Michigan Library Advocacy Day

On Tuesday, April 25 the Michigan Library Association hosted its first in-person Michigan Library Advocacy Day in more than a decade. The sold-out event brought together 125 library advocates representing public, school, academic, tribal, and special libraries from all over Michigan to share the message that Strong Libraries = A Stronger Michigan.

Youth Literary Awards Top Ten Titles

Check out the top titles of the 2023 Mitten, YouPer and Thumbs Up! Awards! Flyers, awards seals, and award banners are available and free to use. Please use these resources at your library to help us promote MLA Youth Literary Awards and the amazing job our workgroups do in selecting the very best books for youth! Download the Top Ten List Flyers linked below.

The winners and honor books will be announced at the 2023 MLA Youth Literary Awards event: Save the date for Friday, June 16 at 10:00 AM, and plan to watch the announcement on MLA's Facebook page!

MLA 2023 Board of Directors Election Results

MLA held elections from April 3 – 24. This year MLA members voted for an MLA President-elect and four Member-at-Large Board positions. The 2023 MLA Board of Directors Election results are in. Meet MLA's new Directors!

One of the benefits and responsibilities of membership is the opportunity to vote for the leadership of the association. For the past two years, we have received more and more participation in the election, we received 319 ballots this year. Thank you to all MLA members who voted.

Many thanks to all the candidates for demonstrating leadership by agreeing to run. Our new Directors will serve for three-year terms beginning July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2026. We look forward to a great year. Please feel free to welcome and congratulate our new Directors.

MLA 2023 Call for Ambassadors Closes Tomorrow

The Call for Ambassador online signup for 2023-2024 workgroups and committees closes tomorrow! Check out the recording of our April 2023 MLA Connect Coffee Hour: Getting Involved with MLA to learn more about getting involved with your state association.

If you're interested in growing personally or professionally, we have a place for you. Take advantage of this opportunity to make a difference in the Michigan library community, develop your leadership skills, grow your network, and represent MLA.

All MLA members are eligible to volunteer for workgroups and committees. Nonmembers interested in volunteering are welcome to join MLA by filling out the online membership application or by contacting us at (517) 394-2774 or [email protected].

Cass County Proposed “Child Protection Ordinance"

April 27, 2023

Last week, MLA worked on an issue that was taking shape in Cass County that would have had far-reaching ramifications for other counties. It was a proposal, unlike anything MLA has responded to in the fight against book banning and censorship.

The Cass County Board of Commissioners was looking to adopt a “Child Protection Ordinance” which would have required signed legal statements attesting to the “safety” of materials at the three local libraries among other places. While the title of the ordinance is a “bit” misleading – this was an attempt to censor and ban books. They were also proposing a county-wide threat of felony charges and warrantless arrests to operate the libraries and curate the collections if materials didn’t satisfy their definitions. 

The good news: the Cass County Board pulled the ordinance from the agenda due to the “heat” of inquiry from librarians and others who were appalled that this was on the agenda. 

There are many issues with the ordinance and the three affected library systems have already engaged legal counsel; are opposed (obviously); and will work through the legal systems to ensure they continue to offer library services without censorship.  

Note From Debbie

In March 2023, the Michigan Library Association contracted with EPIC-MRA, a full-service survey research firm with expertise in Public Opinion Surveys and Market Research Studies. EPIC-MRA has a proven track record of producing accurate and useful research data based on public perceptions and opinions. While we have been using national studies (like those produced by ALA and EveryLibrary) to prove that book banning and censorship issues are not tolerated by the majority of voters in the country, we felt that we needed solid Michigan data to back this up.

Our work with EPIC-MRA has produced a statistically valid, stratified survey of 847 voters in Michigan regarding awareness of, and attitudes toward, the increasingly intense and coordinated efforts to dictate the collection content of local public libraries. We produced a statewide summary as well as 11 regional summaries based on the Michigan Cooperative Library regions. We will be disseminating the full summary of findings as well as the regional summaries within the next two weeks.