon
A ModernDay Revolutionary for New York Public Libraries In this Q&A series, we will interview individuals from the dyslexia community who are influencers in their respective fields. We hope this series will provide insight into how dyslexia impacts our world and will inspire our readers to see the potential that dyslexic children can achieve in the future.
By Stephanie Huie, Associate Director of Digital Communications & Publications Brian Bannon is The New York Public Library’s firstever Merryl and James Tisch Director. In this role, Mr. Bannon acts as the chief librarian, responsible for the operation and direction of NYPL’s 89 neighborhood branches. He focuses on the Library’s educational planning efforts to foster a culture of learning, reading, and education across the city. Mr. Bannon has over 20 years of library services experience, having worked at the Chicago Public Library (as CEO), San Francisco Public Library (as CIO), Seattle Public Library, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2016, Mr. Bannon was named one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business for his innovative approach to the 21st century library.
Going back to your roots as a child growing up in Washington state, how did you come to the realization that you were dyslexic? I grew up in Bellingham, WA, which was a remote small town, and the understanding there about learning differences, particularly dyslexia, was not as advanced as it is today. My mother intuited that something was off because there was such a clear difference between myself and my older sister, who was unusually advanced for her age and read many grade levels above her age group. When I entered school and had to learn the basics of how to write my name, read, and spell, it was clear that it was not computing. My mom talked to my teachers who would say, “Boys can sometimes be different mentally, so let’s just wait and see.” But my mom was not going to let it go. I was a happy kid before, and she could tell my experience in school was impacting my self-efficacy. She ended up doing a lot of research herself, and eventually she was able to get me tested and diagnosed with dyslexia. This was a long time ago, so there was no internet, but she was dogged in her efforts. What was your school experience like once you were diagnosed with dyslexia? My schools weren’t set up to deal with a dyslexic kid. What that meant for me in terms of academics was that I was placed in special education with kids who primarily had serious behavioral issues, developmental issues, and intellectual disabilities. I was sort of the regular kid, just dyslexic. I really struggled to learn to read and write at grade level. I was always behind my peers. Like many dyslexic kids, for every three hours I spent working on an assignment, my peers were spending half an hour to an hour. Everything took way longer for me.
5
