Happy Birthday MLA!

On September 1, MLA will celebrate 132 years of serving the Michigan library community!

MLA is Michigan’s oldest and largest library association spanning more than a century. It has influenced the course of Michigan’s libraries since its inception in 1891, when Mary A. Eddy, the librarian at Coldwater Free Public Library, wrote to Henry M. Utley of the Detroit Public Library about organizing a state library association.

Annual Member Meeting Notice

Notice is hereby given to MLA members that the Annual Meeting will take place during MLA 2023 Annual Conference at the Radisson Plaza Hotel at Kalamazoo Center in Kalamazoo, MI on Thursday, October 19, 2023 from 4:00 – 5:00 PM. MLA 2023 Annual Conference registration is not required to attend the annual meeting and all members are welcome and encouraged to attend.

August Election Results

Congratulations to Beaver Island District Library! Voters in Peaine and St. James Townships approved a .9776 mill renewal and .0224 mill in new additional millage (to restore the millage rate previously authorized) for three years.

October is Michigan Library Appreciation Month

Get ready to celebrate Michigan Library Appreciation Month! This October we are celebrating Michigan libraries and library staff and highlighting all the many ways libraries serve their communities.

Join us in participating in Michigan Library Appreciation Month and help us highlight just how much of an impact our libraries have made in the lives of Michiganders.

New campaign urges Michiganders to protect their right to read and oppose book banning efforts

LANSING, Mich. – With the rise of book banning and censorship efforts in libraries around the country, the Michigan Library Association (MLA) is launching a six-month MI Right to Read campaign, encouraging residents to oppose censorship and book banning efforts and protect their First Amendment right to read whatever they choose to at public libraries.

Public libraries are being targeted at an alarming rate by individuals and extremist groups to remove books that discuss topics such as racism, sexuality, gender, and history – censoring different perspectives.

Note From Debbie

July 27, 2023

Like other places throughout the country, Michigan libraries are facing calls from some parents and conservative groups to ban certain books.

In Ottawa County's Jamestown Township, residents voted down a library millage in the last midterm election, forcing the eventual closure of the only local library after staff refused to remove LGBTQ books from the collection. 

Earlier this year, Michigan libraries were thrown into the political spotlight once more with a party-line vote on a resolution in the state House to honor Librarian and Library Worker Day, with Republicans all opposing.

In Lapeer County, a prosecutor threatened to have the librarian arrested as she stood strong to protect First Amendment Rights and the right to read at her library.

In March 2023, the Michigan Library Association contracted with EPIC-MRA to conduct a statewide survey of 800 Michigan voters on their awareness of, and attitudes toward, the increasingly intense and coordinated efforts to dictate the collection content of local public libraries.

The overall findings indicate that groups and organizations that favor banning books in Michigan are clearly going against an overwhelming majority of public opinion that opposes book banning. 

Now, to address these challenges, the Michigan Library Association has contracted with Martin Waymire*, a PR firm in Lansing, who will help us launch a six-month, strategic public education effort to head off censorship efforts or other restrictive or punitive measures for Michigan public libraries by local, state and federal lawmakers.