Blog Post
New Download: Local Artist Papillon's "The Amber Dawn"
by eli
Paris-born Actor, Artist, Musician and Ann Arborite Papillon's first solo album, The Amber Dawn is now available for instant download by AADL cardholders. A bit of hiphop infused with Jazz and Soul makes for an outstanding full-length set of tracks that will find a home in many local music collections. Papillon is also running an Indiegogo Campaign to help fund his newest album, Calligraphy, and it wraps up soon, so have a listen to The Amber Dawn and check Papillon out if you're looking for more!
Blog Post
NPR in Town and at the Library
by eapearce
Did you know that you can access some of your favorite NPR shows and their related materials through the library? The AADL has full episodes of This American Life and A Prairie Home Companion as well as excerpts from some of the more famous segments of the shows all on CD. These are great to listen to at home or in the car, and most are appropriate for all ages. The library also has a collection of CDs called I Heard It on NPR, which showcase some of the more popular singers and musicians that have appeared over the years on the radio station.
Garrison Keiller, the host of A Prairie Home Companion, has also written several novels about the fictional town of Lake Wobegon, which he often references in the show. These include Pontoon: A Lake Wobegon Novel, Pilgrims: A Wobegon Romance, and Lake Wobegon, Summer 1956, among others, all of which you can find at the AADL.
In addition, the NPR show Radiolab, hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, is on live tour this fall, and is stopping next week at the Michigan Theater here in Ann Arbor! You can listen to recordings of previous Radiolab shows on their website, and there are plenty of tickets still available through their site for the live show on October 7, 2013.
Blog Post
Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads 2014: the final two!
by wampishing
The Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads screening committee has narrowed this coming year's read to two finalists, with the theme A Very Good Read. A panel of well-known locals – musician Mark Braun (Mr. B); radio and TV personality Lucy Ann Lance, Ann Arbor Chronicle publisher Mary Morgan, Ann Arbor City Council Member Sally Petersen, and Ypsilanti Mayor Paul Schreiber – will be reading the two books "The Garden of Evening Mists" and "Between Shades of Gray" to determine just will be selected.
You, too, have a say – just head on over to aaypsireads.org and leave a comment about which book you'd prefer! The selection committee will be keeping an eye out for your feedback.
Take a quick look at the descriptions of our two finalists:
The Garden of Evening Mists, by Tan Twan Eng: Malaya, 1951. Yun Ling Teoh, the scarred lone survivor of a brutal Japanese wartime camp, seeks solace among the jungle-fringed tea plantations of Cameron Highlands. There she discovers Yugiri, the only Japanese garden in Malaya, and its owner and creator, the enigmatic Aritomo, exiled former gardener of the emperor of Japan. Despite her hatred of the Japanese, Yun Ling seeks to engage Aritomo to create a garden in memory of her sister, who died in the camp. Aritomo refuses but agrees to accept Yun Ling as his apprentice "until the monsoon comes." Then she can design a garden for herself. As the months pass, Yun Ling finds herself intimately drawn to the gardener and his art, while all around them a communist guerilla war rages. But the Garden of Evening Mists remains a place of mystery. Who is Aritomo and how did he come to leave Japan? And is the real story of how Yun Ling managed to survive the war perhaps the darkest secret of all?
Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys: Fifteen-year-old Lina is a Lithuanian girl living an ordinary life--until Soviet officers invade her home and tear her family apart. Separated from her father and forced onto a crowded train, Lina, her mother, and her young brother make their way to a Siberian work camp, where they are forced to fight for their lives. Lina finds solace in her art, documenting these events by drawing. Risking everything, she imbeds clues in her drawings of their location and secretly passes them along, hoping her drawings will make their way to her father's prison camp. But will strength, love, and hope be enough for Lina and her family to survive?
The official read will take place in January through February 2014. For more information, check out aaypsireads.org.
