Governor Whitmer Kicks off March by Declaring the Month as March is Reading Month

LANSING, Mich. – Today, Governor Whitmer issued a proclamation declaring the month of March as Reading Month in Michigan. Throughout the month, schools, children, and adults alike use this time to promote the importance of reading.

“Every year the country uses this month to promote reading and imagination. I am proud to declare March as Reading Month in Michigan and I encourage everyone to find time to read,” said Governor Whitmer. “This month, we should recommit ourselves to encouraging children and young adults to read diverse literary works early and often so they can see themselves and others in what they read.”

The governor is committed to ensuring students and schools have the resources they need to learn and teach safely. That is why, in January, Governor Whitmer proposed her MI COVID Recovery Plan that invests $1.7 billion directly to our schools. She also proposed her FY2022 executive budget recommendation that makes the largest investment in K-12 schools in Michigan history.

A report from MSU and the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) showed that 97% of school districts have met the governor’s goal to get students back to in-person learning by today, March 1^st.

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There are so many fun ways to celebrate “March is Reading Month” but MLA wants to take the opportunity to encourage you to use this time to invite your legislators to your library for a storytime! Participating in a read-aloud or storytime could be virtual or in-person and is a great way for legislators to engage with the community, and also a wonderful way for your library to build relationships with our legislators and strengthen our collective advocacy efforts.

You can find your legislator's contact information online using MLA's Find my Legislator tool. Or contact MLA and we will help you connect with your legislator to facilitate a virtual or in-person visit.

We hope to see libraries all across Michigan take this opportunity to engage with our legislators and continue to advocate for the importance of library workers and libraries!

Deborah E. Mikula

Executive Director

Michigan Library Association

3410 Belle Chase Way, Suite 100

Lansing, MI. 48911

Office: 517-394-2774, ext. 224

Cell: 517-404-3533

dmikula@milibraries.org