<div dir="ltr">Hi all,<div>I wanted to cross-post this, just for some updated and interesting info coming out of Michigan. Hope this helps you all "fight the good fight"</div><div>- Emily O'Neal - OLA IFC Chair</div><div><br></div><div><p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt">Interesting (not surprising)
results from MLA’s survey about book bans.</span></p>
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<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><a href="https://www.milibraries.org/statewide-survey-on-library-issues" style="color:rgb(5,99,193)">Public
Libraries and Book Banning - MLA Public Opinion Survey Results - Advocacy |
Michigan Library Association (milibraries.org)</a></p>
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<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black">In the newly released poll of Michigan voters by EPIC-MRA
commissioned by the Michigan Library Association (MLA), 800 voters
responded regarding awareness of, and attitudes toward, the increasingly
intense and coordinated efforts to dictate the collection content of local
public libraries. EPIC-MRA produced a statewide summary as well as 11
regional summaries based on the Michigan Cooperative Library regions.
Overall findings: Groups and organizations that favor banning books in
Michigan are clearly going against an overwhelming majority of
public opinion that opposes book banning. </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black"> </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black">Bernie Porn, President of EPIC-MRA, said that “a small
minority who are trying to ban books are cynically attempting to limit as
much as possible the teaching of history, especially books discussing
slavery, race, political ideas they disagree with, criticisms of people and
events in U.S. history, and discussions about sex, gender identity or
sexual orientation. About 9-in-10 voters say books on these topics should
never be banned, with 2-in-3 saying the same thing about books dealing with
sexual content.” </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black"></span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black">“We have always known that most voters and parents hold
librarians in high regard, have confidence in their public libraries to
make good decisions about what books to include in their collections, and
agree that libraries in their communities do a good job offering books that
represent a variety of viewpoints,” said Scott Duimstra, MLA’s Board
President and director at the Capital Area District Libraries in Lansing.
“We now have specific Michigan data to back this up.” </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black"> </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black">“The results of this public opinion poll further validate our
position to protect Michiganders’ First Amendment rights and the right to
read,” stated Deborah E. Mikula, MLA’s Executive Director. “This study
provides factual information as well as confirms the significance that MLA
is morally and justly on the right side of upholding the constitutional
promise to protect intellectual freedom.”</span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black"> </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black">Here in Michigan, the findings show:</span></i></p>
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<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black">71% solid majority of all respondents gave local public
libraries in Michigan – including their local public library – a positive
rating for the job they are doing providing programs, services and a
diverse, quality collection of books and other materials to their library
patrons (34% excellent), with only 8% giving libraries a negative rating
(3% poor), and 21% “undecided.” A 79% majority of Democrats, 68% of
Independents and 65% of Republicans offer a positive job rating. </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black"> </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black">An 83% majority of all respondents would support state
legislation that would protect the right of the public to read what they
wish to read in local public libraries and not have books banned. This
includes 95% of Democrats, 89% of Independents and 70% of
Republicans. </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black"> </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black">A 70% majority of all respondents said that librarians are
very capable (33%) or mostly capable (37%) and trustworthy to decide
which books and reading materials should be included in your local
library collections. Another 18% said librarians are only a little
capable (12%) or not really capable at all (6%) in deciding what books
and reading materials should comprise the collection, with 12%
undecided. This includes 85% of Democrats, 67% of Independents and
57% of Republicans. </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black"> </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black">A 42% plurality of all respondents agreed that “there is
absolutely no time when a book should be banned from local public
libraries,” 45% said “there are rare times when it may be appropriate to
ban books from local public libraries,” with 9% saying “there are many
inappropriate books that should be banned from local public
libraries.” A 57% majority of Democrats, a 46% plurality of
Independents and 27% of Republicans say books should never be banned,
with another 40% of Democrats, 47% of Independents and 49% of Republicans
saying books should rarely be banned. </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black"> </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black">67% of all respondents said that “books with discussions
about sex, gender identity or sexual orientation” should never be banned,
with 21% saying they should sometimes be banned and 9% saying they should
always be banned. An 86% majority of Democrats, 76% of Independents and
46% of Republicans said these books should never be banned. </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black"> </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black">A 75% solid majority of all respondents said they agree the
most that “we need to protect the ability of young people to have access
to books from which they can learn about and understand different
perspectives and help them grow into adults who can think for
themselves,” while only 17% agreed that “we need to protect young people
from books that they might find upsetting or that reflect ideologies and
lifestyles that are outside of the mainstream.” A 93% majority
of Democrats, 81% of Independents and 56% of Republicans
agree. </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black"> </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black">An 80% overwhelming majority of all respondents agreed with
the statement that “individual parents can set rules for their own
children, but they do not have the right to decide for other parents what
books are available to their children,” with 15% agreeing that “parents
have a right NOT to have their children exposed to objectional books at
the library and should be able to join with other parents to have those
books removed from the library.” This includes 94% of Democrats, 86%
of Independents and 64% of Republicans. </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black"> </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black">A 77% solid majority of all respondents agreed that “local
public libraries should have a diverse collection of books and reading
materials that represents the community and the world around us,” while
only 15% agree that “anyone who opposes objectional material is just
pushing a woke ideology that is trying to indoctrinate our children with
ideas about LGBTQ, transgender youth and promoting lifestyles that they
should not be exposed to.” This includes 92% of Democrats, 83%
of Independents and 60% of Republicans. </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black"> </span></i></p>
<p class="gmail-xmsonormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Roboto;color:black">Finally, a 57% majority of voters said that they are less
likely to vote for their member of Congress, State Senator or State
Representative in the next election if they support legislation that
would allow or require books to be banned from their local public library
(38% would be much less likely). This includes 81% majority of Democrats,
58% of Independents and 36% of Republicans.</span></i></p>
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