Blog Post
Ready or not, it's time to head back to school!
by mariah
Just in time, jump.aadl.org is here for parents looking for everything that AADL has to offer kids of all ages. Recommended reading lists, the details on the best upcoming events, homework help, and even guidance on planning your visit to AADL -- jump.aadl.org has it all.
JUMP's is divided into four basic sections:
Recommended Stuff helps you find some of the best books, materials and kits by age or grade, reading level, and topic. Library staff have also compiled handy lists of award winners and favorites.
Plan Your Visit is a section that guides you through the various features in our five locations, gives you links to explore to all sorts of library collections, events and exhibits, and provides tailored information for visiting with various age children and patrons with special needs.
Storytime and Events is your spot for a master list of all of our programs for parents and children.
Homework Help offers direct links to online resources for research and reports, as well as Brainfuse's on-demand/online homework help and information on other in-person fee-free tutoring offered at the Library and in the community.
Whether you're a seasoned library user or new to town, jump.aadl.org gives you the scoop on what's happening for kids at the Library. Take a peek, start exploring, and let us know what you think!
Blog Post
The 2013 Summer Game Shop is NOW OPEN!
by eli
Are you playing the SUMMER GAME at your library? If so, the 2013 SUMMER GAME SHOP is now open for you to spend your points on great AADL stuff! If not, well, what are you waiting for? Players of ALL AGES can have fun earning points by reading, attending events, finding codes hidden in library buildings, and solving puzzles hidden in the AADL catalog, plus tagging, reviewing, and rating items ALL SUMMER LONG! GET STARTED today and see what all the fuss is about with Ann Arbor's most rewarding way to spend your summer! Any questions? Just Contact Us and we'll help you out! Find some codes, read some books, play some games, get some points and trade them in for great stuff like this, delivered to the branch of your choice! It's super fun all summer... DON'T MISS IT!
Blog Post
Planned Maintenance: Requests & Account Access Down Sunday Night
by eli
To complete fiscal year-end close procedures, AADL My Account pages and placing requests will be disabled Sunday night June 30th, starting after 6 PM. We'll get the updates done as soon as possible, and service will be restored by Monday morning. Thanks for your patience, and let us know if you have any questions!
Blog Post
Ann Arbor Commuter Challenge 2013 - Let's Make a Move!
by darla
Employees of the Ann Arbor District Library are signing up to participate in the 2013 Commuter Challenge. Have you signed up yet?? The Commuter Challenge is a fun, free commuting competition where you can win prizes for trying alternative commuting -- walking, biking, busing, carpooling, vanpooling, using the Park & Ride, telecommuting, or moped/motorcycling. For starters, every person who logs just one commute on the Commuter Challenge website during May will receive a coupon for free ice cream from Washtenaw Dairy! There are also lots of great ways for you to win additional prizes by logging commutes, submitting photos, and more. Interested? Get yourself to letsmakeamove.org and join in the fun.
Blog Post
AADL Board Candidate Information Event
by aadl-news
The Library is hosting a Board Candidate Information event for those interested in running for election to the Board of Trustees of the AADL. The event will be held from 6:00 to 7:00 PM in the aadlfreespace at the Downtown Library on Wednesday, August 8, 2012.
Four 4-year terms will be elected in November. Terms begin January 1, 2013 and information about the duties and responsibilities of library trustees can be found at AADL Board. For information on filing to run for public office please contact Ed Golembiewski, Elections Director for Washtenaw County at golembiewskie@ewashtenaw.org or visit http://ewashtenaw.org/government/clerk_register/elections.
Blog Post
Final update; Malletts and Pittsfield Branches back to normal hours
by eli
After overlapping power outages, Malletts Creek branch reopened Friday morning 7/6, and Pittsfield branch will reopen for normal hours at 9 AM Saturday July 7. Thanks for your patience during these outages and welcome back!
Blog Post
Library Closed On Wednesday, July 4
by TimG
All AADL Library locations will be closed on Wednesday, July 4.
Regular Library hours will resume on Thursday, July 5.