Debbie Mikula

Statewide libraries petition calls for Whitmer, legislature to reject censorship • Michigan Advance A petition announced Monday would help push back against censorship in Michigan libraries and calls for increased legislative support to statewide catalogs. The Michigan Library Association is behind ...

📰 "The Michigan Library Association is behind the effort, which calls on officials to stand up for residents’ First Amendment rights and protect the freedom to read in libraries across the state."

#MIRighttoRead

A federal judge ruled that canceling 1,400+ NEH grants causes REAL HARM to scholars and the public. The court ordered preliminary relief for all affected grantees. What's next? A possible trial. We’re in this fight for the long haul.

Our statement: authorsguild.org/news/the-aut...

Man…that is one MIGHTY show of support!

2 are better than 1! Frankie and Teddy! Best of the best!

Local Michigan library board backs away from policy to sequester LGBTQ+ themed books • Michigan Advance A local Michigan library’s board of trustees will not move forward with a controversial policy to sequester challenged books to a special section or out of view from the general public – which sparked...

While the Hartland library’s board will not move forward with a controversial policy to sequester challenged books to a special section or out of view from the general public, ACLU Michigan says they will still monitor the labeling of books for possible misuse.

Story from @bensolis1.bsky.social

LETTER: Libraries shouldn't be political battlegrounds I have been a voracious reader since childhood and have always loved the connection with my community through my library. Libraries have evolved into more that shelving space for books that I couldn’t...

100% agree!!!

LETTER: Libraries shouldn't be political battlegrounds thelivingstonpost.com/letter-libra...

Lining the streets in Howell Michigan at the “No Kings” rally! Well done neighbors and friends! Honk! Honk!

Never give up hope! “No kings!”

This is Government Censorship in its Plainest Form, States EveryLibrary EveryLibrary responds to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals' Little v. Llano County decision, which will allow the government to remove or restrict access to books from public library shelves.

"In this ruling, a majority of the Fifth Circuit has embraced a doctrine that not only permits but also constitutionalizes the removal of books from public libraries by government officials for ideological reasons," reads the statement from EveryLibrary.

Library Wars Archives • Michigan Advance LIBRARY WARS The Michigan Advance is reporting on an effort at libraries across Michigan to create barriers to books with LGBTQ+ content or themes in what has become a second front in the culture war...

Michigan Advance has been reporting on the latest front in the effort to ban or restrict access to books, almost always with LGBTQ+ content, at libraries.

This new policy of “sequestration” is book banning in all but name.

In case you missed:
Following a public outcry, the U.S. Naval Academy returned titles by Maya Angelou, Harper Lee, and others that were purged under Pentagon orders targeting race and gender discourse. (The 19th News)

www.slj.com/story/Navy-R...

It is the responsibility of libraries to guarantee
and facilitate access to all expressions of knowledge and intellectual activity, including those which some individuals in our society may consider to be unconventional, unpopular, or unacceptable.

Moving books is still censorship! Labeling books is still censorship! Can't get any simpler...Libraries welcome all, have a diversity of books available for all, believe in the first amendment for all, and trust their qualified and educated librarians to do the work they are trained to do!

Williams Hall? I'm a Gilchrist Hall former resident.

Harvard learned it has an authentic Magna Carta. In 1946, it paid less than $28 for it A pair of U.K. scholars discovered the mislabled document in Harvard Law School's digital archives. The university bought it for just $27.50 in 1946. It turned out to be an authentic copy dating to 1...

A pair of U.K. scholars discovered the mislabeled document in Harvard Law School's digital archives. The university bought it for just $27.50 in 1946. It turned out to be an authentic copy dating to 1300.

Massive Victory in Lawsuit Filed Against Trump Administration's Dismantling of IMLS The Trump administration has been ordered to stop dismantling the IMLS and has been ordered to restore the agency to its pre-Executive Order functions and staffing.

NEW!

The Trump administration has been ordered to stop dismantling the IMLS and has been ordered to restore the agency to its pre-Executive Order functions and staffing.

bookriot.com/massive-vict...

