Jill Biden Closes ALA Midwinter Virtual 2021.

First Lady extols the value of reading and learning.

'I'm grateful and excited and, most of all, ready to get to work with you!”

US First Lady Jill Biden opened her talk at the Closing Session of ALA’s Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits Virtual on Monday with enthusiasm. A lifelong educator, Biden seemed genuinely excited to address an audience of people who share her belief in the power of literature and learning.

Following an introduction by youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman, who read from her upcoming children’s book, Change Sings (Viking Books for Young Readers), Biden reminisced about her childhood experiences at the library and with reading.

“When I was a little girl, I’d walk to our local library every two weeks and take out as many books as I could carry in my arms,” she said. “I’ll never forget the summer nights my mom would let me stay up way too late so that I could finish just one more chapter.”

Biden said that literature changed her life. She recalled how, as a college student, she encountered young people who couldn’t read. It led her to pursue education as a career.

“That’s when I knew I had to become a teacher,” she said. “I wanted to help people learn to read. I wanted to show students the joy and the beauty that I found in books.”'>>>

https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/jill-biden-closes-ala-midwinter-virtual-2021/?