This past Friday, the President of American Library Association visited Miami-Dade County, the North Miami Library. Her name is Loida Garcia Febo.
Loida Garcia-Fego is a Puerto Rican American Librarian. Garcia-Febo is the President of Information New Wave, an international charity seeking to enhance the education of minority groups in the USA and in developing countries. She was a candidate in the 2017 election for President of the American Library Association. In April 2017, she was elected president-elect of the American Library Association 2018–2019.
This year, the Southeast Florida Library community joined together to welcome the American Library Association President, Loida Garcia Febo, in her historic tour around the country, by visiting North Miami Public Library. Only 5 libraries were selected for this milestone event to mark the outstanding role of public, academic, school libraries in our local communities because our Libraries=Strong Communities. President Loida Garcia Febo believes in national advocacy effort aimed to highlight the value of libraries and library staff to create groundswell of support at the local, state, nation and global levels.
“The cross-country tour currently consists of six U.S. stops, including Pikes Peak (Colorado) Public Library District, October 6, 2018; Cambridge (Massachusetts) Public Library, October 18, 2018; Seattle Public Library, January 26, 2019; North Miami Public Library, February,9 2019; and Los Angeles Public Library, May 15, 2019. It will conclude on June 22, 2019 during the ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition in Washington, D.C.” (Morales, 2018. ALA News)
The significance of this event was tied to a welcome reception hold in conjunction with the opening of the Black History Month Art Exhibition As A Matter of Black: A Seat at the Table, curated by MUCE305.
Librarians from Palm Spring to JFK Public Library, MDPLS, Broward, leadership of the SEFLIN library consortium, and academic Florida National University Library. For more than 140 years, American Library Association (ALA) continues to be a vital voice for culture, education, and outreach to acknowledge awareness of nation campaigns.
Every year, FNU Library renews its ALA membership advocating for the profession and the library’s role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. In addition, FNU Library is a proudly member of the Medical Library Association (MLA) subdivision to pursue the in-dip quality health and medical resources. It was a pleasure to meet the ALA President and learn the inspiration from our leadership in our never-die profession.
Ida Tomshinsky, Library Director itomshinsky@fnu.edu
