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.

Many dyslexics experience challenges with selfconfidence or I knew how to me two or three times as long as everybody else to do the work; so I had very good study question their own intelligence due to their difficulty with school work hard, I knew and organizational habits, just so I could get marginal results. In order for me to get work. How did you navigate this common hurdle in your youth? how to learn, a C in high school, I had to move mountains. I knew how to work hard, I knew how to My mom realized it was important to find other ways for me to build confidence, and I knew how learn, and I knew how to advocate for myself. That was another thing that my mom reallybecause she knew that school was always going to be an uphill slog for me. So, she to advocate instilled in me: to be able to talk to my teachers to get extra time on tests. I was used had me get involved in theatre, art, and sports, and she also encouraged me by for myself. to saying, “Hey, I’m dyslexic, I need help”; so I did that in college too. Frankly, I was saying there are lots of successful dyslexic not college-bound and, in hindsight, it was people. Theatre was great for me, and my a combination of a few really great teachers, a very engaged parent,mom would record my lines so that I could listen to learn them. I and activities that helped me build some confidence that allowed was always the first kid to have my lines memorized because of that. me to go to college in the first place. But through my habits, I Your success as a swimmer earned you an athletic ended up graduating the top of my class at PLU. scholarship to attend Pacific Lutheran University (PLU). Can you share how your experience as an undergraduate differed from your formative years in school? Becoming a librarian is a unique career path. One would think you spent your childhood absorbing books, yet reading was extremely difficult for you. How did you By my freshman year at PLU, I had developed a set of disciplined discover that this was the type of job that was practices around studying and reading. I already knew that it took suited for you?

I struggled so much with reading, so I was not interested in books understanding. We can create dynamic spaces and interventions at as a kid. Libraries for me then translated to this incredible place that public libraries that enable all people to pursue their love of learning I knew was filled with knowledge in books, but I imagined it was and support self-directed creation of new knowledge. knowledge that I would never be able to access. I just never thought I would be able to read the books; libraries were not a place for me. Have you considered whether being dyslexic So, the way I ended up in libraries was sort of an accident. I came out as gay in high school and pursued LGBTQ studies and has influenced or shaped your approach to your work as a librarian? psychology in college. I learned about social justice movements I’m definitely unusual in my peer group of librarians. As a dyslexic, because I was interested in information access, activism, and access I have the experience of being outside the norm, so I think outside to justice. One of my social justice professors asked me if I had the traditional way of learning. This has influenced my leadership considered a career in libraries, and I thought she was joking, lens, like how I prioritize the development of strategy that caters to because she knew I was dyslexic. She a broad base of users. For example, when I educated me how the field of librarianship is really about accessing knowledge— The field of was CEO of libraries in Chicago, we were rethinking our approach to our summer connecting society to the world of information and ideas to create a more librarianship is really learning program. Since the dawn of time, every library has had a summer reading democratic society. It isn’t about books and reading; the mission of libraries is much bigger than that. Through that lens, I saw about accessing knowledge— program, which is a high-quality learning activity. However, engaging in other highquality exploratory activities, like conducting libraries in a completely different way. From there, I did my graduate work in information connecting society science experiments, is as beneficial as reading. We completely redesigned that program by science at the University of Washington and started my professional journey. to the world of information and incorporating a range of activities that supports a child’s learning in addition to books. For kids like me who didn’t gravitate Although libraries were not a place for you as a child, you are now the ideas to create a more to summer reading programs, the expanded exploratory learning activities provided chief librarian for The New York Public Libraries, one of the largest democratic society. opportunities to keep all our kids’ brains active. Not everyone learns and thinks in the public library systems in the world. same way, and in an institution such as public What is your relationship libraries, we must make sure that we’re catering to all needs. with reading like now? It turns out that I actually love to read, but I primarily listen. I’m For children who are also dyslexic, what is a in five book clubs, so I’m definitely a reader! I use a lot of assistive message you would share with them? tools, like listening to all of my emails using text-to-speech For dyslexic kids, growing up we often think about dyslexia as a technology. I use accessible tools in order to increase productivity. disability and a deficit. I wish our culture was one that had more Libraries typically have the reputation of being long need to learn how to drive, not like you are stuck with a tricycle standing, austere public institutions. Why do you believe while everyone else is driving. You simply have a complicatedthat libraries are in fact institutions of radical innovation? machine, and it is going to take a little longer to learn how toSo many people like me thought as a kid that a public library was properly use it. But there is going to be a day when you learn howjust about books and reading, and there’s nothing wrong with that. to drive, you’re going to hit the gas pedal, and you’re going to goIt’s fantastic that libraries are a home for many who have a passion faster than you ever thought you could go. All of a sudden, you’llfor books and reading in a particular way, but they’re really a step realize that all this time you have been learning how to maximizeabove that. Public libraries are about the creation of new knowledge, your incredible brain. Stick with it, and it’ll pay off. lifelong learning, and the building of community around of a mindset that dyslexics were born with a Maserati that you just