Another shoe drops in libraryland!! Who will replace Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress after Trump fires her by email? Maybe Marco Rubio or another Fox News host? Your guess is as good as mine.

🗣🎙New episode alert! Chapter & Verse: Creating Safe Spaces: Outreach Inclusion and the Modern Library

Chapter & Verse is sponsored by Midwest Tape | Hoopla! #LOVEMILibraries #ChapterandVerse #Storytime

writing is THINKING. Learning to write well means learning to think well.

Good news: two separate rulings (temporary restraining order and injunction) in favor of IMLS and not allowing the dismantling of the IMLS.

Bad news: President Trump zeros out the IMLS budget for FY26.

We have 5 months more of this roller coaster.

States win a legal injunction against President Trump, pausing library funding cuts A federal judge Tuesday wrote that President Trump's executive order dismantling the IMLS "disregards the fundamental constitutional role of each of the branches of our federal government."

IMLS UPDATE:

Yesterday, Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island blocked the March 2025 Executive Order seeking to eliminate the IMLS and six other agencies, ruling it violated the Administrative Procedure Act.

#SAVEIMLS #FUNDLibraries Read more👇

Second federal judge rules against dismantling IMLS. In response to a lawsuit from 21 state Attorneys General, a federal judge in Rhode Island has ruled that the dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Services is likely illegal. This is the second federal court to rule against the slashing of the agency, following a ruling in ALA’s separate legal case in Washington. Show up for our libraries. ALA American Library Association.

NEW: A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled that the gutting of the Institute of Museum & Library Services is likely unlawful. This is the SECOND federal court to rule against the slashing of the only federal agency dedicated to library funding.

Learn about ALA's own legal case: ala.org/IMLS-lawsuit

The Latest from the Institute of Museum and Library Services A temporary restraining order halts further dismantling of the only federal agency for libraries, but the 2026 federal budget calls for eliminating the IMLS completely.

A temporary restraining order halts further dismantling of the only federal agency for libraries, but the 2026 federal budget calls for eliminating the IMLS completely.

The latest on the state of the IMLS: bookriot.com/the-latest-f...

NEA Abruptly Pulls Arts Grants on a Massive Scale Arts organizations, including dozens of theatre companies, had NEA grants withdrawn or terminated late last week, and leadership resignations at the endowment bode ill.

The hits keep coming at the NEA: Last Friday night, the endowment sent emails to hundreds of arts organizations abruptly (and apparently indiscriminately) pulling or terminating grants. Meanwhile news emerged today that many of the endowment's directors have resigned and staff has been cut by half.

National Endowment for the Arts rescinds grants, dazing publishers and theaters Arts organizations across the country saw their grants pulled with little explanation, while a proposed federal budget sought to eliminate the arts funding agency altogether.

Arts organizations across the country saw their grants pulled with little explanation, while a proposed federal budget sought to eliminate the arts funding agency altogether.

Sweeping cuts hit NEA after Trump administration calls to eliminate the agency Hours after the Trump administration proposed eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts from next year's federal budget, hundreds of arts groups in the U.S. were told their grants were canceled.

Arts and culture is being decimated in the United States! Libraries, museums, humanities, arts, theatre, dance, galleries, PBS, NPR are under attack.

Federal Court halts dismantling of IMLS in ALA lawsuit. U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia grants temporary restraining order.

🚨 Today, a federal court granted a temporary restraining order to halt the administration’s dismantling of IMLS—a direct result of the lawsuit filed by ALA and @afscme.bsky.social.
www.ala.org/news/2025/05...

#ForOurLibraries #FundLibraries

Ordered for my grandson! He’ll love it. Planting milkweed to feed the monarchs in Florida. They just hatched.

The Latest From IMLS and What You Need to Prepare For Right Now It’s only been a little more than a month since the current administration dropped an Executive Order related to funding and projects from the Institute for...

The latest on the IMLS and why we need to be taking America 250 really damn seriously: buttondown.com/wellsourced/...

Truth!