With vaccines steadily being injected into the arms of those around us, there is real reason to celebrate and look at the jar as half-full rather than half-empty. Whew…what a year! Not that life will return to “normal” any time soon, but there is certainly new-found hope that we are turning a corner and will see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are hearing from more and more of you that your physical doors are open, that you have a date for reopening, or are in your final preparations. Stay vigilant!
For the past few weeks, many of you (in fact about 35 to date) have stepped up to be a part of MLA’s meet and greets with our freshman legislators. It has been inspirational to hear your stories and we applaud you for getting through the worst days of the pandemic all the while continuing to innovate, expand and evolve your programming and services. We continue to hear that you are making progress on the challenges you prioritized in 2020 and plan for even more accomplishments in 2021 and beyond. The hardships and setbacks of the pandemic have shown how capable you are at achieving your goals. Stay vigilant!
Senate Bills 828 and 829 were introduced today by Senator Rick Jones and Senator Margaret O’Brien. MLA worked with the Library of Michigan and Michigan Department of Education to help craft this legislation providing libraries with protection from civil and criminal liability when administering life-saving Narcan in the result of an opioid drug overdose at the library. Currently Good Samaritan laws protect individuals from prosecution but as governmental entities libraries could technically be held liable if something went wrong. Our goal is to have libraries treated much like school districts. We appreciate the Senators’ support of this important life-saving legislation.
MLA 2020 Youth Literary Awards Winners and Honor Books
November 5, 2020
We are excited to share the winners and honor books of the 2020 Mitten, YouPer and Thumbs Up! Awards! The winners and honor books of the 2020 Youth Literary Awards were announced during Fall Institute for Youth Services Preconference on Tuesday, October 27.
The awards selection group members worked throughout the year spending thousands of hours reading, reviewing and ranking hundreds of books to determine the top titles published in 2019. Watch the announcement that includes acceptance speeches from our winners below and read on for details!
Today, Governor Whitmer released her third executive budget, centered on equitably growing the state’s economy by expanding skills training and childcare for families, providing a further down payment on rebuilding the state’s crumbling bridges and water infrastructure, and helping small businesses recover from the pandemic. All combined, the full budget is just over $67 billion.
Mitch Albom Selected to Receive the 2020 Michigan Author Award
January 28, 2021
The Michigan Library Association (MLA) is pleased to announce that Mitch Albom has been selected as the recipient of the 2020 Michigan Author Award.
Mitch Albom is an internationally renowned and best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster and musician. His books have collectively sold more than 40 million copies worldwide; have been published in 49 territories and in 47 languages around the world; and have been made into Emmy Award-winning and critically-acclaimed television movies.
A work group representing MLA and the Michigan Center for the Book determine the Michigan Author Award recipient on overall literary merit. To be eligible, authors must be a current resident of Michigan, a long-time resident of Michigan, recently relocated or an author whose works are identified with Michigan because of subject and/or setting.
“Of this year’s nominees, Mitch Albom was the obvious choice. In addition to his literary body of work, Mr. Albom is a humanitarian and has exhibited an enduring commitment to Metro Detroit and Michigan as a whole," said Work Group Chair Eric Stanton, Public Services Librarian, Capital Area District Libraries. "The committee felt that this is an honor that is well overdue.”
