…about the community-building, life-changing, essential importance of libraries, that is.

PLA kicked off with keynote speaker John Wood, founder of Room to Read and author of Leaving Microsoft to Change the World. On top of being engaging, energetic, and funny, he really is changing at least a portion of the world. In the eight years since Wood delivered the first load of books on the back of a yak (named Zach) to a remote Nepali village, his organization has established over 5,100 libraries in South/Southeast Asia and South Africa.

For a striking comparison, Wood displayed a bar chart comparing the number of stores opened by Starbucks around the world since 2000 with the number of libraries opened by Room to Read. At first, Starbucks held a strong lead over the fledgling non-profit, but in the last three years, the library effort has surged ahead. More than a frivolous comparison, it’s a challenge that Wood took on, one he dubbed the “Starbucks test.”

“If they can open Starbucks at a rapid rate, why can’t we open schools and libraries at the same rate?”

Photos of kids beaming with excitement shone from the screen; heart-warming stories were told of the priceless rewards that come from empowering kids and communities. It’s inspiring to see what can be done in so short a time. Of course, we gave him a standing ovation.