Sitting on my suitcase as I triumphantly zip it up, I appreciate what an apt metaphor this is for my first #alaac24. My mind is as full of ideas and my heart as full of hope as my suitcase is of books. Ideas for how to expand students’ access to texts. Hope that the books in my suitcase will make it to and remain on the shelf in my Florida district.
The 2022–23 school year saw a 33% increase in book bans from the previous year, with Florida making up 40% of the bans and having more book bans than any other state. As scary as it is, I remind myself of Taraji P. Henson’s words on the main stage at #alaac24: “What fear will steal from you if you give it power.” I will not give fear the power to steal my hope.
What do you do to maintain hope in the face of fear? Drop a line in the comments or at ktaksier@ufl.edu.
Conference Blogger Kelley Taksier (they/them/theirs) is a former classroom teacher pursuing a PhD in special education at the University of Florida. Currently their research focuses on students’ access to texts in public schools. As a part of this work, they collaborate with school librarians, who encouraged them to join and attend ALA! They are looking forward to connecting with more school librarians at their first ALA conference in between enjoying all the vegan food San Diego has to offer.
Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.