Celebrate March is Reading Month with Your Local Legislators

This March, libraries across the state will celebrate literacy, learning, and the lifelong impact of reading during March is Reading Month. It’s also an important moment to showcase the many ways libraries lead and strengthen their communities, from early literacy and beyond.

Youth Summit for the Right to Read

In 2026, we’re excited for the Youth Summit for the Right to Read with BookRiot’s Kelly Jensen, an Intellectual Freedom Summit for 100 library leaders, and regional coalition-building trainings with EveryLibrary. Stay tuned for more information in the coming months. Together, we’re strengthening Michigan libraries, uplifting communities, and championing the right to read in 2026 and beyond!

FY 2026 Federal Budget Update

There is cautious optimism for federal funding that supports libraries as Congress works to finalize the FY 2026 budget. Although the President’s FY 2026 budget proposal called for eliminating the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Congress has instead moved to sustain the agency, rejecting the administration’s elimination proposal and maintaining funding near FY 2025 levels. Earlier this month, the U.S. House advanced a bipartisan Labor–HHS–Education appropriations bill that preserves approximately $291.8 million for the IMLS.

Note From Lisa

As many of you know, my time with the Michigan Library Association is coming to a close. After nearly seven years as MLA’s Administrative Assistant, it’s hard to put into words what this community has meant to me. Working alongside such passionate, dedicated professionals has been one of the greatest privileges of my career.

Remembering Randy Riley

The Michigan Library Association mourns the loss of Randy Riley and expresses our deepest sympathies to his family and friends, the Library of Michigan team, and the hundreds of colleagues and friends across Michigan’s library community.

As Michigan’s State Librarian since 2014, Randy’s passion, character, and commitment to the betterment of libraries were always evident in his work. Today, MLA honors the life and legacy of our friend and library champion, Randy.

Michigan’s Trial Court Funding Recommendations Threaten Vital Support Earmarked for Libraries

Dillon Geshel, Interim Executive Director

In 2017, the Michigan Legislature created the Trial Court Funding Commission, which spent several years developing recommendations to help stabilize the court’s funding system. In 2023, the Michigan Judicial Council formed the Alternative Funding for Trial Courts Workgroup (AFTCW) to review those recommendations and develop a plan for implementation. Why is this of interest to libraries? A familiar funding source for libraries, penal and civil fines, is at risk of capture under the workgroup’s recommendations. The workgroup’s final concept paper proposes that all revenue from penal fines and civil infractions is redirected to trial courts, which would have a disastrous impact on Michigan’s public libraries.