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Michigan Library Advocacy Day 2025

Join us at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing to meet with your legislators on a day dedicated to advocating for libraries and library workers!

On Wednesday, April 30, 2025, the Michigan library community will unite in support of all Michigan libraries at MLA’s Michigan Library Advocacy Day! Passionate and committed library advocates from all across Michigan will join together in person in Lansing to represent our public, school, academic, tribal and special libraries. Our theme: Libraries Light the Way!

The cost to attend is $25 for MLA members and others and includes a box lunch, t-shirt and individualized scheduling (if registering by April 11).

The day begins with coffee and conversation at 9:00 AM followed by a formal welcome and overview of the day at 9:30 AM in Heritage Hall at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing (323 W Ottawa Street) by the State Librarian Randy Riley and MLA President-elect Jenny Marr.

From 10:30 AM to 5:00 PM is legislative visits. In your personalized packet, information about the time and address of legislative visits we have scheduled for you. Please be on time to these visits and take into consideration that only a few offices are located in the Capitol building itself. Most legislative offices are within a 3-5 minute walk from the Capitol. A map of the legislative office buildings will be provided in your packet and on the event website. Please allow a few extra minutes to stop at the reception desk and check in as a visitor; bring your driver’s license or other identification to show at the reception desk.

To respect the time and work of our legislators on a session day, legislative visits will generally be scheduled for 30 minutes or less. Exact meeting length will be at the discretion of the legislator or their staff. Please note that you may or may not meet with your legislators directly due to their schedules, but their staff will be there to listen and share your conversations with your legislator later. Attendees will, on average, be scheduled for two legislative meetings. Please recognize that these meetings are the most important part of the day.

Michigan Library Advocacy Day Partners

Hotel Information

Courtyard Lansing Downtown
600 East Michigan Avenue, Lansing, MI 48912

Group rate starts at $164 per night. Please book before April 15, 2025. Click here to make your reservation.

How to Identify Your Legislators

When you register for MLA’s Michigan Library Advocacy Day, you will be asked to include your House and Senate district based on your home address (i.e. where you are registered vote). If you would like to add additional visits with legislators using your work address, you will be able to indicate this on your registration, although we may or may not be able to accommodate these additional sessions.

It will be vitally important for you to get to know your State Senator and State Representative and a little bit about their background, such as what committees they sit on, what issues are important to them, and what their leadership roles are. Please use the links below to do some advanced research:

Find Your State Senator
https://senate.michigan.gov/FindYourSenator

Find Your State Representative
https://www.house.mi.gov

Legislative Meetings

If you register by 5:00 PM on March 28, 2025, MLA staff will schedule your visit. We will send you your schedule via email by April 17. A copy will also be included in your attendee packet when you arrive on site. Schedules for legislators are always in flux, so we ask that you provide a cell phone number when you register so we can keep you updated in real time of any changes to your meetings.

What to Bring With You

• Business cards
• One-page flyer about your library
• Your driver's license or other form of personal identification, needed to check in for your legislative visits at the House and Senate office buildings

What to Talk About at In-Person Meeting

• Present the issues and the action you would like the legislators to take.
• Use personal experiences to emphasize the issues’ importance.
• Stay on topic, don’t stray!
• Avoid partisan discussions
• Avoid discussion of elections or politics that do not pertain to the issues at hand.
• Offer yourself, your organization, and/or MLA as a resource for finding solutions to the issues.
• Be positive!

After Your Visit

Within 24 hours, send a thank you email and restate the issues you have addressed in the meeting. If the legislator has asked for follow-up materials, make sure that it is attached to your thank you email. Continue to build a relationship with the legislator by staying in contact after the meeting. Invite the legislator to conduct office hours at the library, read to children, or take a “backstage” tour.

If Your Schedule Changes and You Need to Cancel

Please send an email us at [email protected] as soon as possible if your schedule changes and you won’t be able to attend advocacy day.  It is vital that we keep the legislators informed of who they will be meeting with. There is nothing worse than to not show up for a scheduled visit.  Please be courteous and let us know in advance.

For Those Unable to Attend In-Person

Advocates who are not able to join us in-person are encouraged to send emails, make posts on social media, and make calls that will strengthen our messaging throughout the day. Templates, talking points, and other resources will be available on the MLA website for your use that day for increased contact with legislators.