The Michigan Library Association says most voters in the state oppose book bans and is backing that claim with new polling data as it launches a statewide petition drive urging lawmakers to protect the right to read.
“Libraries in Michigan have been faced with a really huge uptick in requests to ban books or otherwise restrict access to certain information really since 2021,” said Dillon Geshel, interim executive director of the Michigan Library Association.
The petition comes in response to rising censorship efforts, including one of the state’s most high-profile incidents in Jamestown Township.
“What the community of Jamestown dealt with at their Patmos Library, where ultimately attempts to remove books led to the library actually being defunded for a while,” Geshel said.
The Patmos Library, located in the small western Michigan town, faced backlash over its inclusion of LGBTQ+-related material. Voters chose to withhold public funding for the library in 2022, effectively defunding it. Community members later raised nearly $100,000 to keep the library operational.
The association’s petition drive is supported by a statewide Epic-MRA poll conducted in June. Commissioned by the Michigan Library Association, the poll found that nearly 80% of voters approve of the work being done by libraries in the state, and 75% trust librarians to make decisions about which books should be available.
The Michigan Library Association says it hopes the petition will send a clear message to lawmakers about the value residents place on intellectual freedom and access to information.
The petition also calls on lawmakers to increase funding for Michigan libraries.