Get ready to celebrate Michigan Library Appreciation Month! This October we are celebrating Michigan libraries and library staff and highlighting all the many ways libraries keep our communities connected!

Join us in participating in Michigan Library Appreciation Month and help us highlight just how much of an impact our libraries have made in the lives of Michiganders and how libraries and library staff help keep us connected while we need it most.

We will offer several ways libraries, library staff and patrons can get involved. This month we ask that you submit the Michigan Library Appreciation Month proclamation to your local elected officials to give them time to proclaim their support! Issuing a proclamation can sometimes take a month on more but it's simple to do. Identify a council member, mayor or supervisor to sponsor the proclamation. Contact information can be found on your local city, county or township website.

Watch for social media ideas, newsletter copy, graphics and more resources and easy ways to participate next month and plan to join the celebration to highlight Michigan libraries, librarians, and library workers all October long!

How did we choose Riz? Well, we found out that she is a stellar writer with imagination and a creative flair and we felt that she would be able to adapt and translate MLA’s voice and personality into digital content. In her cover letter she wrote, “When I was a child, there was a fake dragon inside of a castle surrounded by books in the kid’s section at my local library. Trips to the library were exciting and fun and I believe everyone should experience the joy libraries bring.” Read more

View the plan here: Advocacy Action Plan

The 5-year millage renewal passed for the Glen Lake Community Library, serving the residents of Empire, Glen Arbor, and Kasson Townships since 1977.

For those who are not vaccinated, the CDC recommends getting vaccinated and continuing to mask until they are fully vaccinated. Per the CDC's latest update, "With the Delta variant, this is more urgent than ever." 

For more information, please review the CDC guidance for vaccinated individuals, and review the CDC COVID tracker to determine community spread in your area.  

MIOSHA is strongly encouraging Michigan employers to follow recently updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines due to the Delta variant of COVID-19. According to the CDC, the Delta variant is much more contagious, may infect those that have been vaccinated and may also allow vaccinated individuals to spread the virus. Prior to Delta, the probability for vaccinated individuals to spread the virus was considered low. Read more

On August 23, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine has been known as the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and will now be marketed as Comirnaty (koe-mir’-na-tee), for the prevention of COVID-19 disease in individuals 16 years of age and older. The vaccine also continues to be available under emergency use authorization (EUA), including for individuals 12 through 15 years of age and for the administration of a third dose in certain immunocompromised individuals. Read more

As reported by MLive: New population data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows West Michigan counties grew the fastest during the last decade, while Upper Peninsula counties experienced the biggest loss in residents since 2010.

The Census estimated Michigan had 10 million residents in 2020. The state’s population grew by just under 2% in the last decade, an increase of 193,691 people since 2010. More than 4.5 million housing units were counted in 2020. Read more

With the loss of a US House seat, the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission is hard at work to amend district maps. Recently they amended their schedule for releasing draft maps. The new schedule is based on region, rather than the type of district boundary being drawn. The updated schedule is available here on pg. 4.

Do you have a minute to take action on behalf of historic library funding?

The House of Representatives passed the budget resolution for Fiscal Year 2022, following passage in the U.S. Senate. Now, Congress is working to develop a budget reconciliation package that may provide up to $3.5 trillion in new federal spending. Congressional committees must submit legislation that determines the distribution of this funding no later than September 15. From now until this deadline, we need to do all that we can to ensure the funding outlined in the Build America's Libraries Act is included in this package.

Congress is expected to move quickly. Will you reach out to your legislators today and urge them to include this funding for libraries in the budget reconciliation package?

We also highly encourage you to post on social media to increase the overall visibility of this ask. Use this sample tweet below, or create your own, along with ALA's Twitter graphic:

The American Library Association invites library workers to apply for the Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC): Focus on Small and Rural Libraries. Up to 100 libraries will be awarded in this round of grantmaking, part of ALA's longtime community engagement initiative. Library workers may apply online for grant funding by September 16.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is now accepting FY 2022 proposals for National Leadership Grants for Libraries (NLG-L) and the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program (LB21). The National Leadership Grants for Libraries program supports projects that address critical needs of the library and archives fields and have the potential to advance practice in these professions to strengthen library and archival services for the American public. The Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program supports the development of a diverse workforce of librarians and archivists, to better meet the information needs of communities being served. Applicants have through September 24, 2021, to submit their two-page preliminary proposals.

The award program will fund projects of a range of sizes and complexity in two rounds. Round one applications are due September 2, 2021. Learn more about how your library can get involved and apply for funds.

Since 1987, Library Card Sign-up Month has been held each September to mark the beginning of the school year. During the month, the American Library Association and libraries unite in a national effort to ensure every child signs-up for their own library card. Check out the press kit here and tons of free resources to celebrate on ALA's website: ala.org/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks/card

Nominate your favorite librarian for the prestigious I Love My Librarian Award. This national award recognizes librarians working in public, school, college, community college, or university libraries for their outstanding public service contributions. Nominations will be accepted online through September 27, 2021.