MLA’s “Primary Source” is an exclusive, first-hand account of the latest news and announcements from the staff of the Michigan Library Association.

The Michigan Library Awards, brought to you by the Michigan Library Association (MLA), the Michigan Association for Media in Education (MAME) and the Michigan Academic Library Association (MiALA), are awarded annually and are considered the state’s highest honors within the library community. Visit us on the web to view the winners of the Rising Star, Frances H. Pletz Award for Excellence in Service to Youth, Heart of a Champion, Library Support Staff of the Year, State Legislator of the Year, Federal Legislator of the Year, Public Librarian of the Year, Academic Librarian of the Year, Citation of Excellence, Above and Beyond, and the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The winners and honor books of the 2020 Youth Literary Awards were announced during Fall Institute for Youth Services Preconference on Tuesday, October 27. We are excited to share the winners and honor books of the 2020 Mitten, YouPer and Thumbs Up! Awards!

The awards selection group members worked throughout the year spending thousands of hours reading, reviewing and ranking hundreds of books to determine the top titles published in 2019. Watch the announcement that includes acceptance speeches from our winners below!

The MLA Board reviewed and voted on a series of bylaw changes and sent them to the membership for final approval. Due to the global pandemic and a virtual annual meeting for 2020, eligible members voted online. The membership voted to accept the changes. Read the approved MLA Bylaws.

Each year during the MLA annual conference we host a fundraising event. We are happy to announce that during the MLA 2020 Virtual Annual Conference we raised a total of $1345 that will go to support MLA scholarships and grants!

A big thank you to McCarthy and Smith for donating $530 and a special thank you to Wesley Stace for providing copies of his self-titled book as an incentive and special gift to those who donated. During the MLA 2020 Virtual Annual Conference, the first 45 individuals that donated a minimum of $10 received a copy of the book of lyrical poems "Wesley Stace: Self-Titled" written by Wesley Stace and illustrated by Abbey Stace.

The Michigan Center for the Book is the Michigan affiliate of the National Center for the Book at the Library of Congress. Its mission is to promote an awareness of books, reading, literacy, authors and Michigan's rich literary heritage. The Michigan Center of the Book was founded in 1986. Since then, the Center for the Book has been giving grants to libraries and sponsored popular programs such as Michigan Notable Books. The Center draws from the Library of Michigan and its affiliate institutions to encourage and produce local and statewide programs and resources that promote the culture of books.

The Michigan Author Award will help the Center for the Book fulfill its mission to foster the love of reading, books and book culture in Michigan. We are pleased to see the Michigan Author Award live on through the Center for the Book and continue to highlight talented authors from our great state and promote Michigan’s rich literary heritage. Learn more about the Michigan Center for the Book.

On Sunday, November 15, Governor Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) issued a new emergency order that tightens restrictions on indoor social gatherings and group activities for three weeks in an effort to curb transmission of COVID-19.

Of critical note to Libraries: Libraries and Museums will be able to remain open with 30% capacity. The epidemic order also references the MiOSHA rules of October 14 which also restricts in-person work unless doing that work remotely is impossible. The epidemic order went into effect on Wednesday, November 18 for 3 weeks until December 8. Read more

The State of Michigan has created a dashboard, which is available online that provides data regarding the situation in your local region and state. Read more

Effective October 14, 2020, the legislature has declared that “all employees shall be provided safe and healthful work environments free of recognized hazards.” Employers must provide employees with “a place of employment that is free from recognized hazards that are causing, or are likely to cause, death or serious physical harm to the employee. Read more

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) developed this COVID-19 planning guidance based on traditional infection prevention and industrial hygiene practices. It focuses on the need for employers to implement engineering, administrative, and work practice controls and personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as considerations for doing so. Read more

As COVID-19 continues to spread across the country and the world, we all must remain vigilant. The changes we have had to make to routines and daily life are extremely hard, but these changes are even more important now and in the future. Read more

On October 22, 2020, Governor Whitmer signed three bills into law that create relief from liability for alleged COVID-19 exposure. They are now listed as:

Act No. 236, Public Acts of 2020 – enrolled House Bill 6030: establishes standards for immunity from liability for certain tort claims alleging COVID-19 exposure. Under the act, a person is immune from liability for a COVID-19 claim if the person operates in compliance with all federal, state, and local statutes, rules, regulations, executive orders, and agency orders related to COVID-19 that had not been denied legal effect at the time of the conduct or risk that allegedly caused harm. The act applies retroactively to a claim or cause of action that accrues after March 1, 2020.

Act No. 238, Public Acts of 2020 – enrolled House Bill 6032: creates a new act to prohibit an employee from reporting to work under certain circumstances related to COVID-19, to prohibit certain employer actions against certain employees, and to provide remedies. The act is effective retroactive to March 1, 2020.

MLA continues to be hopeful that by December 31, 2020, SB611 – amendments to the Michigan Privacy Act – will be signed into law. The global pandemic has caused delays in the committee process, so we have a few more steps to go before that can happen.

Back in March 2020, MLA was one of the last to testify at the Senate Judiciary and Safety Committee meetings as we introduced SB611. We waited all summer before we were able to get back onto the agenda of the Senate to pass it – and they passed it unanimously on Tuesday, September 22, 2020. It was immediately sent on to the House. On November 12, we were again prepared to testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee but this committee meeting was cancelled due to an outbreak of COVID-19 among members. We are now back on the committee agenda to deliver testimony on December 1. And, we are totally prepared. Read our transcript here and if anyone would like to provide support to the House Judiciary Committee, please send the following email to Committee Clerk Melissa Sweet at msweet@house.mi.gov.

The REALM project has published the results of the sixth round of Battelle’s laboratory testing for infectious COVID-19 virus on five materials commonly found in furnishings and exhibits of archives, libraries, and museums. View Test 6 results.

Thank you to everyone who joined us at Fall Institute for Youth Services: People First and MLA 2020 Virtual Annual Conference: Charting a New Course, Together.

Relive the excitement and catch up on education sessions you missed during the conference! Recordings of every education session are available to view on-demand on the MLA website. Conference attendees will retain access to all available education sessions and keynote recordings.

All you need to do is browse the archives, then login to your MLA account to view the recorded session. Session handouts and chat transcripts are also linked on the webpages when available.

Couldn't make it to MLA 2020 Virtual Annual Conference or Fall Institute? You're in luck! You can purchase access to archives of either conference (or both!) to view recordings of all education sessions as well as handouts and chat transcripts when available. Recordings are also available of most of our awesome keynotes. Register for access to view the recordings.

Annual Conference is supported in part by the Library of Michigan with federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Service

MLA Connect provides virtual education and engagement opportunities you can access from anywhere to keep you connected to the library community in Michigan! Missed an MLA Connect event? Check out archived webinars and coffee hours on the MLA website. Please note recordings are provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice.

View these jobs and more at the MLA Career Center.

Have a job to post? Members receive deep discounts on job postings through the MLA Career Center job board. Learn more here.

City of Menominee – Menominee, MI