New! All Tools are now Requestable!

Tue, 09/03/2019 - 8:26am by eli

Good News Everyone! AADL's industry-leading Tools Collection is now available for request! Most tools go out for 1 week (with a few extended loan tools, such as sewing machines and telescopes) and can be renewed one time if there are no outstanding requests on that item.

You can request tools for pickup at any location, with the exception of a few oversize tools, like Guitars, or Giant Connect Four, which can only be requested for Downtown Pickup.

Thanks to those of you who have used our experimental Tools Event Bookings! We are winding down the experiment for the Winter while we use what we've learned to build a new Tools Event Booking system that will be easier to use. We will stop accepting new Tools Event Booking requests on September 30, and Event Bookings won't be available for dates after October 31st. The service will be back in the spring with a much easier process and the ability to see your bookings from your My Account page.

Pittsfield Branch closing for Renovations 9/23

Tue, 09/03/2019 - 8:02am by eli

We're continuing a year of branch upgrades with some updates for the Pittsfield Branch Library. The branch will close at 6 PM on Sunday, September 22, for 6-8 weeks of work.

The updated Pittsfield branch will have three new bookable meeting rooms, including a large 35-person meeting room with screen for presentations. Also there will be new public computers and kids game computers, and the book collection will be converted to categories.

During the closure, any requests with a Pittsfield pickup point, or Pittsfield Summer Game Shop Orders, will be held at Westgate Branch. If you'd like your items ready for pickup sent to another branch, you can change the pickup location on your My Account page before it's ready, or just contact us when your items are ready and we can send them along for you.

Library Closed on Monday, September 2

Mon, 08/26/2019 - 1:05pm by richretyi

All AADL locations will be closed on Monday, September 2. Regular Library operations and hours resume on Tuesday, September 3.

It's the FINAL SHOP DROP! Including... SURPRISE CHOCOLATE!

Fri, 08/23/2019 - 6:49pm by eli

This is it, players! The Final CLASSIC SHOP DROP of SUMMER GAME 2019! Featuring an assortment of DELIGHTFUL products, all announced in advance... and a BIG SURPRISE! Yes, deep in the recesses of the SUMMER GAME PRIZE VAULT we found a tub... a heavy tub, filled with MYSTERY and LUXURIOUSLY smelling of the roasted beans of the CACAO. Sure, this chocolate is a year old... so we TOOK ONE FOR THE TEAM and tasted it. AND IT WAS GOOD. This Chocolate is 100% safe, 100% edible and 100% DELICIOUS! Limit one per household, please, this is all we have and we know that EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!

But, that's not all! Beach Balls! Field Notes! Ultrapremium Messenger Bags! Cray Cray Crayons! The return of the enigmatic BEVERAGE WRENCH! With this drop, everything that's in the shop is now in there, so GET SHOPPING!

Especially if you want one of this year's Logo or Summer Game Baseball Shirts. To allow time for manufacturing, the cutoff for ordering either shirt is THIS SUNDAY, August 25th at Midnight. After that, the shirts will no longer be available to order, so if you want one, order one THIS WEEKEND!

And don't miss the excitement at next Saturday's GAME OVER GALA, at the Downtown Library from 3-5 PM on 8/31! Featuring both LIVE and SILENT AUCTIONS for rare Summer Game prizes and art... you won't want to miss this special event! The Auction begins at 4 PM and you'll need to register as a bidder, so arrive in time to get bidding! 

Summer Game is ROLLING towards the Master Badge drop and the LAST DAY for points... so make the most of these waning days of Summer, and THANKS FOR PLAYING!

Downtown Library Closed for Water Main Work (August 20)

Mon, 08/19/2019 - 10:09am by richretyi

The Downtown Library will be closed Tuesday (August 20) due to water main work. All other locations are open as normal. We're sorry for the inconvenience.

More VINTAGE BUTTONS! Plus, IMPORTANT SHOP DEADLINES!

Fri, 08/16/2019 - 6:52pm by eli

Good evening SG Faithful! We've got the last two of our classic, retro, entomological / herpetological buttons for you tonight: that's the AAPL Shirted Ladybug and the AAPL Reading Rattler buttons! And then, a week from tonight is the last SHOP DROP of Summer Game 2019, featuring 6 classic items! You can see details in this blog post from earlier this summer. But while we've got you, we wanted to remind you of some IMPORTANT DATES!

• Wednesday, August 21: Last Day to Order Bluetooth Speaker
• Friday, August 23: Final Shop Drop of 2019
• Sunday, August 25: Last Day to order AADL Logo T or AADL Baseball T!
• Saturday, August 31: Last Day to earn SG 2019 points, and don't miss the Game Over Gala and Points Auction!
• Monday, September 9: Last Day to order from the Summer Game Shop!
• Thursday, October 31: Last Day to pick up 2019 Summer Game Shop Orders!

That's the scoop y'all, have fun through the home stretch and don't let these deadlines sneak up on you! See you next week for the last Shop Drop and THANKS FOR PLAYING!

SHOP DROP: 2 more vintage buttons, plus some AUCTION DETAILS!

Fri, 08/09/2019 - 6:42pm by eli

HELLO SUMMER GAME FAITHFUL! We're in the home stretch, with just a skosh over 3 weeks left in Summer Game 2019! So tonight, we've got 2 more vintage buttons from the Summer Reading Game days of Yore, and we'll have two more next Friday, followed by our last Shop Drop on 8/23. You can see details about that in this post from a few weeks ago. But for tonight, for you hardcore button collectors, we've got two of our absolute favorites: #10 AAPL Reading Frog, and #12 AAPL Happy Axolotl!

