Legislative Advocacy Group

The mission of the Legislative Committee is to advocate for legislation that is favorable to libraries and to empower MLA members to be strong voices for all Maine libraries: public, K-12, college/university, and special libraries.

MLA advocates for critical funding, access to information, local control, broadband access, digital equity, net-neutrality, and the importance of teacher librarians in every school. We are here to defend challenges to intellectual freedom and the Freedom to Read. 

The MLA Legislative Committee will:

• Collaborate with the Maine State Library, the American Library Association, and the Maine Association of School Libraries (MASL), to identify legislative objectives and priorities. 

• Track state and federal legislation and keep MLA members and the library community informed on bills related to library issues. 

• Work to increase advocacy engagement among Maine library workers by offering workshops, regular publications, and updated web resources.

• Work with the Maine State Library, MASL, and other partners to sponsor a Library Legislative Day.

• Work with other committees to determine the feasibility of hiring a part-time lobbyist to represent MLA.

• Survey membership on legislative priorities. 

• Increase awareness and use of storybanking opportunities through the Library Snapshot Project for 2024-2025.

For more information contact Amy Stone.