MLA Advocacy - July 26, 2018

Health Insurance News

Our insurance partner National Insurance Services (NIS) has completed our applications and contacted a number of health insurance companies for proposals for our MLA group health/Rx, dental and vision insurance consortium.

The deadline for responses from these companies is set for August 10. As soon as we have that information we will immediately make it available to you. Thanks for your patience.

President's Update - July 12, 2018

Welcome to the new fiscal year for the Michigan Library Association (MLA). I am truly honored to serve as your 2018-19 MLA President. Fresh on the heels of the American Library Association Annual Conference in New Orleans, I am proud and inspired to be in a profession that is forward-looking and customer-service driven. So many great programs and initiatives are happening around the state in libraries. We are proactively serving the needs of our patrons from Tahquamenon Falls to Kalamazoo to East Lansing to Port Huron and all points in between. Through the services of the MLA staff, board and volunteers, we will continue to advocate, innovate and communicate for Michigan libraries.

Executive Director's Desk - July 12, 2018

Are We Doing the Best We Can?

I am a fan of Brene Brown books and every one I read leaves me with something to think about. My summer reading included her bestseller Rising Strong; How the Ability to Reset Transforms the Way We Live. In her books Brene takes the time to explain how she does her research and how it often impacts her in unexpected ways. One takeaway was her conclusion that often people are doing the best they can. While we know that is not necessarily true in all cases, it is probably true more often than we are willing to acknowledge. We all have our own opinions about what is the right thing to do as well as the right way to do it.

MLA Advocacy - June 28, 2018

State Aid to Libraries up for FY 2019

The FY 2019 State of Michigan budget went to the governor's desk with a $1 million boost in funding for libraries in the state aid to libraries line item. MLA credits our library champions in the Senate, Senator Jim Stamas (R-Midland) and Senator Goeff Hansen (R-Hart) for their unwavering support of libraries. Their work on behalf of Michigan libraries is the reason we are seeing another million dollar increase for the third time in three years. In MLA's conversations with the two senators, they have made it clear they would like to see libraries continue to move upward toward previous funding levels. This is great news as we work to gradually rebuild this funding source.

Executive Director's Desk - June 14, 2018

State Aid to Libraries Gets Million Dollar Boost

Great news for libraries again this year. The Senate/House Conference Committee increased State Aid to Libraries by $1.0 million GF/GP over last year, which translate to a 9% increase and brings the per capita payments from $0.36 to $0.39. This is great news as we work to gradually rebuild this funding source. Our Senators Goeff Hansen (R-Hart) and Jim Stamas (R-Midland) worked hard to get that additional funding in the budget. Please take a moment to thank them for their unwavering support of libraries.

President's Update - June 14, 2018

I sometimes get worn out but I sure love the work that I am involved with. My day job keeps me busy supporting library systems for my consortium's member libraries. My institution is moving forward with change on many fronts. Working with the Michigan Library Association for the past several years has been encouraging and personally rewarding. And every spring I get to teach a course on library and information science. All of these things excite me, on top of my kids getting ready to enjoy the summer months.