Then, be sure you're planning to attend the GAME OVER GALA on August 31st, where we'll have both Silent Auctions for some rare Summer Game Shop items, and a LIVE ART AUCTION for real art we just CAN'T WAIT TO GET RID OF! We'll start the auction around 4 PM, so make sure you arrive in time to get registered as a bidder and get your bidder card! We'll tell you at that point how many points you have to spend, so don't go into POINTS DEBT! During the auction, you just raise your Bidder Card to say that you are willing to pay the amount the Auctioneer is seeking for that item. Remember that that act is binding; you can't change your mind after you bid! We'll explain it all in person, but this is sure to be FUN and FASCINATING, so come young and old to bid on great stuff at the Gala!

We'll see you there, and THANKS FOR PLAYING!

Classic Shop Drop! Plus, FISH ELECTION RESULTS!

Fri, 08/02/2019 - 7:00pm by eli

Greetings, Players! Assuming any of you want anything to do with the Summer Game Shop, or Emoji, after attempting the insane UNIQUE ODE badge, we've got 6 items dropping into the Classic Shop today! CHECK IT:

But THAT'S NOT ALL! Today also marks the release of the LONG-AWAITED FISH PIN SET! You can now add this delightful item to your cart and welcome the AADL FISH SQUAD to your home! (Squids not included.) And SPEAKING OF FISH, we all know you've been on veritable FINS AND SPINES waiting to hear the results of last week's FISH ELECTION! So, read on, and find out!

SHOP DROP: Patches, Buttons, and finally.... COFFEE!

Fri, 07/26/2019 - 6:54pm by eli

It's the moment you've been waiting for! Our amazing ROOS ROAST SUPER SUMMER GAME BLEND is finally available! Only the freshest beans are bagged up weekly to fill our orders; you won't get free coffee from a library ANY FRESHER THAN THIS!

ALSO! We've got the return of some VERY RARE items that only you TRUE S.G. O.G.s are going to recognize; it's the return of VINTAGE LIBRARY BUTTONS to the SUMMER GAME SHOP! Plus a surprise AADL APOLLO AT 50 Patch! Astounding!

Stay tuned for a HUGE Shop Drop next Friday August 2, and don't forget that LIVE POINTS AUCTION coming up at the Game Over Gala on August 31st! Have fun and THANKS FOR PLAYING!

SHOP NEWS: All About Classic Shop Drops... and AUCTIONS??!?

Fri, 07/19/2019 - 5:45pm by eli

GOOD EVENING SUMMER GAME FAITHFUL! We have some good news, and some bad news, and some just news. GOOD NEWS FIRST! Out of nowhere, a new CLASSIC SHOP ITEM has appeared! It is not super-exciting but it is TOTALLY NEW to the Summer Game Shop! If you're a Skatepark Fan, or perhaps became one last weekend at the Summer Game Spectacular, you can EMBLAZON SOMETHING with a Skatepark Sticker or Three! Only a limited quantity is available, but take a look in the Classic Shop for the Skatepark Sticker Set!

Now the bad news; we're not ready to accept Coffee orders yet. Don't blame our pals at Roos Roast, this one's on us. The bags for the coffee have not yet arrived and we don't think we'll be ready to ship Coffee next packing day, so we're delaying the opening of Coffee orders a few more days so that orders don't get mixed up. We won't make you wait until next Friday, so if you're desperate for Coffee, keep your eyes on the shop Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. It's all about the FRESHEST coffee and the LEAST LOGISTICAL COMPLEXITY in that order, so stay tuned, and thanks for your patience! We're so sorry for the delay!

So, here, for your ANTICIPATORY PLEASURE, is (most of) the Classic Shop Drop schedule for the rest of Summer Game 2019. We're focused on keeping the number of items in the shop at once down, as that leads to ERRORS and UNCERTAINTY, but we want you to have a crack at a lot of great stuff from years past. The items in the Classic Shop right now will stay up until sold out or until 7/31, whichever comes first. Then, here are our two other major CLASSIC SHOP DROPS and what they'll contain:

• Friday, August 2nd, 7 PM:
  • 2018 Pinteel Umbrella
  • 2018 Pint Glass
  • 2018 Pocket Boombox Bluetooth Speaker
  • S.G. Giraffepants
  • 2018 Emoji Hackey Sack
  • Used Heavy-Duty Stories-to-go Bags
• Friday, August 23rd, 7PM:
  • Secret Lab Field Notes Notebook
  • Multicolor Beachy Ball
  • 2017 Cray Cray Crayon
  • Ancient Bird Sliding Puzzle
  • 2015 Red Ultrapremium Logo Messenger Bag
  • Keyring Beverage Wrench

Those are the big ones! We also have some of our RARE and HIGHLY DESIRABLE Vintage Buttons from the ancient history of AADL; these will appear in the shop on Fridays when there isn't another Classic Shop Drop, starting next week. These are very limited quantity and are priced for the HIGH ROLLERS among you who treasure PRICELESS and BIZARRE AADL Memorabilia!

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL! We're experimenting with some Silent Auctions of Artwork for points at our SUMMER GAME MIXERS as the Summer goes on, leading up to something VERY SPECIAL and UNIQUE at the Game Over Gala on August 31st! If you're able to attend that event, you may be able to BID WITH YOUR POINTS on both treasures from the Summer Game Shop, and works of Art that have previously been part of AADL Exhibits! We're hoping to have both silent and live points auctions at that event, so CLEAR YOUR CALENDARS, players! 

Hopefully that is almost ENOUGH INFO about what the Summer Game Shop has to offer this Summer; as always, let us know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, and THANKS FOR PLAYING!

p.s. If you're read this far, it's because you're observant and studious. And you're surely wondering about some weird stuff in the 2019 shop descriptions. All will be revealed with the August 2nd badge drop!