MLA Connect Advocacy Hour: PROPOSED LEGISLATION: Michigan Freedom to Read Act Thursday, November 16 10:00 – 11:00 AM Tomorrow, Thursday, November 16, join MLA on Zoom at 10:00 AM for our November Advocacy Hour. We will be discussing proposed legislation that addresses the Freedom to Read. MLA Board President, Dillon Geshel, Advocacy Committee Chair, Jenny Marr, and Intellectual Freedom Task Force Chair, Juliane Morian will be joined by Bob DeVries, MLA’s lobbyist, and members of the Michigan House of Representatives as we share the draft of the legislation and discuss the actions librarians, library workers, and advocates can take to protect intellectual freedom and the right to read and get this legislation passed. There will also be time for Q&A. Plan to bring your questions and join the conversation! Free to attend! Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUodOitqzMrHNZSNcsSrvbU9lQwqiXk8MD... Save the Dates! Future Advocacy Hours: Thursday, December 14, 2023, at 10:00 AM – December Advocacy Hour – join John Chrastka from EveryLibrary and a representative from GLAAD as they review the June release of “Book Bans: A Guide to Community Response and Action". Thursday, January 18, 2024, at 10:00 AM – January Advocacy Hour – join Sojourner Jones in a full session on de-escalation training in our libraries. Advocacy Hour conversations are always free to attend but registration is required. Questions? Contact us at (517) 394-2774 or mla@milibraries.org.<mailto:mla@milibraries.org> MLA Connect Advocacy Hours are an opportunity for the library community to learn more about MLA's advocacy and legislative priorities including funding, elections, property taxes, literacy, internet access, privacy, intellectual freedom, and more. Each month, we will address a new topic and share any pending legislation introduced in the House or Senate that could impact the Michigan library community. Monthly sessions will take place generally on the third Thursday of the month at 10:00 AM. This advocacy hour is free to attend to anyone interested in joining the conversation! A maximum of 500 attendees can join the live event. Registered attendees will receive information and a link to access the meetings on the Zoom platform. Please note recordings of all MLA Advocacy Hours are available to watch for free and on-demand on our website at milibraries.org<https://mla.mclms.net/en/>. [cidimage002.png@01D73C4D.ABEAD040] Rachel Ash Membership and Communications Director Michigan Library Association Phone: (517) 394-2774 ext. 2 Direct: (517) 881-6652 milibraries.org rfash@milibraries.org<mailto:%0bmilibraries.org%0brfash@milibraries.org> Follow MLA on Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/MichiganLibraryAssociation> and Twitter<https://twitter.com/mlaoffice>!