why i started seen library
and the last new york seen library event of the year
Seen Library (mini) pop up — Saturday, October 12
The first Seen Library mini pop up in New York (and the last event in New York for a while) is taking place at DAE Brooklyn tomorrow :)
Saturday, October 12
From 11am to 3pm
385 Smith St, Brooklyn
In this 1-day mini pop up, guests will be able to shop a selection of new and pre-loved intentionally curated books, each wrapped in soft, creamy paper adorned with a custom library card of handwritten clues, so that you can choose a book based on what is really speaking to you and what you feel most drawn to — instead of its cover (or because it’s a new release or New York Times best seller). It also makes for a thoughtful gift for yourself or loved one. :)
Each title is centered around a single theme: Close Encounters. These stories center around key interactions or experiences that have a deep impact on the characters and the narrative, often involving meaningful moments of connection or confrontation.
There is a limited selection of books (and hats!) as I had to lug heavy suitcases full of books from LA to NY all by myself, so be sure to get there while supplies last! Those who purchase a beverage from DAE get 10% off their order (you’ll just have to show your receipt).
So bring a friend! Say hello! Buy some books (or don’t)! Just browse! Treat yourself to a yummy beverage! Grab a seat and read!
But what is Seen Library?
This is a question I get a lot and honestly, it’s a question I am not fully confident answering even though it’s about something that is deeply personal to me and has taken up most of my recent life.
I’ve been working on a piece that fully explains all that Seen Library currently is — how and why it started, what one can expect from it and how one can get involved. While I thought it would be simple to write (even though for some reason, none of my Substacks ever are), I’ve found myself spending hours on it with it still unfinished.
Because I have the mini pop up in New York tomorrow, I though it would be good to give a bit more context to what Seen Library is, for those not super familiar.
But rather than rushing to complete the piece mentioned above, I’ve instead taken a combination of answers I’ve shared from a couple of recent e-mail interviews — one from my friend who writes Library Booth (read the full piece here) and one from a graduate student working on a thesis about human connection.
The graduate student so kindly said: Seen Library's commitment to fostering a community for readers aligns closely with the theme of my research, which explores the role of conversation and curation in shaping meaningful and inclusive exchange. I have been following the progress of Seen Library since its inception and your ability to create such a safe space for readers to connect in person, makes Seen Library my ideal case study.
With such a generous, thoughtful email I couldn’t say no. I was so happy to share a bit more about the origins and current happenings of Seen Library, which I’m now sharing with you all here.
Why did you decide to start Seen Library?
Unofficially, the beginnings of Seen Library kind of started back in 2015, simply because I wanted to get friends together in a new, fun way. I saw a photo of a “blind date with a book” on Tumblr and wanted to try it out with friends. I had 5 of us (friends and my cousins) meet at a park and told everyone to bring a book wrapped with clues written on top. It wasn’t very chic at all - we all reused paper grocery bags and took a sharpie to scribble some clues. Since then, I began doing them here and there through 2019, and over time, more friends and acquaintances became interested in joining. When covid lockdowns happened in 2020, they were put to a pause.
At the same time, I had been working in the social media industry since 2013 and around 2020 / 2021, I really felt the shift from social media being a tool for connection to becoming a tool for self-promotion, whether it's for a brand or an individual. I know that I myself contributed to that and still do! But I guess that realization kind of made me disillusioned about an industry I initially loved and had so much fun working in… During that time, I read Severance by Ling Ma, which made me reflect and think seriously about my relationship with work and who I am and what I do outside of work.
It was then that I committed to cutting back on work. I decided I would make less money and take on less clients so that I could figure out what I really wanted to do with my time. I realized two things: 1. how much I enjoyed reading and putting together these book-centered gatherings and 2. that I wasn't necessarily sick of working in social media but that I just really missed that feeling of connectivity I enjoyed so much in its early days - meeting new people and actually getting to know them in person. I wanted to find a way to get that back, which is why I created Seen Library, officially. I loved the conversations and relationships that formed from the book exchanges I was hosting and saw how different they were to the conversations I was having at the brand-centered events I was going to and the people I was meeting through work.
