Note From Dillon

I won't sugarcoat it, this one hurts. After nearly two years of work by Michigan Library Association staff, volunteers, and partners, the Freedom to Read bills died in the Senate at the end of 2024. Their introduction during lame duck was a last-ditch effort to cross the finish line and solidify First Amendment protections and civil rights law for Michiganders at public libraries. Unfortunately, the chaos and implosion of the House and the Senate left the Freedom to Read bills to die alongside hundreds of others in both chambers. With the makeup of Michigan's legislature now having shifted, any opportunity to pass these bills is now behind us.

What does this mean for public libraries in 2025 and beyond? In short, the work continues. Advocates in Michigan have spent the last three years honing their skills in advocacy and coalition building, coaching libraries through politically motivated material challenges, and providing education to boards and communities on legal precedent and the freedom to read.

For many libraries, the New Year presents new challenges. Our recent November elections saw political appointees seated on library boards and in many cases, shifted majority control of library boards to groups that don't share the library's vision for the right to read. Come January, there will be a pressing need to ensure new, incoming board members at public libraries have the factual information they need to make determinations about library collections, that they understand the application of First Amendment and civil rights laws in public libraries, and the liabilities incurred when acting against legal precedent. In 2025 we show up and we work every day to ensure public libraries remain an institution independent of partisan politics. And we must continue to find ways to support the library directors, staff, and trustees who face personal and professional attacks for simply doing their jobs.

The prospect of the Freedom to Read bills becoming law gave me hope. In the time since the bills died, I've felt angry, sad, disappointed, and drained. I don't expect those emotions to go away anytime soon. But this morning I also feel motivated. There is SO MUCH we can do together to support our libraries and protect the right to read, and the resiliency I've seen from library workers over the last few years is the motivation I need to march on. In 2025 the work continues!

Dillon Geshel
President, Michigan Library Association