Welcome to MLA's New Social Media Strategist Intern

Earlier this month, the MLA staff welcomed Kara MacKenzie, our Summer Semester 2022 Social Media Strategist Intern. Kara is a technical writing specialist, and avid plant mom from Battle Creek, Michigan. She is currently a junior at Michigan State University, where she majors in Professional & Public Writing and Women’s & Gender Studies.

MI Right to Read and New Resources for Libraries

MI Right to Read is a new MLA initiative coordinated through the leadership of the Intellectual Freedom Task Force to protect the right to read in Michigan. Read on to learn more about MI Right to Read and new resources available for libraries to assist with first amendment challenges and join the coalition today.

Michigan After School Partnership

MLA is partnering with the Michigan Afterschool Partnership (MASP) to increase funding for afterschool and summer reading programs throughout libraries. Where are today’s children and youth spending the hours between 3:00 and 6:00 PM? And more importantly, why does it matter? Because safety, learning, and growth are top priorities. And because communities are stronger when they include our young people.Our libraries know this first-hand!

Equity Fund Grant Applications Due June 3

The 2022 MLA Equity Fund Grant application is open through June 3, 2022. Please share this individual grant opportunity with colleagues and staff. Learn more and apply at milibraries.org/mla-equity-fund.

The MLA Equity Fund is used to provide individual grants to fund professional development opportunities for individuals currently underrepresented in the library profession. MLA Equity Fund Grants aim to reduce financial barriers and uplift the professional development of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, North African, and Middle Eastern individuals by providing resources to be used for memberships, attendance at workshops, educational events, or conferences of the applicants’ choosing, or for other purposes that they believe increase their ability to impact and transform the library profession.

State of Michigan Budget Updates

There is still a lot of uncertainty on how the State of Michigan budget will play out overall, but there is definitely a lot of conversation about how to spend the additional dollars that are coming into play. Last week, the Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference revised revenues for the current and upcoming fiscal years upward by $5 billion. For the current fiscal year, revenues were increased by $1.7 billion General Fund and $1.3 billion School Aid Fund. For the upcoming fiscal year, revenues were increased by $1.1 billion for the General Fund and $948.7 million for the School Aid Fund. It should be noted that there is still some reluctance to spend these dollars freely and add more programs or increase the budgets of departments not knowing what the future holds.

MI Library Is Now... Underway!

We are excited to share that our statewide campaign promoting the two MI-83 Grant Projects is off to a great start. Please continue to share your library's new tools and resources with your patrons and communities as we progress into the summer, and tag the Michigan Library Association whenever you are posting on social media!