In 2021, I started Seen Library and brought the book exchanges back with more intention - as a way to not only get existing friends together, but also like-minded people who may not already know each other in hopes that it would lay the foundation for new friendships. It was such a natural desire, after finding ourselves so isolated during lockdowns in 2020.
Since then, Seen Library has evolved the more interest it has received. The book exchanges turned into book givings, where I curate books for people to choose from, and I also began doing pop ups, book drives, meet ups and volunteer days with an organization called Reading to Kids.
Can you share a bit more about how it works as a community/business?
Seen Library can only be experienced in-person. At a time when so much of what we experience is through our phones, it’s so important to me that it’s something that can be felt and touched in person. I do consider it a community, as overused as that term is, because through Seen Library, people with shared interests (books!) and shared values (the desire to learn a new perspective or obtain a deeper understanding of a topic) are able to come together to not just connect over books, but through meaningful and intentional conversation. Seen Library started with book exchanges, where guests are able to choose a book based on its clues rather than its cover, but also are encouraged to share a bit about themselves and which clue resonated with them most.
Oftentimes, it's through that introduction that intimate, vulnerable conversation is born and as a result, real connection. I have also hosted book drives and volunteer opportunities, which bring people together in order to give back to a larger community. The pop ups started as a way to get more people to experience Seen Library at one time, as the book exchanges cap at 20 people to keep it intimate. At the pop ups, people are able to touch and feel the wrapped books, and take their time browsing the clues. I always encourage those who visit to use it as an opportunity to meet new people and ask others which clues they resonate with. It's been really cool to see friend groups go to the pop ups together, chatting about which books they feel drawn to, or people coming by themselves and leaving with a new book and friend.
Can you tell us a bit about why you called your project 'Seen Library'? What's behind the name?
For most of my life, I had read books written mostly by white authors. It was mostly because of school curriculum but also just what I was exposed to. I grew up reading the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen books and Harry Potter and Gossip Girl as a kid. When I got to high school, we were required to read a lot of classics - almost all written by white men. For fun in my late teens and early 20s, I read Nicholas Sparks and 50 Shades of Grey and The Hunger Games… again, all white authors.
It wasn’t until my late 20s that I began reading books by more people of color, especially women of color, and I felt like my whole world changed. I learned more in one fictional book about a certain topic than in the years spent in a history class. I read things that I resonated with so deeply but never saw put into words. I enjoyed reading as a child, but fell out of love with it as I got older and I found myself loving it again, because I discovered stories that I could relate to or that I really learned something from.
With Seen Library, I am intentional in sharing books that hopefully leave the reader with a better understanding of the world, its history and the people in it - especially those written by BIPOC, women or queer authors.
Could you talk a bit about your own reading habits and how you interact with books?
I am most drawn to books that teach me something or help me see a new perspective. It wasn't until 2015 or so that I began prioritizing books by historically excluded voices - I then realized the wealth of knowledge that is out there and that I had been missing. That's always a guiding force in the books I curate for Seen Library - will this book help the reader see themselves or better understand another? With that said, I've found myself more drawn to historical and contemporary fiction - ones that have political or social commentary. I always read a fiction and nonfiction at once so that I'm able to reach for a book I feel more in the mood for. I'm a pretty fast reader and I noticed that I would consume books so fast, that I hardly retained any of the information once done. I now make an effort to slow down to really absorb the book and its lessons. I dogear and underline my favorite quotes and then once I'm done with the book, I write down my thoughts or major takeaways from the book in a dedicated book journal that I keep and write down all my favorite quotes. I've found that it helps me retain the book a lot better and makes me appreciate what I've learned and read so much more.
People often ask me how I find the time to read so much and I always tell them that I take a book with me everywhere I go. When I'm waiting in line for a coffee or waiting for a friend who is running late, I try to pull out my book instead of scrolling on my phone. I also read almost every night before bed to wind down and often opt for a book over a movie or tv show.
