Blog Post
Due dates available on your calendar of choice!
by Allison B
If you are the kind of person who depends on your electronic calendar to keep you up to date, AADL has a great feature for you. Due dates, automatically synced to your calendar!
Check it out: On the page where you check the status of your book (the My Account tab), under your current checkouts, there are two little buttons: "iCal" and "RSS". (Don't worry if your calendar of choice is not iCal, other calendars generally accept this format.)
If you have your calendar installed on your device, you should be able to just click the button and select your calendar program and it should load right away.
If you access your computer purely through the internet and don't have the program installed on your device, you will have to copy the URL. To do this, you would right click on the iCal button and press "Copy link location". Then you would find the location in your calendar where you can add calendars: It would be something like "Add by URL", probably on your calendars bar. Then copy the link into the box that asks for the URL and presto! You're in.
If you need help with this or any other tech problems, please feel free to ask at the reference desk or call in.
Blog Post
Holiday Hours
by TimG
On Tuesday, December 31, all Library locations will close at 6 pm. Locations will also be closed on Wednesday, January 1.
Regular hours will resume on Thursday, January 2.
Blog Post
AADL's Library Songsters Program Highlighted
by TimG
For more than a decade, AADL's Library Songsters Program has brought area folk and blues musicians into classrooms though a partnership with the Ann Arbor Public Schools. The program teaches students, with the guidance of a professional musician, how to compose original songs, based on a unit of history or a related subject that students are studying in the classroom.
The just-published Fall 2013 issue of Michigan Music Educator highlights AADL's unique program, which has meant so much to hundreds of area youth.
Blog Post
Are you missing the Summer Game? Here are two ways to help!
by eli
GREETINGS PLAYERS! Can you believe it's December? Winter is here, which means we are almost halfway to SUMMER and the exciting return of AADL's SUMMER GAME! Here at Summer Game HQ, we've got a lot of new things in the hopper, including the still-simmering and long-awaited launch of DOWNLOAD QUEST, coming in January to tide you over until June! But in the meantime, we've got 2 great ways you can fill that SUMMER GAME SHAPED VOID in your lives by helping make Summer Game -- and badging in general -- better!
First, we're working this semester with some University of Michigan Ross School of Business Undergrads from the BOND Consulting Club on a real economic model for the Summer Game to help us make some sense of this crazy planned economy we've concocted! One of the things the BOND team is looking for is some hard data on how much time players spend on different summer game actions. So, if you've got 5 minutes, please help us out by taking this survey:
BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! As you might know, Badging is HOT HOT HOT in education right now. There's lots of attention and desire to understand why people like badges so much! So, a local researcher is doing a study on Badges and is looking for participants. If you're jonesing for more badgey goodness, this might be just the ticket! To find out more and get involved, check out this blog post at BadgeBox for more details. The deadline to get involved with the survey is December 16th, and you'll need permission from your adults if you're not one.
Hopefully that will tide you over a bit! Stay tuned for DOWNLOAD QUEST coming at last in January, and hang in there... SUMMER GAME 2014 is only SIX MORE MONTHS away!
THANKS FOR PLAYING!
Blog Post
C-SPAN In A2!
by TimG
C-SPAN is in town this week exploring Ann Arbor's Literary Culture!
AADL Director Josie Parker highlighted the Library's contributions to the local literary scene at the Tuesday, October 22 opening press conference, held at Literati Bookstore. Joining her were C-SPAN Producer Deborah Lamb: Ann Arbor Area Convention & Visitors Bureau President Mary Kerr; Literati Bookstore Owner Hilary Gustafson; Ann Arbor / Ypsilanti Regional Chamber Vice President for Government Relations Andy LaBarre; Comcast's Director of Community Investment Maria Holmes; and a distinguished audience of local writers, teachers and community and cultural leaders.
Coverage of C-SPAN's Ann Arbor visit will be aired on November 16 & 17 on C-SPAN's Book TV and American History TV.
Blog Post
Halloween at the Library!
by eapearce
Halloween is a great holiday for all ages to celebrate, and the AADL has excellent resources to help you make this Halloween especially fun! Browse in our Halloween section to find books like Tricks and Treats: The Ultimate Halloween Book, A Halloween How-To: Costumes, Parties, Decorations an Destinations, and Halloween: The Best of Martha Stewart Living.
Check out our music collection to find Halloween CDs to help set the scene for a Halloween party or to play while kids get ready for trick-or-treating. We have Spooky Scary Sounds for Halloween, Andrew Gold’s Halloween Howls, 57 Kids Greatest Halloween Songs, Games and Stories, and many other Halloween-themed CDs.
We have tons of Halloween picture books for kids in our youth Holiday section, and we have a number of youth-oriented Halloween events this year, too. There will be two Halloween Parties on October 31st downtown, from 9:30 to 10:00AM and from 10:30 to 11:00AM, and a Halloween Story Time at our Pittsfield Branch that evening from 7:00 to 7:30PM, where kids will be able to hear Halloween stories and make a craft. Come celebrate with us!
Blog Post
Easy English News
by Beth Manuel
AADL carries the Easy English News at all of our locations. This publication is written at a 3rd or 4th grade reading level but with newsworthy topics of interest to adults. If you know anyone who is learning English, this publication is very useful to read. Their website has a lot of handy information, too. You'll find them in the periodicals section downtown or by the newspapers at the branches.
Blog Post
Bill Harley Back by Popular Demand on November 10!
by StoryLaura
There is always a buzz when Bill Harley is coming to town. It’s like we all start chuckling to ourselves just thinking about his songs and stories! The first in his new series of books is going to be a hit with the 2nd-4th grade crowd. Charlie Bumpers is in big trouble! How will he survive a year with his new teacher when he already accidentally bopped her in the head with a flying shoe? Surely Bill will sign your book or CD at his AADL show on Sunday, November 10 at 2:00 pm at The Ark! Can’t wait to crack up!
Blog Post
Parent’s Corner: What’s New
by manz
We are always adding new titles to the Parent Shelf. This shelf is located at the Downtown library in the Youth Department and is where you’ll quickly find a variety of parent-child related books on a multitude of topics- including everything from language to tantrums to bullying to homework. These books are available for checkout, and can be found in the catalog when searching “parent shelf,” if you’d like to have one sent to a branch of your choice.
Here are some new and hot titles on the parent shelf to keep an eye out for:
Beating the lunch box blues : fresh ideas for lunches on the go!
The big disconnect : protecting childhood and family relationships in the digital age
Taking charge of ADHD : the complete, authoritative guide for parents
For more titles, check out this list!
Public Event
Science Fun with FEMMES
Saturday February 22, 2014: 1:00pm to
2:00pm
Traverwood Branch: Program Room
Grades K - 5