Michigan Library Association

Movement on the MLA Board

On Friday, March 18, the MLA Board of Directors appointed Lisa Waskin to serve in the seat vacated by Jasmine Parker, who is leaving the state for a new role. Lisa will serve as a Member-at-Large on the MLA Board through June 30, 2023.

After working as a Director at three different libraries in the Chicago area, Lisa is now the Director of the Superior District Library in Sault Ste. Marie – with nine branches in the Upper Peninsula. She studied history and archaeology at the University of North Dakota and then went on to obtain a Master’s in Library and Information Science Degree from Dominican University.

MI Safe Start Plan

May 7, 2020

Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer detailed the six phases of her MI Safe Start Plan to re-engage Michigan’s economy. The Governor has worked with leaders in health care, business, labor, and education to develop the plan, and announced today that Michigan is in phase three.

Libraries to Be Included on Governor's Reopening Advisory Workgroups

May 13, 2020

Last week, MLA heard that Governor Whitmer would be forming workgroups to help determine reopening plans for different industries, and MLA immediately asked to be at the table.

We received communications yesterday that Governor Whitmer formally announced the creation of these advisory workgroups (led by the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity). The workgroups will provide input on Michigan’s process to safely re-engage the economy. Workgroups will focus on mitigation of transmission risk in the workplace, including but not limited to best practices for workplace safety, PPE requirements, and retraining workers on newly implemented COVID-19 work requirements.

MLA 2022 Youth Literary Awards Top Ten Titles Lists Announced

We are excited to announce the top titles of the 2022 Mitten, YouPer and Thumbs Up! Awards! Top Ten Title 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! Read on for details.

MLA Youth Literary Award workgroups worked throughout the past year, spending thousands of hours reading, reviewing and discussing hundreds of books to determine the top titles for youth published in 2021.

View the Top Ten Titles of the 2022 MItten, Youper and Thumbs Up! Awards below! The winners and honor books will be announced at the new MLA Youth Literary Awards event: Save the date for Friday, May 27 at 10:00 AM and plan to join us live on Zoom or watch for the announcement from MLA on our social media and website!

MLA Donates $500 to Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Library

At MLA's Spring Institute for Youth Services in Mt. Pleasant, MLA offered a Land Acknowledgement in order to recognize the Anishinaabe people's traditional land we gathered upon -- the land on which the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe (composed mainly of the Saginaw, Black River and Swan Creek Ojibwe bands) have resided on for over 200 years, and to express our commitment to learning their history. To show our commitment, MLA made a direct donation of $500 to the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Library. We encourage you to visit our website to read the land acknowledgment and links and resources to learn more about the history and issues of importance to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.

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