Can you share one event/interaction/moment when it felt like your vision for Seen had really come to life?
I think it was the first open-to-the-public book giving. Brand founders (and now friends) of Space of Time had asked me if I wanted to do a book exchange at local tea house. The only way we would be able to do it is if we had tickets open to the public, as that is the venue’s business model. I had never done a public event before - it was always done with my friends - as it never occurred to me that other people would want to join something like this. The tickets sold out in hours and while I was nervous to host a book exchange with strangers, it ended up being so nourishing and warm. Everyone was so kind and open and vulnerable and it was then that I saw firsthand how books can connect strangers in a meaningful way and realized how Seen Library could be a beautiful way for others - not just myself! - to meet likeminded people and make new friends, which was my primary goal for Seen Library. It was also then that I realized I wanted to share it with more people.
What's one of your fondest memories at a Seen Library event?
Every single gathering is so special that it’s hard to pinpoint just one. Overall, I am just blown away at how complete strangers can come into a new space, with such openness and curiosity and vulnerability, and be able to share something about themselves with people they don’t know. It's so beautiful to see and I feel so lucky to be able to witness it each time.
There’s a group of 5-6 people who were at my very first public book giving. They have come to nearly every event since - I’ve lost count of how many they’ve gone to - and they’ve become best friends. They celebrate birthdays together, have gone to each other's weddings. It’s really cool to know Seen Library helped create those connections and that these friendships were able to deepen outside of Seen Library events.
One of my fondest memories, though, was from that very first public Seen Library book giving. I had curated the books around the theme of love - whether platonic, romantic, familial or the self - and everyone went around sharing which part of the clue resonated with them most. Of the 20 people, about 5 shared that the part of the clue that resonated with them most had to do with a strained mother-daughter relationship. There were no duplicates of any book which meant I had unintentionally chosen multiple books that dealt with that topic in some way. We all realized we had mommy issues and laughed and cried about it together. I accidentally exposed myself in my curation - but with that, learned the commonalities we shared because of it.
It’s also crazy how sometimes the book really chooses its reader. At one book giving, a young woman chose a book about the immigrant experience, which ended up being Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio. She shared that she was currently working towards just and humane practices at the US border for migrant families. At a recent book giving, my friend had chosen a poetry book and her jaw dropped - she is a florist and was scheduled to create a floral arrangement for that same poet the following day. At the same book giving, an artist friend of mine was working on a painting that dealt with grief and loss. She flipped to a random page in her chosen book and read it - she said it put into words exactly how she was feeling. She told me that she found her missing puzzle piece for her show and wanted to incorporate the poem in her exhibit.
What is your bigger vision for Seen both as a community and how this plays out in your own life?
I really don't know! I am still shocked that it's grown to what it is, even though it is relatively small. A few years ago a friend asked me what I hoped for in my future, and I said for books to have a bigger place in my life, so honestly, it's surreal to me how that's come true. In the future, I still want it to feel as intimate and special as it does now - I would just love for it to reach new people and in new cities and countries. I don't have any set goals or a 5-year-plan for Seen Library, all I know is that I want it to remain something that I love - that doesn't feel like a job or obligation - and that I am able to have freedom in doing fun, new things in new places with new people.
We've been seeing a larger trend around people making unconventional careers in literature, perhaps less in publishing or bookselling, but creating communities and curating book collections. As someone in this space, do you feel like the opportunities in literature are changing, and if so how so? What do you think is coming next for those who want to work with books?
To be honest, I'm not well-versed in careers in literature - I really never considered that path for myself ever! But as I find myself in this world, I definitely see the opportunities changing, but I don't think this applies to only the literary world but the world at large. I think some of us are realizing that we can create different paths for ourselves - not just the ones already laid out for us to follow. I think it's what happens when we take a step back and really ask ourselves what we want from our lives and I think sitting with that question and then doing something about it can result in so many different ways. While for me, it has resulted in Seen Library, for others it may take them down an unconventional path of food or florals or furniture or simply just enjoying a new hobby.