September 2026 FLA President's Message

Dear FLA community,

 

I want to thank each of you for your continued support of the Florida Library Association. The past few weeks have brought significant changes, and I am incredibly grateful to everyone who has reached out, offered to help, donated, or simply reminded us how much FLA means to Florida’s library community.

 

I also want to share a few important updates as we continue through this transition.

 

With the resignation of our Executive Director, FLA will move forward as a volunteer-run association for the time being. Our Board members, committee chairs, vice-chairs, and other volunteers are stepping up to help with the day-to-day work needed to keep the association operating. This will require all of us to share responsibilities in new ways, and I am grateful to everyone who has already offered their time and expertise.

 

I also have some wonderful news to share. Immediately after our special Board meeting, Alma Ramos-McDermott, REFORMA de Florida President and FLA Board member, made an generous $6,000 donation to FLA. I cannot thank Alma enough for her generosity and for believing in FLA during such a difficult time. In Alma’s own words, “Maybe others will be inspired to give too. It only takes 1 match to start a fire...” And she certainly inspired me. I have decided to match her generosity with a $6,000 donation to FLA at the end of September. My hope is that these funds will help keep the association moving forward and allow us to continue programs, services, and support for our members while we wait for organizational membership renewals to come in.

 

Even during this transition, the work of FLA continues. Our committees are active, plans for the 2027 Annual Conference are moving forward, and there are many opportunities ahead for us to connect, learn from one another, and support Florida’s library community. That work is possible because of the people who continue to show up for FLA.

 

We have a challenging period ahead of us, but we also have something very important working in our favor: each other. FLA belongs to all of us. It is built on the ideas, commitment, and support of people across Florida’s library community.

 

As we move forward, I also want to hear from you. If you have thoughts, ideas, or suggestions for FLA, please feel free to reach out to me directly at president@flalib.org. Your input is always welcome, and I hope we can continue this conversation as we work together on FLA’s future.

 

Let’s continue the good work, share the load where we can, and keep FLA moving forward together. Thank you for continuing to believe in and support our association.