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MLA’s Mentor Program supports career development by facilitating relationships that will provide encouragement, support and guidance to library science students, early-career librarians, mid-career staff looking to advance within their field, or library staff looking to transition into another position. The Mentor Program creates structured relationships that last for six months. Participants set their own goals and objectives and MLA provides resources beneficial to both parties.

Mentee applications are accepted through Friday, January 15, 2021 for spring matches. Mentor applications are accepted year-round to be placed in our mentor pool. We invite you to be a part of this free benefit to MLA membership. You never know where it might take you!

For more information, contact MLA Program and Event Director Amber Sheerin at asheerin@milibraries.org

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On Tuesday, December 15, the House voted on SB611 - Amendments to the Library Privacy Act. We broke the vote tally board (quite literally) as the vote for SB611 was underway. It took about ½ hour to fix and then SB611 was up again. We ended with 107 Aye votes to 2 Nay votes. The bill was concurred on the Senate agenda on Wednesday, December 16 and now heads to the Governor’s desk for signature. 

This legislation removes obstacles and legal barriers libraries sometimes face when a crime has been committed in the library while providing for continued protection to a core foundational value of libraries: protecting patron privacy in their reading histories, materials borrowed, resources reviewed, or services used at the library. The greatest change to the Michigan Library Privacy Act in SB611 has come in clarifying that a library record does not include video surveillance and that video surveillance can be turned over to law enforcement without a court order if it shows no identifying records. By updating the current Act, we are making libraries safer by hastening the investigation of crimes committed in the library and on library property through video surveillance.

View the bill as passed by the House: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2019-2020/billengrossed/Senate/pdf/2019-SEBH-0611.pdf

On December 16, the Michigan House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 1246. The bill amends the Open Meetings Act to revise recent provisions added to the act by Public Act 228 of 2020 (SB 1108) that deal with remote attendance at meetings of a public body. The amendments allow public bodies to conduct electronic meetings virtually for any reason from December 31, 2020 to March 31, 2021. Today, December 17, the Senate concurred the bill and it now heads to the Governor for signature.

On December 7, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) extended the Gatherings and Face Mask Order that restricts indoor social gatherings and other group activities. The order remains in effect through December 20, 2020 at 11:59 pm. The additional 12 days will allow the department to determine the full impact of the Thanksgiving holiday on the spread of COVID-19 across Michigan. Read more

On December 3, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued new guidelines on staying safe, holiday travel and quarantine restrictions.

From the American Library Association (ALA):

ALA is urging library advocates to contact their U.S. Representatives and Senators with an ask to provide direct library broadband and stabilization funding for libraries in a COVID relief package as House and Senate members work to pass an emergency assistance plan before adjourning for the year.

House and Senate leadership are using the bipartisan “COVID Emergency Relief Framework” as a starting point for their negotiations. Introduced on December 1, the framework includes funding for expanding overall broadband access and education but provides nothing directly for America’s libraries.

Libraries have stepped up throughout the pandemic to provide critical internet access despite having to close or reduce services in response to local and state safety concerns. According to the advocacy alert, with additional broadband funding, libraries could provide even more services to the public via internet hotspots, extending Wi-Fi signals or locating mobile hotspots throughout the community. In addition to broadband funding, the alert calls for funding for libraries and library workers, many of whom were furloughed or laid off in 2020.

Advocates can email their members of Congress using the template in ALA’s action center. The Public Policy and Advocacy office is also calling on advocates to reach out to their elected leaders on social media, including a sample:

 (@TagYourSenator/Rep), our community is relying on (@TagYourLibrary) for broadband and to reopen safely and fully staffed. Please keep #LibrariesStrong by including them in the COVID relief package.

11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Beth Ziesenis, Your Nerdy Best Friend

Passwords, phishing, privacy? Pfttt! You're not alone if you would rather tally the numbers in the phone book than deal with your password problems. But you can't be a professional without taking responsibility for your personal online security -- for the protection of yourself and your company.

Online security issues -- and solutions -- don't have to be boring, scary or ignored. Author Beth Z, aka Your Nerdy Best Friend, will have you laughing and learning with the real facts about the threats you face using the technology at your fingertips. And, more importantly, you'll leave with practical tips and tools for breathing easier. Registration is $25 for members and $50 for non-members and is first-come, first-served.

The Northern Michigan Opioid Response Consortium (NMORC) is comprised of 32 member organizations over 18 rural Northern Michigan Counties. One of their goals is providing Naloxboxes to community organizations so that naloxone is available in areas where overdoses may occur. Public libraries are a priority for this placement.

NMORC will discuss reasons for having Naloxboxes and a draft policy for implementing them in your libraries.

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.

Kent District Library – Comstock Park, M

Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Service – Dearborn, MI

Jackson District Library – Jackson, MI

Michigan Library Association – Lansing, MI