MHAL Closing Protest

In an earlier post this summer I mentioned the executive order that abolished the Michigan Department of Histories Arts and Libraries. In the days that followed things appeared surprisingly quiet. In the next week word trickled down to many of my fellow students at the School of Information and there were a lot of questions being asked about what could be done about this. And until recently it appeared like not much at all. Then I was forwarded this message that I wanted to share with anyone who has been reading this:

“On Wednesday the 5th of August, let's assemble at the State Capitol, on the lawn. We have reserved the North and South lawns, and the steps. Time, 9:45 a.m. The State Senate goes into session at 10 a.m., the only time in the next few weeks we can be certain our legislators will be assembled at Lansing. At 10:30 a.m., we will process/march over to the Michigan Historical Center and form our *Hands Around the Library* -- in hopes of good media coverage! Since the perimeter of the building is a round 1800 feet, it is obvious we can use as many genealogists or friends of libraries/history of all types as possible. Please definitely let your local Society know you are coming for sure, since you can see that we need coverage - flags and ribbons can be held between people as well as hands and arms. We'll stay around the building probably 20 minutes starting at 11:00 a.m. -- then off to lunch, research, or museum viewing!”

Further information can be found at Michigan Genealogical Society's website as well as their official press release which contains the above statement and some more information. While feelings behind the scenes are mixed about MHAL closing (it is helping to streamline some parts), the general inclination is that the implications of this loss will only continue the decay of important social programs in Michigan.

Please again, pass this information along and help get the word out. I hope to see as many people as we can muster at the capitol tomorrow.

Marathon Training Day 30

Today's Training: 3 Miles

Total Mileage : 62Miles (Not counting the 3 tonight)



This post is actually far less about the marathon training and more about an interesting development happening over at the Library of Michigan just a little west of my internship at the Capital Area District Library. It appears that as of October 1st, 2009 the MHAL (Michigan Department of History Arts and Libraries) will no longer be its own entity.



Yesterday (7/13/09) at 3:42 PM Jennifer Granholm signed Executive Order 2009-36. This abolishes MHAL and disperses the library collection and staff. It appears that the majority of the staff will be put under the Michigan Department of Education. Others will find themselves elsewhere (Dept. of Information Technology, Services for the Blind will go to the the Dept. of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth's Commission for the Blind). More details will become available as the budget for Fiscal Year 2010 gets hammered out. The rumor floating around right now is that much of the collection maintenance will be handled by Michigan State University.



Along with the abolishment of MHAL as a department, EO 2009-36 establishes the Michigan Center for Innovation and Reinvention Board. From the sounds of things they'll be occupying the Library of Michigan building as they figure out what to do with much of the remaining library resources, buildings and personnel.

One thing that remains unaddressed that was raised by one of my coworkers is how this will affect the Michigan Electronic Library (MEL).

And on that note it's back to work. Creating instructional handouts for the Microsoft Access Database I made for the business librarian. Writing post to come soon.

More Library Things

It is historically understood that library use increases in times of financial need. The library represents the communities access to the information infrastructure, and now with internet being so necessary and prevelant the need for libraries is increasing. With that in mind I got this note from ALA HQ, and figured I'd pass it on again.

Calls to ALL Senators are needed IMMEDIATELY to protect $200 million for libraries, community computing centers and related institutions in the original language of the Senate stimulus bill, H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. We have just been advised that Senators Kent Conrad (ND-D) and Lindsey Graham (SC-R) are expected to introduce Senate Amendment 501 which would strip funding for libraries and broadband to put additional funding in FDIC. If introduced, the vote could take place this afternoon.

The message is: keep the $200 million for libraries and broadband in H.R. 1 - defeat amendment 501. Libraries provide information on jobs, employment skills, and all other types of job-seeking information. More people are using libraries during these difficult times and the demand for broadband is greater than ever.

ALA Office of Government Relations will keep you updated as the stimulus debate continues on the Senate floor. Please watch the District Dispatch for updates.

Please if you feel so inclined, call your senators! Whether or not you are a regular user, for many who are feeling the blows of this financial crisis, the library is a lifeline to necessary programs.