Michigan Library Association

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.

Local Library Funding From Voter-Approved Millages Facing Opposition

What Would Happen if Libraries Were No Longer Funded by Property Taxes?

A small group in Michigan is questioning if property taxes should be eliminated by changing the Michigan Constitution and is actively working to get this question onto the November ballot. Over 446,000 valid voter signatures are needed by July 8, 2024, to make this a reality. And then it would be left to the voters.

Right To Read Screening Launch Event

All Michigan students deserve the freedom to learn - and it starts with a foundation of reading. Children need schools to prepare them for a diverse and rapidly changing world.

Chapter & Verse: Storytime from the Stacks New Episode Drops January 9

Subscribe to Chapter & Verse: Storytime from the Stacks and tune in on January 9! Our January episode will be hosted by Carol Dawe Director of the Lakeland Library Cooperative and feature Virginia DeMumbrum, Director of the White Lake Community Library in Whitehall.

MLA Update

Last Friday, MLA was feeling like the holidays came a bit early, and as the Grinch would say “It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes, or bags.” MLA leadership felt a small spark of hope, a tiny flicker of optimism, despite the things we have no control over. And that optimism was rewarded on Friday, December 13 around 7:30 PM when the democratic House Members voted unanimously to move the Freedom to Read bills to the Senate.

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