Debby Yaffe Oral History

Debby Yaffe was born in 1945 and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. She entered Queens College in the fall of 1962 at the age of sixteen and soon volunteered with the Student Help Project, tutoring children in Jamaica, Queens. At age seventeen, she was one of the youngest students to travel to Farmville, Virginia, where she served as the Project’s librarian.

Before the volunteers’ departure, publishers donated two truckloads of books, which Yaffe divided into several balanced collections in New York. Upon arrival in Farmville, however, the books were disorganized and Yaffe, functioning as a circuit librarian, again sorted them to ensure each tutoring location was adequately supplied with books on all subjects. She also helped deliver them by pickup truck.

After her experience in Farmville, Yaffe remained active in causes relating to civil rights and social justice, becoming involved with the Students for a Democratic Society; continuing to work with students in Jamaica; and attending rallies and marches. She combined her college career with her work in book publishing, graduating from Queens College in 1969 with a B.A. in English and Minor in Education. Following graduation, Yaffe worked in children’s book publishing. In 1985, she earned her Master’s in Library Science from St. John’s University and subsequently became a research librarian. After retiring, she returned to tutoring in 2010, working in an adult literacy program.