Dear Members of the Michigan Library Community,
The Michigan Library Association wants to commend the libraries and
local officials who have made the very hard decision to close their
doors to the public and at the same time, encourage others to take
action.
MLA is using our role as a leader and
advocate of Michigan libraries to call on all public libraries in
Michigan to close their doors until Sunday, April 5th.
This
is staying in line with Governor Whitmer's Executive Order 2020-5 to
close all Michigan K-12 public schools from Monday, March 16 until
Sunday, April 5. We are living in an unprecedented time of uncertainty
as we face this worldwide pandemic, and public libraries must do their
part to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and protect our citizens from
exposure.
We
believe that school closures put an increased burden on public
libraries as children and families turn to us for social, educational
and even childcare needs. Increased dependence on our spaces and
resources for children and families displaced by school closures will in
all likelihood contribute to the continued spread of the coronavirus.
This
is a challenging time for us, the nation and the world as we respond to
novel coronavirus and the uncertainty surrounding it. MLA will do our
best to stay on top of this quickly evolving and fluid situation and to
communicate with you regularly and fully as conditions change.
Be safe, stay well.
