Michigan Library Association

Librarian of Congress Visits Taylor Community Library

On Saturday morning the Taylor Community Library hosted Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden. She visited to present Library Director Theresa Powers with books from the Library of Congress and to celebrate March as National Reading Month. Assistant Library Director Vanessa Verdun Morris opened story time for Dr. Hayden and U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell. State Rep. Erika Geiss was also in attendance. The library was full and the Taylor library staff did a beautiful job with the event.

Written by Gail Madziar, MLA Executive Director

Executive Director's Desk - August 9, 2018

As the final weeks of summer fly by, the MLA office is working on annual conference being held October 17-19 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.

This year the MLA Annual Conference Work Group is focusing on how to recharge your batteries. The opening keynote with Brenda Viola helps you Go the Extra Mile (When You're Running on Empty). Even superstars have battle scars and need to re-charge their batteries. Learn the six secrets to getting your mojo back in this inspirational keynote.

2018-2019 Board of Directors Election Results

Congratulations to MLA's new directors elected by the membership. Michelle Boisvenue-Fox, Kent District Library was voted President-elect. Richard Schneider was elected Treasurer, Jennifer Dean, University of Detroit Mercy was elected ALA Councilor and Ryan Wieber, Kalamazoo Public Library was elected as member-at-large. Additionally Karen Knox, Orion Township Public Library will be completing Michelle Boisvenue-Fox's at large term through 2019. Their terms begin July 1, 2018.

Many thanks to all the candidates for demonstrating leadership by agreeing to run and to all our members who actively voted. We look forward to a great year!

Written by Kristin Shelley, 2018-2019 MLA President

President's Update - August 9, 2018

I am reading, for the third time, "My Beloved World" by Associate Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor in preparation for the One Book, One Community event in East Lansing at the end of August. Justice Sotomayor refers to books and libraries throughout her memoir as the place she sought out as a child, and again as a student at Princeton University, as a calming place, a place of refuge, and where she sought knowledge about the broader world and subjects.

Sotomayor writes after the death of her father when she was nine years old, and the period of her mother's devastating grief, "My solace and only distraction that summer was reading. The Parkchester Library was my haven." She again references libraries as a student at Princeton University. "Whenever I felt out of place or homesick, I took refuge at Firestone Library. Books had seen me through an earlier time of trouble, and their presence all around me was both a comfort and an answer to the question of why I had come here."

Michigan's LJ Index Star Libraries

Four Michigan libraries named Star Libraries in the tenth edition of the Library Journal Index of Public Library Service, a national rating system designed to recognize and promote America’s public libraries.

Ann Arbor District Library, Richland Community Library, West Bloomfield Township Public Library and Genesee District Library were among 259 U.S. public libraries to receive star ratings in 2017 out of a total of 7409 libraries scored. Ann Arbor District Library is one of only 69 libraries to receive star ratings in all 10 editions of the LJ Index and one of only 13 public libraries to receive a five-star rating in every edition.

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