MDHHS Director Issues Emergency Orders Continuing COVID-19 Safety Measures

UPDATED October 9, 2020

On October 9, Robert Gordon, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) updated the emergency order issued on October 5, for "Gathering Prohibition and Face Coverings." This order is effective immediately and remains in effect through October 30, 2020.

The Emergency Order under MCL 333.2253 restricts gathering sizes and requires face coverings in public spaces. Under MCL 333.2253, if the MDHHS director determines that control of an epidemic is necessary to protect the public health, the director by emergency order may prohibit the gathering of people for any purpose and may establish procedures to be followed during the epidemic to ensure the continuation of essential public health services and enforcement of health laws.

Note From Ryan

Intellectual freedom and access to information are core to librarianship, and we all play important roles in maintaining both within our respective libraries. Targeted banning efforts over the past year or two across the country and now punctuated recently in Michigan libraries, illuminate the real-life consequences of coordinated efforts to limit freedom and patrons’ right to read. The events at Hillsdale, Patmos, and many others bring home the need for you, your organization, and your stakeholders to be prepared on how to respond to challenges, and how to positively and confidently project not an argument or defense—but a patron’s right to read—and the vital responsibility of libraries to uphold that.