HB 5097 Moves Forward to Ban Race and Gender Stereotyping in the Classroom – Challenging Intellectual Freedom

In early June, the Senate Education and Career Readiness Committee took up House Bill 5097, which was first introduced by Rep. Andrew Beeler (R-Fort Gratiot), and referred it to the committee of the whole. The legislation would ban “race and gender stereotyping” from the classroom. Two Democratic members of the committee walked out of the committee meeting in protest. 

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.

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.

Letter From Ryan

Michigan library friends,

This time of year is about refreshment, regrowth, and renewal. After two-plus years of a pandemic, signs of encouragement grow stronger with each return of a familiar library program or activity, and with each return to our spaces by a patron. MLA is leading the charge to both welcome back and introduce anew to our communities, the value of recent additions to our spaces and collections through the MI-83 project where libraries, courtesy of ARPA funding, received new technology and digital content. The MI Library is Now marketing campaign can be utilized by all of us as another tool to welcome back folks to Michigan libraries. Take advantage of these resources and modify the message uniquely for your community.

MLA Awards Call for Nominations

Do you know someone who deserves recognition and celebration for their work in Michigan libraries? We encourage and welcome your nomination for any of MLA's Awards for recognition at the 2022 Michigan Library Awards on Wednesday, October 19 in Port Huron Michigan.

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.