I set aside today for the #alaac24 Library Marketplace. The first giveaway that went into my tote bag was an autographed copy of Dear Black Boy by Martellus Bennett. When I asked the writer/animator/director/educator/cartoonist/designer to make it out to “The Unicorns” (our school mascot), the Super Bowl Champion shared that he was known as The Black Unicorn in his NFL days. It was a sign that today would be what they call a herd of unicorns: a blessing.
My current work takes place in a school that serves a culturally and linguistically diverse population, the majority of whom are served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The media that fulfills our students’ wants and needs often costs more than the average children’s title. The media budget being determined by the number of students served has made developing a representative collection challenging.
Even if we ignored the fact that students have multifaceted identities and focused on race and ethnicity alone, it would take more than 150 years to develop a representative collection at the current level of funding. Our kids can’t afford to wait that long, which made it hard to pass on free books in the #alaac24 Library Marketplace. It was even harder to pass on free books created by folks who share identity characteristics with our students. Now please excuse me while I try to fit all of the above-pictured books into my luggage.
What #alaac24 book giveaways are you most excited to take back home? Drop a line in the comments below 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.
Celeste Rhoads
I’m packing Jason Reynolds new YA novel “Twenty-Four Seconds from Now” for SURE.