Some estimates put the number of Kurds in Nashville at nearly 20,000 — the largest Kurdish population of any city in the United States. As circulation manager at the Southeast Branch of the Nashville Public Library, Selva Ibrahim dreamed of a Nashville where a Kurdish grandfather could walk into the public library and check out a book to read to his grandchildren in his native language. But few U.S. publishers offer books in Kurdish, and publishers in other countries often don’t export books to the U.S. Not willing to give up, Ibrahim worked with the Kurdish Professionals, a local youth-empowerment organization, and together they launched a book drive. Ibrahim has received books from around the world to keep on the library’s shelves, and the selection is drawing more Kurds to the library, where they can access myriad services. ERICA CICCARONE
Best Librarian
Selva Ibrahim
Photo: Daniel Meigs
