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Keynote Address: Southern Oregon Guild of Artists and Artisans and Rogue Writers Collective “Let’s Write” 2026
This keynote address was delivered at the “Let’s Write” conference put on by the Southern Oregon Guild of Artists and Artisans and the Rogue Writers Collective on January 31, 2026. I was invited in part because of my activism in defending our local library from a termination of its lease. I was asked to talk…
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I hope Ursula K. Le Guin’s paradise is a kind of library
I want to share some memories about one of the coolest nights of my life, when I met and shared a meal with one of my heroes, Ursula K. Le Guin. I’m not even going to try to be clever in this post (I usually try too hard at that anyway). I’m surprised by how…
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Why Do Libraries Bring Out The Best in Us?
I don’t want to bore you with the story of my local library—I’ve told it a gajillion times. If you haven’t read it, you can do so here or here (I’m quite proud of this library, as you can tell!). But I will tell you that even after the roller coaster ride of emotions I’ve…
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Trolling Librarians Are The Best Librarians
Hacking’s a terrible thing. Terrible. Except when it isn’t. Like when this guy pretended to be a Target sales rep and trolled people opposed to Target’s new gender-neutral toy marketing policy. Or like when the American Library Association got its Facebook account hacked a few hours ago and librarians got all funny and beautifully weird…
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Libraries Matter, No Matter What
In May 2007, all four branches of the library in Josephine County were closed due to lack of funding. More than 82,000 people were left without access to any library whatsoever. (Over eight years later, I still feel a little shocked writing that.) A past library levy had been absorbed into the county’s general fund.…
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Libraries Matter, No Matter What
I’m really sad. For the last seven years, I’ve been volunteering with Josephine Community Libraries, an amazing group of folks who’ve worked with persistence and dedication to reopen our libraries after they were closed due to lack of funding (leaving 82,000 people without access to any library services whatsoever). This year, some of us formed…
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Today’s Libraries: Something for Everyone (But Maybe Not A Swimming Pool)
In 2007, all of the libraries in my county were closed due to lack of funding, leaving 82,000 people without access to any library services whatsoever. It sucked. A lot. For so, so many reasons. Since then, I’ve been a volunteer for Josephine Community Libraries, a nonprofit that reopened the libraries when the county government…
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Of Milton, Genesis, and Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
For five years, I’ve been attending meetings of my public school district’s curriculum council. Five years of reviewing testing data, kindergarten schedules, and proposed changes in nutrition guidelines–all sorts of drudgery. Nothing terribly interesting ever happened. Well, I missed last month’s meeting, and that’s when it all went down. The council decided to recommend that…
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Ex libris
I believe that most people (or at least the people I want to know) have a special “library place” in their hearts. It’s what causes the smile that breaks when entering a new library; the shiver on catching the familiar whiff of old books; the frisson of anticipation after realizing that stacks and stacks of books can be…
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About Me
I’m a writer, teacher, library advocate, and breast cancer survivor. I live in Southern Oregon, where the mountains are tall, the lakes crystal clear, and the beer hoppy. I’m currently working on a novel set in 17th-century England that involves witches, alchemy, and a wicked-smart crow.
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Jennifer Sherman Roberts 