Libraries give you superpowers!
The George A. Smathers Libraries have continued the tradition of entering a float in the annual UF homecoming parade with this year’s theme, “Libraries Give You Superpowers.” The parade is the largest student-run parade in the nation. Dean of University Libraries, Judy Russell, rode alongside the 2024 UF communications intern class and other library employees down the one-mile parade route. The float featured stuffed gators dressed in masks and capes as well as comic bubbles and superhero designs throughout. Dean Russell has been on the float since she started at UF in 2007 and is often the only dean to participate in the parade.
The theme highlighted the Libraries’ comic book collection, found in the Libraries’ Special and Area Studies Collections. The Suzy Covey Comic Book Collection, housed in the Popular Culture Collection, is useful for those interested in the history and development of sequential art formats, particularly in the United States and includes original and reprint comic books, strips, caricatures and related items. The collection holds items from every recognized “Age” of comics as well as every genre, including daily humor strips and political satire as well as superhero, funny animal, and underground comics.
The float was made possible by lending specialist, Jami Beserock, who is the head of the Libraries’ float committee along with the Libraries’ facilities team. Normally, the construction of the float can take anywhere from 10-20 hours said Beserock. Beserock designed the float and brought the superhero theme to life with AI generated backdrops illustrating a University of Florida Gator football player facing a Kentucky Wildcat.
This year was even more exciting, as the Library communications interns, Ashleigh Lucas, Aimee Sullivan, and Emily Webster, had the opportunity to ride the float. “I loved being on the homecoming float because there are very few opportunities where the entire campus is brought together to celebrate all the hard work that happens at this school and throughout the city. Plus when else do I have the opportunity to scream about how much I love the libraries,” Sullivan said. The Libraries will continue expanding the float and participating in this beloved UF tradition.
