BIOGRAPHY

Dorothy Lazard was born in St. Louis and grew up in San Francisco and Oakland. She received a bachelor’s degree in English from San Francisco State University and a Master of Library and Information Studies from UC Berkeley where she began her career as a librarian in 1983. Joining the staff of the Oakland Public Library (OPL) in 2000, she was responsible for various collections including history, biography, genealogy, travel, architecture, and maps. From 2009 until her retirement in 2021, she was the head librarian of OPL’s Oakland History Center, where she hosted and delivered history lectures, mounted exhibits, and wrote articles about Oakland history. She is celebrated for encouraging people of all ages, cultures, and educational levels to explore local history.

Along with her busy library career, Dorothy, who holds a MFA degree in Creative Nonfiction (Goucher College), has been a committed writer for decades. Her writing has appeared in a variety of publications including Oakland Noir; The Public Library: a photographic essay; Go Girl!: the Black Woman’s Book of Travel & Adventure; Oakland Heritage Alliance News; and a number of literary anthologies. History, travel, and the access to public institutions are subjects that inspire her writing.

She is an avid gardener, traveler, and crafter. She lives with her husband in Oakland, California.