This article, by Hilary Taber, was originally published in the Arizona Daily Star on July 20, 2025.
All my life I’ve been looking for Sesame Street. Ever since I was a preschooler, I was mesmerized by Sesame Street. I loved Luis, Maria, Gordon, Susan, Bob and Linda. I cried when I learned in 2022 that the actor who play Luis, Emilio Delgado, had passed away. The character of Luis was my absolute favorite person on the show. I love everything about that show. I love the songs, the Muppets, but mostly I love the people.
All my life I have been trying to get back to Sesame Street. I have been trying to get back to this idea, this dream that we belong to each other. Of course, as I grew older, I began to realize that this is a goal that we can try to reach. I will fall short of that dream, but I will always try. I was one shocked little kid when I learned that real life is not like Sesame Street. However, I kept trying to reach for this dream. I joined the Los Angeles Guild of Puppetry. I took screen writing classes in children’s television. I wrote Mister Rogers asking for his advice.
One day I found my dream fulfilled at the library.
Stay with me a minute here. I know we don’t have Muppets at the library. Wouldn’t that be great, though? I wish we did. That would be so cool! However, you know what we do have? Fantastic people from all over the world in one place. I was working as a volunteer at Nanini Library when I was invited to attend a holiday meal with the English Language class. Everyone brought a dish for the potluck they were having. Everything was so good! The food was from everywhere! The people attending were so kind and inviting! It reminded me of something... what was it? As I was eating my food, I realized that it reminded me of Sesame Street. Everyone was welcome. People were not only getting along, but they also cherished each other. Eureka! I had found it again! No one had to tell me how to get to Sesame Street because it’s at the library!
If you want to know where you belong it would be here, at the library. You belong right here.
When you come to the library, please know that you have entered a place where you are welcome. Everyone is welcome. We will always celebrate you and your culture. Just look at our affinity teams at the library! From Biblio Lotus to Welcome to America, we are here for you. Our Pride Team is ready to help you find your next great LGBTQIA+ read or event. Our Nuestras Raíces, Kindred and Many Nations teams are ready to celebrate their culture with you.
We are also here to celebrate you as a unique person. What do you need? From our commitment to helping folks ‘read harder’ (Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge) to Synapse, which will help you find resources to improve your mental health, we are here to help you grow as a person. If you are into gardening, our Seed Library has seeds that you can literally grow.
No door is shut to you at the library. We have so many people working hard to make sure that you feel welcome. Please visit us. We would love to see you!
Feel like reading some Sesame Street books? We’ve got plenty!
Hilary Taber works as the Tween Services Librarian at Dusenberry-River Library. She is a co-founding member of the Library’s Synapse Team.
