Alumni Profile

Sigwarth turns her ‘year in the library’ into published children’s book

As a young child growing up in Dubuque, Iowa, Lydia Sigwarth ’18 visited the Carnegie-Stout Public Library daily, developing a passion for reading and forming a lasting bond with the children’s librarian. Unbeknownst to Sigwarth, her family was facing a challenging situation of being homeless and moving in with loved ones. It was the reason behind her family’s frequent daylong stops at the library. Sigwarth describes that chapter of her life as the year in the library. She’s now sharing her story through her own children’s book titled, Dear Librarian.

“It’s a surreal feeling,” said Sigwarth. “It’s my life, it’s what happened, but the book is little Lydia and her story. It’s sending her out in the world.”

Spending hours at the library as a 5-to-6year-old girl was impactful for Sigwarth, who knew from that age she wanted to become a librarian—a dream that came true. Sigwarth is a Children’s Librarian at the Platteville Public Library. Shaping that ambition was the kindness Sigwarth received from her children’s librarian, Mrs. Stephenson. Sigwarth said Dear Librarian highlights Stephenson’s compassion and empathy towards her family’s situation.

“This book is about Deb [Stephenson]. She wants to give me all the credit, but I want to give her all the credit. She’s been very supportive and excited for me,” said Sigwarth. “Empathy is the most powerful skill a person can have. One of the best ways to gain empathy is to see the world and life through another perspective. The most limiting element of human life is you can only live through your own eyes. The workaround for that is through stories, books, movies, and TV shows.”

Dear Librarian came to fruition after Sigwarth was featured on the public radio program and podcast This American Life in 2018. This American Life reaches millions of listeners each week on more than 500 public radio stations in the U.S. Sigwarth reached out to This American Life Reporter Stephanie Foo after Foo tweeted that she

LYDIA SIGWARTH,

AUTHOR of the children’s book Dear Librarian.

wanted to do an episode on libraries and asked listeners to send in ideas.

“In that moment, I strangely thought my story is it. This is worth telling,” she said. “I want to honor the librarian from my childhood. I want to tell her story and tell people the difference she has made in my life, and tell people you never know the di erence you’re making in someone’s life by being compassionate. To have it picked and then shared with millions of people was an even greater honor. I was thrilled.”

In the episode, Sigwarth and Foo walked the aisles of Carnegie-Stout Public Library and reminisced with Stephenson.

“When I reconnected with Mrs. Stephenson, my soul recognized her. I didn’t have a clear memory of her face. It had been 25 years. We both have changed a lot. If you listen to the episode, I was so comfortable with her,” said Sigwarth. “It was a particularly challenging part of my childhood. It worked out great because we had this support system. I found a safe place in our library. Our library was welcoming, open, and safe for us at that point. I was worried people would hear that and place blame somewhere. There isn’t any.”

In 2019, Sigwarth was contacted by an editor to write Dear Librarian and signed a publishing deal. Now, as readers of all ages take a glimpse into young Lydia’s life, the response has been overwhelming and full of emotion.

“It’s a fantastic feeling. It’s why you want to publish a book, it’s to touch people’s lives,” said Sigwarth. “I wanted to take a subject like homelessness, a topic some people find shameful or taboo and bring it out into the light. It happens. Not talking about it is what brings it shame.”

As Sigwarth empowers readers through Dear Librarian, she credits her professors with giving her the confidence to tell her story. Sigwarth, a non-traditional student, earned her degree in English literature. The consistent writing and editing throughout her courses prepared Sigwarth with the skillset needed to become an author.

“Going through paper edits after paper edits, that’s what being an author is. It’s editing the things you wrote first and cutting out the things you loved, but you have to let

Dear Librarian

By Lydia Sigwarth ’18 (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021)

it go,” she said. “The biggest contribution to my experience at UW-Platteville for my career as an author was that I formed special friendships with Amanda Tucker and David Gillota. They were two professors that I took every class they gave. They both were supportive of me. They told me, ‘you have a voice, you’re a good writer, and you need to tell your story.’ They both came to my book signing.”

Sigwarth’s education at UW-Platteville has influenced both her careers as a children’s librarian and author. Her favorite part of both is always the kids. Sigwarth is embarking on more story ideas in hopes of being published again, but for now she shares this message for readers of Dear Librarian.

“I hope people listen to the idea that libraries can be there for anybody at any point,” she said. “I hope adults take away you never know someone’s story and the best thing to do is be compassionate and kind. For kids, I hope they see that libraries are magic.”