A Young Creative

From the words of Shakespeare, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” In the state of Idaho, a young author has gone to large lengths to achieve greatness and is making waves with his debut graphic novel. Dillon Helbig, of Boise, took his writing career into his own hands by sneaking his graphic novel onto the shelves of the Ada Community Library.

Once discovered, the library staff decided to promote the book and celebrate Dillon’s creativity and entrepreneurship. Now his book boasts a ‘years-long’ waitlist and received high praise from readers across Idaho. His family and community have gathered around him to celebrate a job well done.

‘The Adventures of Dillon Helbig’s Crismis’

During the holiday season, Dillon Helbig was inspired to write his own Christmas Adventure. He sat down with a hard-covered journal,  a set of colored pencils, and a dream. Over only a few days, Dillon churned out an 88-page story, complete with color illustrations. He even took steps to complete the authenticity of his publishing, with labels on the binding and a publication page with author “Dillon Himself” at the center.

His story is an adventurous holiday graphic novel of epic proportions – complete with a man-eating turkey, a visit from the Grinch, and cameos of his mother and even the author himself, Dillon.

Getting His Graphic Novel Out There

Just days after completing his work, Dillon took a trip to the Ada Community Library with his grandmother, his graphic novel tucked under his jacket. He slipped the book past the circulation desk and tucked it into the shelves of the children’s picture book section of the library, unbeknownst to his grandma. Dillon admits that the act was “naughty-ish,” but is happy that he took the risk.

A Literary Hit

Dillon’s adventure was a point of pride. He loved telling his family about planting the book and they all got a good laugh out of it. Dillon’s mother, Susan Helbig, called the library to make them aware and to make sure the book was not lost or discarded. When the team at Ada Community Library became aware of their new addition, they knew they had something special on their hands.

The library’s branch manager, Alex Hartman, recalls his experience with The Washington Post, saying the book was “far too obviously special an item for us to consider getting rid of it.” Hartman even shared the story with his own son, who thought it was a hit. 

After the library’s social media shared the book had officially been added to the circulation, the waitlist for checking it out took off. Upwards of 55 people at a time have been on the waitlist. It’s currently only available for locals. After receiving requests from readers as far as Texas, the library is working on creating a digital version to share with more people.

Life Long Story Teller

In an interview with Good Morning America, Dillon shared that writing a book has been a dream of his since he was 5 years old. Since he was a baby, his family encouraged his love of reading and they are all regular visitors of the Ada Community Library. “I’ve been going to libraries a lot since I was a baby,” Dillon shared. “I always had a love for books and libraries.”  

Dillon’s mother takes pride in her son’s creativity and love for writing. She says Dillon is the entertainer of the family, “His imagination is just constantly going, and he is a very creative little boy. He just comes up with these amazing stories and adventures, and we just kind of follow along.” Dillon has several new books in the works, including a holiday sequel to his famed “Crismis” story. Dillon hopes to grow up and be a professional writer – he seems well on his way.

Award Winner at Eight Years Old

Dillon, who is only in second grade, is already seeing payoff from his hard work. After the unprecedented community response, the Ada Community Library granted Dillon an award, created especially in his honor.

Dillon was the first official recipient of the Whoodini Award for Best Young Novelist. Dillon officially donated his first-edition copy to the library for circulation.

Dillon’s Legacy

Dillon has even hosted his own writing workshops at the library. Alongside local children’s author, Cristianne Lane, Dillon shares his 6-step plan for successfully writing a book. He’s a hands-on workshop leader, offering support and expertise to his peers who hope to write their own stories. 

With new books in the works, word about Dillon’s writing has spread throughout the community and at his school. According to Dillon, faculty, staff and students alike are looking forward to what he has to write next. Some students are even following in his footsteps and looking to pen their own stories. Dillon’s mother is proud of how he is impacting his community. “It’s pretty neat to see how he’s inspiring little minds,” she shares. The Ada Community Library now houses several books written and self-published by children in the community, with Dillon’s innovation leading the way. 

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Unlikely Heroes

It’s been nearly 80 years since the end of World War II. Today, we honor the legacy of those who served and sacrificed and remember the lessons learned during a dark time in global history. As libraries around the world face dangerous budget cuts, it feels timely to shed light on a lesser-known WWII security effort led by librarians at some of the United States’ largest libraries.

At a time when up-to-date information was critical, the US military did not have what they needed – largely in part to libraries and information centers going dangerously underfunded for years leading up to that point.

The investing of libraries became a national security issue. Military officials looked to scholars to fill in the gaps and, in true librarian fashion, they stepped up with limited resources. What came after was an exciting adventure full of espionage, bravery and reliance on our greatest resource – knowledge.

US Enters World War II

With war on the horizon, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt took precautionary steps to prepare for the inevitable. In early 1941, a slew of agency appointments took place. FDR tapped New York attorney politico William Donovan as the new leader of a new intelligence agency, a resurrection of US intelligence offices which shut down in 1929.

After diplomatically avoiding entering the war in Europe for two years, the United States officially declared war in December 1941, as a direct response to the bombing at the Pearl Harbor naval base. As the US prepared for war, Donovan went in search of answers.

Knowledge Crisis

After over a decade without intelligence offices, combined with steady decline in funding to libraries and information centers, Donovan faced an unfortunate truth – the US was lacking critical knowledge on all fronts. They were missing decades of updated cartography, statistics, and portfolios on the countries they’d be allying with and going up against.  

In a rush to regroup, Donovan created the Research and Analysis (R&A)  branch. He rounded up librarians and scholars from across the country and brought them to the New York Public Library. This served as their first outpost and new information hub. These researchers scoured the shelves of the library in search of information on a slew of topics – invasion strategies, military first aid, mapping and railway and munition research.

Scholars Head to Europe

After exhausting the information stored on the home front, Donovan created agents out of American librarians and professors and sent them to spy. They crossed enemy lines to smuggle important documents and books out of libraries across Europe. The agency set up OSS posts in many major cities, allowing scholars to deliver information discreetly and efficiently.

University of Chicago PhD, Adele Keibre, found herself in Gestapo-controlled Stockholm as R&A’s only female agent. After discovering other scholars in Europe using film cameras to record documents without taking them out of the building, she taught herself how to do the same. She was the agency’s most successful spy.

She smuggled over 3,000 rounds of film and roughly 20,000 documents a week to the US and London. By the end of 1942, R&A had delivered over 1.2 millions pages of intelligence to military officials and had expanded to almost 1,000 members. Today, the exact number of documents collected is still unknown due to the sheer scale of operations.

Post War Resolutions

By the end of the war in 1945, the immense contributions of Donovan’s agency was undeniable. During post-war reflections, American politicians praised the work of R&A and emphasized the importance of libraries. In the years after the war, major funding poured into libraries and research universities. Leaders overhauled slim budgets and installed ambitious programs. Politicians viewed investments in libraries as an investment in national security and the nation’s future.

In the 21st Century

It’s an old saying, “when you forget the past, you’re bound to repeat it.” It seems that after so much time, we’ve forgotten how vital the library system became on the way to an Allied victory. As libraries operate on thinner budgets each year, many have created the notion that libraries are obsolete. In reality, new technologies are targets for security attacks and are vulnerable to breakdown.

History has taught us that information infrastructure is vital for protecting national interests and connecting communities. Funding for libraries in the US accounts for less than 1% of government funding. It seems a small price to pay for a lesson learned.

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