2024-2025 President's Message  |  Read Jorge's Speech as Incoming President

It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood, A beautiful day for a neighbor.                                  Would you be mine?                                                                                                                          Could you be mine?

Back in the day, the morning PBS line-up was Sesame Street and then Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. It felt like Fred Roger was speaking directly to me every day. I felt his kind words deeply and still do. “Try your best to make goodness attractive. That’s one of the toughest assignments you’ll ever be given,” he once said. This quote resonates profoundly within the world of librarianship, where the values of kindness, inclusion, and accessibility are at the heart of our profession. Making goodness attractive as library professionals requires dedication, especially when the value of our work is at times questioned or misunderstood. We show this dedication every time we offer a welcoming space, support diverse perspectives, and promote access to information for all. Practicing goodness means standing firm in our values even when these ideals are challenged. FLA will continue to keep what is most important at the forefront.

When facing tough situations, escape is not always an option.

On his show, Mister Rogers introduced an alternate world called the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. A trolley would transport viewers from his living room to this magical place, which, at first glance, appeared to be a perfect utopia. Yet each episode revealed a different reality where problems were always unfolding in King Friday’s kingdom. These moments offered endless opportunities to learn how to navigate and respond to tough situations. Like the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, where challenges turned into meaningful lessons, we too find strength and growth in the complexities we face daily. In the spirit of our annual theme, let’s continue to celebrate ourselves and the work we do for our communities.

FLA is immensely grateful for the work each of you does to uphold our professional values and ethical standards, ensuring that libraries remain spaces where all minds can seek knowledge and where communities can grow in understanding. 

The dedication and integrity that you bring to this profession are inspiring, and together, we continue to strengthen the foundation of Florida’s libraries as beacons of learning and inclusion.

Thank you for all you do in service to these goals, and for your role in sustaining the values that unite us  as library professionals.

I’m grateful to be part of this professional association with each of you as neighbors. As Mister Rogers once said, “You’ve made this day a special day, by just your being you. There’s no person in the whole world like you, and I like you just the way you are.”

Jorge Perez
2024-2025 FLA President
_____________