There's more to borrow at AADL than books, music, and movies. Check out these unusual items during your next library visit.

Art Prints

Do you get tired of the same pictures on the wall month after month? Are you a student who doesn't want to spend a lot on decor? Then AADL Art Prints are for you. AADL has hundreds of reproductions and original pieces. Up to three art prints can be checked out for eight weeks at a time. Browse the prints in the catalog or visit the second and third floors of the Downtown Library.

Bi-Folkal Kits

Older adults carry a rich history with them. Bi-Folkal Kits provide activity ideas and materials that allow older adults to reminisce and create connections with others. These kits, which can be checked out for two weeks at a time, focus on several different themes and can be adapted to inter-generational settings, religious groups, scouts, or schools. Browse the catalog for available kits.

Book Clubs to Go

A successful book club can take a lot of preparation, but AADL's Book Clubs to Go (BCTG) can help. For a variety of popular and lesser-known titles, both fiction and non-fiction, AADL has collected ten copies of the featured book, one copy of a movie DVD (if available), and a resource folder with summaries, reviews, discussion questions, etc. BCTG kits can be checked out for six weeks and browsed in the catalog.

Brain Quest and Fandex Family Field Guides

Brain Quest Question and Answer Card Decks:
Each set contains decks of cards, held together at the bottom with a grommet. Questions are on one side of the card, and the answers are on the next card, so kids can play it alone or with friends. In this fast-paced world, it's a way to take a brain break with your children, have some quiet time, and make learning fun. “It’s Fun to Be Smart!” is the slogan and philosophy behind these fast-paced, curriculum-based educational games that challenge kids on the stuff they need to know. Choose from 20 different sets, for preschoolers on up to 7th graders.

Fandex Family Field Guides:
50 full color die-cut cards, bound together, put knowledge at your fingertips. In the Dinosaurs deck, each dinosaur is illustrated in amazingly life-like detail, accompanied by information on size, diet, and lifestyle. This deck also includes key paleontologists, fossil-finding methods, and a glossary. Or try The Wonders of the World, for an introduction to our most magnificent buildings and monuments. From Egyptian pyramids to the International Space Station (the only man-made wonder not on earth), it covers 4,500 years of world history. There are over 20 family-friendly sets available.

You'll find both Brain Quest and Fandex in the Youth sections at all Branches and Downtown. Look for the bright green bags, hanging near the red Book-and-CD Kits.

Energy Meters

Concerned about how much energy you are using? Check out one of AADL's energy meters and see just how much energy a given appliance uses. The meters are simple to use; just plug it into both an outlet and the appliance and then read the display. If you're more interested in how much energy a set of devices use, try our 10-outlet emeters. This energy meter monitors voltage, line frequency, KWH and current leakage. You can tell how much power you’re drawing and how much you’re losing while the built in surge protector keeps your gadgets safe. It even tells you if your outlet isn’t properly grounded. We also offer an advanced 8-outlet wireless energy meter set. Use the wireless set to monitor multiple outlets across your entire home. Energy Meters are loaned for two weeks and can be requested in the catalog.

MI Big Green Gym

The Park and Read program is becoming the MI Big Green Gym program on June 1, 2013, and will run through October 1, 2013. For information about MI Big Green Gym go to the Michigan Recreation & Park Association website. Passes will be available at all AADL locations on a first come/first served basis (they may not be requested or held). Bring the MI Big Green Gym card to any service desk with your library card. You will get an entrance pass for the activity of your choice on one day during the following week.

Michigan Activity Pass

This year, the Michigan Activity Pass replaces the Museum Adventure Pass. Beginning May 24 “Michigan Activity Pass presented by The Library Network” will be available at all of Michigan’s nearly 400 public libraries. Some of the participating cultural partners include the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum in Marquette, the Monroe County Historical Museum, the Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum in Mackinaw City, and many others.

How the Program Works
Library users with a valid library card from one of Michigan’s nearly 400 public libraries can print a pass, either from home or at the library, to one of the nearly 60 participating institutions at the Michigan Activity Pass website. Some cultural partners offer complimentary or reduced price admission; others, discounts in their gift shop or other exclusive offers for MAP pass holders only. Each Michigan Activity Pass expires within one week from the date it is printed. Each library will have five passes for each of the participating organizations available.

Click here for 2013 MAP locations.

Music Tools

AADL's newest collection offers you a chance to get your hands on some very uncommon, unusual, and fun musical instruments! The AADL Music Tools collection features musical gear that you can check out from the Library, from such noted manufacturers as Moog, Korg, Maywa Denki, Bleep Labs, Chamber of Sounds, Critter & Guitari and more!

For now, Music Tools are not renewable, and not requestable. You can find them at the downtown library near the circulation desk, and they check out for one week. As the collection grows, new ways to borrow will be coming!

Science to Go

Each Science to Go kit contains a mixture of objects such as dinosaur fossils; scale models; and preserved insect specimens, along with interpretive materials such as books; DVDs; and Fandex guides. There are a variety of kits to choose from which you can browse in the catalog: get a close up view of the life cycle of a honeybee; examine in detail a gigantic Woolly Mammoth molar; develop a hands on appreciation for dino poop, and more!

Stories to Go

Teachers, parents and caregivers will love these Stories to Go kits. Inside each is a collection of picture books, CDs or DVDs, and a resource folder of games and activities for young children all related to a theme. Each kit can be checked out for four weeks. Browse the catalog to request these themed kits.

Telescopes

Our circulating Orion Starblast 4.5" Astro Reflector Telescope, brought to you in partnership with the University Lowbrow Astronomers, is a powerful yet fully accessible scientific instrument and a perfect family-friendly scope for entry-level and intermediate astronomy enthusiasts. Telescopes circulate for two weeks, with an option for renewal if there are no outstanding requests, and you can return them to any branch location. Read more about the collection and viewing tips for stargazing near Ann Arbor.

Zoom Lends

Want a popular book or movie without having to place a request and wait your turn in the request queue? Check if it's available as a Zoom Lends Book or Zoom Lends DVD. Zoom Lends is a rental collection of our most popular titles. The cost is only $1 per week and copies are available at all library locations on a first come, first served basis.