In 2024, Ann Arbor will celebrate its bicentennial year, the 200th anniversary of its founding. To mark this occasion, the Ann Arbor District Library is undertaking a project called Ann Arbor 200.
Over the course of 2024, there will be 200 content releases that explore topics from Ann Arbor's history. Some created by Library staff, some commissioned from artists and filmmakers and writers around the community, and some (we hope) created through partnerships with organizations throughout the city. Some will be informative, some will be whimsical, some will be experimental. The ways we explore these topics—articles, documentaries, podcasts, illustrations, music recordings, animations—will hopefully be as varied as the topics we explore.
But what will those topics be? That's where AADL needs your help. We're looking for suggestions of what you would like to see covered in a history of your city. These could be specific topics ("a history of redlining in Ann Arbor") or general ("something about the trees"). We're looking for input from you on the stories that make up the city around you, whether they're stories you know well or things you've always wondered. Now is the time to get those stories heard and get those questions answered.
Ann Arbor 200 could never be a complete portrait of the city, but we can attempt to tell some of the stories and explore some of the histories that are meaningful to us, the people who are here at Ann Arbor's 200th. Hopefully we can create something about who we were for our own time and something about who we are for those in the future looking back.
Please email annarbor200@aadl.org to contribute your suggestions!