The second community forum to discuss the future of the downtown library was held Tuesday, June 12 from 7:00 -8:45 PM in the Multipurpose Room at the Downtown Library. We appreciate those who have chosen to spend time talking with us about 21st century library service at the forums held on June 9 and June 12. The third forum will be held Wednesday, June 20, from 7:00 - 8:45 PM in the 4th Floor Meeting Room of the Downtown Library.

I am including the agenda and the content of our information boards, along with this video of the discussion in this message. This update also includes a video tour of some of the non-public areas of the downtown library. Tours will also be available to those attending the forum on June 20, however, the tour is not accessible.

For those of you unable to attend, please don't hesitate to send your comments, questions or concerns to downtown@aadl.org or comment on this post.

Josie

Recording of June 12th Downtown Library Forum

Get the Flash Player

The first community forum to discuss the future of the Downtown Library was held Saturday, June 9 in the Multipurpose Room of the Downtown Library. We appreciate those who have chosen to spend time talking with us about 21st century library service at these events.

I am including the agenda and the content of our information boards, along with this video of the discussion in this message.

For those of you unable to attend, please don't hesitate to send your comments, questions or concerns to downtown@aadl.org or comment on this post.

Josie

Get the Flash Player

The Ann Arbor District Library Board is hosting three community forums in June to discuss the future of the Downtown Library. In March of this year, the Library Board commissioned an EPIC-MRA telephone survey, and based on the results of the survey, the Board is considering the options on how to provide 21st century services in a building originally built in 1958 and renovated twice. The last of two renovations was completed in 1991. The AADL library system has received 1.7 million visits a year for several years and the Downtown Library alone receives over 600,000 visits each year. The library in Ann Arbor is, and will be, about books for a long time to come, but more importantly, it is about people. How will people use a library going forward, what will people need, and what type of building can provide for that need and those demands?

Currently, the capacity of the Downtown Library is constraining the services we can offer. If the level of service and the array of program offerings currently enjoyed by the thousands of people using the library are to continue to grow into the future, these building constraints need to be considered and addressed.

Please join us for one of three community forums to learn what we know about our current situation, and to tell us what you think about the future of the Downtown Library in Ann Arbor. All three meetings will be held in the lower level multi-purpose room in the Downtown Library.

June 9, Saturday from 10:00 AM to Noon
June 12, Tuesday from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
June 20, Wednesday from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

If you are not able to join us at one of these community forums, questions and comments can be sent to downtown@aadl.org. All questions and answers will be posted on this blog.

Josie

You've waited patiently all winter long. You've played the POINTS-O-MATIC CLICK-O-TRON and TREASURE QUEST to tide you over. Now, the plants are budding, the weather is nicer, and you feel it coming: Summer Game 2012!

But what will Summer Game 2012 be this year? Could there be codes hidden in the catalog and around the library? Could there still be badges to earn by hunting deep in the library website? Points for reading, listening, or watching media? Or for going to events, tagging and reviewing items in the catalog, or even just for checking out library items?

YOU BETTER BELIEVE THERE WILL BE!

This year's Summer Game will have all the great things about last year's game, with a healthy dose of new stuff thrown in: all new codes, all new badges, all new items in the Summer Game Shop, all new ways to earn points! AND this year there will be some new features, too: Teams! Tokens! What can those be?

You'll find out soon: Summer Game 2012 starts June 15! Be sure to get on the website the first day to start earning points, make your way to the top of the leaderboard, and try to stay king of the mountain until the game ends August 31! Earning enough points will get you ready to make purchases from the Summer Game Shop when it opens on July 2 (and for everybody who played last year, you still have all of your leftover points to spend, too). And if you missed last year's game, don't worry: you can still earn some of last year's badges and get some of last year's points when Summer Game 2012 starts.

Summer Game 2012! It's a whole new ball game! PLAY!

The Traverwood Branch opened today, Wednesday February 22, regular hours.
Thank you to the many for bearing with us with such good grace through this closure, and, again, we apologize for the inconvenience.

Josie Parker

Traverwood Branch will be closed for necessary repairs and maintenance to the wood floors beginning on Monday, February 13. We plan to re-open the branch by February 23, but if things go well it will open sooner. The finishes used that adhere to standards that are in keeping with the sustainable principles used to build the building have not held up to the high traffic in that location. The floor needs to be sanded, repaired in some places, and recoated and sealed. We could simply throw all caution to the wind and finish the floor like a basketball court, but that seems shortsighted and unjustified. A product that meets our standards, and is proven to hold up well in high traffic areas will be applied. Annual maintenance on these wooden floors will always be required, but it is our hope that extensive work will not be required for years.

Library materials may be returned to the outside Traverwood drop boxes on Huron Parkway or to any other AADL location during this closure. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Unexpired holds will be moved from Traverwood to the Downtown Library after the Branch closes at 6 pm on Sunday, February 12. Unexpired holds that would have been available for pickup at Traverwood during the closure will instead be held for pickup Downtown. If you would like to pick up your holds at a different location, please contact us at www.aadl.org/contactus, call 327-4219 or come to the Traverwood service desk prior to Monday, February 13. We will be happy to assist you.

During the closure please check this website for the many storytimes, computer classes, ESL sessions and events at other AADL locations. Consider visiting the Downtown Library or one of our three other branches.

Thank you in advance for your patience. We again apologize for any inconvenience.

Josie

Is there a new Kindle, Nook, or other eBook viewer at your house? If so, you're probably wondering "How exactly can I get library books on this thing?" AADL offers eBooks through a product called OverDrive, and while it can be a little tricky to get through the process the first time, after you've been through it once it gets a lot easier. You can take a guided tour of the service, or look through the Quick Start Guide. If you have something other than a Kindle or a Nook, you also can check to see if your device is supported.

A few things to know about this service: first, some publishers don't offer their most popular titles to this service, and some don't offer any titles at all. So, the titles you're looking for may unfortunately not be available to libraries in ebook form. Second, publishers want ebooks to be handled the same way as print books, so only one person can have a "copy" of an ebook checked out at a time, meaning that you may have to place a request and wait for your turn on popular titles. You'll get an email when it's your turn to download the eBooks you've requested.

If you run into any trouble or have any questions getting library books onto your new eReader, you might start with OverDrive's My Help, or as always, feel free to contact us with any other questions.

Enjoy your new eReader, and thanks for using your library!

All AADL Library locations will be closed on Thanksgiving - Thursday, November 24.

Regular Library hours will resume on Friday, November 25.

In June, Ann Arbor District Library director, Josie Parker, attended the second UNESCO World Forum on Culture and Cultural Industries, whose "Focus 2011" was "The Book Tomorrow: The Future of the Written Word". In our conversation, Josie discusses what she brought back from her experience in this international arena, as well as her views - and those of fellow librarians, publishers, and authors around the world - on the future of digital publishing.

On Friday, November 4, the Downtown Library was closed all day due to water main work but opened Saturday, November 5, at 9 am.

Holds that would have expired at 9 pm on Friday will remain on the hold shelves until 6 pm on Sunday, November 6th. Overdue fines for the Friday closure will not be charged.

We apologize for any inconvenience.