Letter from MLA Staff

November 19, 2020

Let our lives be full of both thanks and giving. As the holiday approaches, the MLA staff took a few minutes to reflect on our work and why we are thankful for MLA, libraries and library staff. Our days are filled with supporting you and making sure all needs are met to the best of our ability. Each of you brings your own unique talents and wisdom to this profession and it is our honor to work with you every day.

Your innovation and imagination to keep moving forward during the past 8 months has been inspirational. You have found new ways to serve your patrons – get books and other things into their hands; offer your expertise to find the best resources; and continuing to find ways to reduce the digital divide, with hotspots and equipment, for our most vulnerable populations. I am thankful there are people like you who are willing to hand down knowledge to the next generation and make this their life’s work. Most of all I am thankful for your kindness, patience and acceptance - the way you treat all that come across your path shows the values that you hold in highest regard. Gratitude for all you do and blessings for the days ahead.

I have been especially thankful for my library’s digital collections throughout 2020. There are only so many times I can watch Tiger King and reruns of The Office, and the ability to check-out audiobooks and learn new skills on LinkedIn Learning has been a life saver. My Hoopla app has gotten more use than ever before, and I it is partly due to my library that I have been able to stay sane throughout the quarantine.

I am extremely thankful for my amazing colleagues, and the opportunity to work with all libraries who are essential and valuable resources in the communities they serve.

As I reflect on the many things in my life I am grateful for, the Michigan Library Association, libraries and library staff are all on the list. I feel so blessed to work with amazing, supportive and fun colleagues at MLA. The library staff I have the pleasure of interacting with are fiercely intelligent, curious and creative individuals with so much integrity and kindness - and I am honored to do my small part to support the work you do! And although I know libraries offer so much more than books, books top my list of why I am so incredibly thankful for libraries and library staff. Since the pandemic began, I've used my library more than ever before to stay stocked up on ebooks (I've saved thousands of dollars by using my library!). I am so thankful for the awesome library staff that curate these collections, find and catalog and organize these books so I can find just what I need.