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Congratulations!!!!! So well deserved!</div>
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Lynne Wiercinski, Director</div>
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Ironwood Carnegie Library</div>
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235 East Aurora</div>
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Ironwood, MI 49938</div>
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<div id="divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr"><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size:11pt" color="#000000"><b>From:</b> Michlib-l <michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org> on behalf of Rachel Ash via Michlib-l <michlib-l@mcls.org><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Friday, May 5, 2023 1:59 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> michlib-l@mcls.org <michlib-l@mcls.org><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Michlib-l] Happy news! MLA is the recipient of the 2023 Gerald Hodges Intellectual Freedom Chapter Relations Award!</font>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt; color:black">Passing along some exciting and happy news from MLA!</span></b><span style="color:black"></span></p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">We are so proud to share that MLA has won the 2023 Gerald Hodges Intellectual Freedom Chapter Relations Award! Shout out and thank you to the
<a href="https://www.milibraries.org/committees-work-groups">MLA Intellectual Freedom Taskforce</a> for all the work they put in to make this possible and thank you to all our engaged members and advocates who are standing up for the right to read!</span></p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">The ALA Intellectual Freedom Roundtable’s Coalition Building Committee selected the Michigan Library Association (MLA), as this year’s recipient of the Gerald Hodges Intellectual Freedom Chapter Relations Award.
This $1,000 award recognizes work on intellectual freedom, patron confidentiality, and anti-censorship efforts.
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<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">The selection committee commends the association’s impressive work on the MI Right to Read coalition, Intellectual Freedom Toolkit, intellectual freedom messaging center, advocacy resource fund, and education
programs. It’s clear that the MLA is a strong defender of the right to read, and the resources it makes available benefit Michigan libraries and can serve as a model for other state associations. We are fortunate to have such organizations leading the fight
against censorship.</span></p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Read the news release from ALA here:</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><a href="https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2023/05/intellectual-freedom-round-table-announces-michigan-library-association" title="https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2023/05/intellectual-freedom-round-table-announces-michigan-library-association"><span style="color:#0563C1">https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2023/05/intellectual-freedom-round-table-announces-michigan-library-association</span></a></span></p>
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<p class="x_MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt; font-family:Roboto; color:#058689">Rachel Ash</span></b><span style="font-family:Roboto; color:black"><br>
Membership and Communications Director<br>
Michigan Library Association<br>
3410 Belle Chase Way, Suite 100<br>
Lansing, MI 48911<br>
Phone: (517) 394-2774 ext. 2<br>
<b>Direct: (517) 881-6652 </b></span><u><span style="font-family:Roboto; color:#058689"><a href="mailto:%0bmilibraries.org%0brfash@milibraries.org"><span style="color:#0563C1"><br>
milibraries.org<br>
rfash@milibraries.org</span></a></span></u><span style="font-family:Roboto"></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt; line-height:13.2pt"><b><span style="font-family:Roboto; color:black">Follow MLA on </span></b><span style="font-family:Roboto; color:#058689"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/MichiganLibraryAssociation" target="_blank"><b><span style="color:#058689">Facebook</span></b></a><b> </b></span><b><span style="font-family:Roboto; color:black">and </span></b><span style="font-family:Roboto; color:#058689"><a href="https://twitter.com/mlaoffice" target="_blank"><b><span style="color:#058689">Twitter</span></b></a></span><b><span style="font-family:Roboto; color:black">!</span></b></p>
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