Sofia Cachenko
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Good afternoon, Terra Vera.
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I'm listing members of the New York City Council Library Committee representative and also with a concern.
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My name is Sophia Kashinko.
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I'm a great junior at the Queen's School for the Sciences.
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And this afternoon, I'm presenting a testimony there in Nancy, significance of libraries.
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In the lives of many present teenagers, they will also speak about how vital it is to preserve their books and library offerings to foster a diverse environment that allows teenagers learning more about themselves and the world around them.
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To begin today, I'd like to first describe my experience at the Queen's public library and explain why the topic of diversity looks so important to me as an ambitious junior student in high school.
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Growing up, KPI provided me and my family with the safe and welcoming space for exploration, learning, and personal growth.
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As you would visit the library in case of the vast myriad of novels to me, the library served as a sanctuary where I escaped the pressures of schools.
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Discovered new and fascinating worlds to book digital resources and programs tailored to my ever evolving interests, the way I believe served is the most important aspect of the collections at the Queensland library was the representation of books from a plethora of diverse perspectives, specifically coming from a family who immigrated to the US from beautiful land in Ukraine the presence of books from my home country allowed me to see myself and my multicultural diversity, direct an identity that reflected in the books and resources they encounter.
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And every resource ending the message that my story mattered, and I was a highly valued member of my diverse community.
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Moreover, the exposure to further diverse doubles allowed me to develop a sense of compassion and be other cultural backgrounds as I came to understand various traditions and intricacies of cultures in my community.
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As such in the note of diversity, I believe that banned books despite their controversial nature play crucial in helping teams learn what themselves in the world around them.
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Since these books often tackle sensitive topics and address issues that are relevant to teenagers, identity, sexuality, mental health, and social justice.
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By engaging with such materials, teams are exposed to different perspectives that are encouraged to think critically about the world they live in.
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More of our banned books provide an opportunity for young adults to grapple with complex ideas and form their own opinions, which are all vital qualities developed for their future academic and professional ambitions.
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Therefore, since they are informal in the lives of teenagers by exposing their diverse perspectives, challenging suicidal norms, and fast intellectual and emotional growth.
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I strongly believe in the value, preserving such perks for public accessibility.
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In in closing, Queen River Library has played a pivotal role in my personal growth and understanding of the world through its diverse books collections.
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Their representation in my cultural background and exploration of Bendo of not only fosters sense of identity and empathy, but also nurture critical thinking skills that will undoubtedly shape my future endeavors.
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Thank you for your time today and for allowing me to share my story.
