A current resident of Ann Arbor has a story to tell about her remarkable survival during a period of tremendous upheaval and bloodshed a lifetime ago and an ocean away. Miriam Garvil's autobiography "I Have To Survive: Miriam's Story" is available on Amazon and is the culmination of twenty years' worth of work. Ninety-two year old Garvil, who resides in an assisted living facility in Ann Arbor, began writing with the encouragement of social worker Ruth Campbell, who continued to assist Garvil's work even after retiring herself.

"I Have To Survive" reveals the author's past growing up in Poland before the outbreak of the Second World War, and recounts her memories of the concentration camps Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. She lost her mother, father and sister in the camps, and recalls her promise to her father: "If you don't survive, I will survive for you".

You can find more information on Miriam Garvil and her story in this month's issue of the Ann Arbor Observer.

If the bleak winter so far hasn't already had you dusting off your knitting needles or roaming the local craft stores looking for something to do, now's a good time to start! March is National Craft Month, and the Ann Arbor District Library is a great resource for books on sewing, crocheting, scrapbooking, woodworking, and a whole lot more. Dive deeper into your favorite craft or pick up a new one!

Here's some titles from our collection to get you started:
Sewn By Hand: Two Dozen Projects Stitched with Needle and Thread
Knitting Off the Axis: Projects & Techniques for Sideways Knitting
The Weekend Woodworker's Project Collection : 40 Projects for the Time-Challenged Craftsman
Weekend Handmade : More than 40 Projects + Ideas for Inspired Crafting
Home, Paper, Scissors: Decorative Paper Accessories for the Home

The Melendys are ready for adventure! Are you?

In The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright, siblings Mona, Rush, Randy (short for Miranda) and Oliver decide to pool their allowances so one sibling at a time can go on an adventure each Saturday – and so the Independent Saturday Afternoon Adventure Club (I.S.A.A.C.) is born. You’ll be swept right along with Melendys to art museums, circuses, tea parties and more. Pamela Dillman’s excellent narration, complete with some fantastic accents, really brings the Melendys’ world to life.

The series continues with The Four-Story Mistake, Then There Were Five and Spiderweb For Two: A Melendy Maze.

Professional cellist Edward Kelsey Moore, whose short story "Grandma and the Elusive Fifth Crucifix" was selected as an audience favorite on NPR's Stories on Stage series just published his first novel. He lives in Chicago (website).

I sincerely hope you are not expecting The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat * being Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, and Diana Ross, - the sensation from Detroit's Brewster-Douglass public housing project that helped put Motown Records on the map in the 1960s. But seriously, you won't be too disappointed once you've met Odette, Clarice, and Barbara Jean.

Dubbed "The Supremes" since their high school days, these Plainsview (IN) mavens have weathered life's storms together arm-in-arm. Dutiful, proud, and talented Clarice must struggle to keep up appearances as she deals with her husband's infidelities. Beautiful, fragile Barbara Jean must try to live with a youthful mistake that continues to haunt her. Fearless Odette engages in the most terrifying battle of her life while entertaining visitations from her (dead) pot-smoking mother and an inebriated Eleanor Roosevelt. For four decades, what sustain these strong, funny women through marriages, children, happiness, and disappointments, is their Sunday table at Earl's Diner, the first black-own business in this racially divided town, where they can count on good food, gossip, occasional tears, uproarious banter and each other.

"With wit and love, style and sublime talent, Edward Kelsey Moore brings together four intertwined love stories, three devoted allies, and two sprightly earthbound spirits in a big-hearted debut novel that embraces the lives of people you will never forget."

Poised to give Waiting to Exhale, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and Steel Magnolias a run for their money. Readers might also enjoy works by Pearl Cleage, and April Sinclair, or other novels on women's friendship.

* = starred review

In Coast, hosted by the charming Scot, Neil Oliver, who is an archaeologist, author and adventurer and an expert on the history of Celtic Britain, the BBC presents an in-depth excursion around the coast of England. Not just England either - the adventure includes exploring the adjacent coastlines of Britain’s neighbors: France, Ireland, the Faroe Islands, Norway and Denmark. It is an ingenious way of learning about these countries. The coastline of the British Isles is long and beautiful with a unique natural, geological and social history. There is, however, a common flavor to the histories and lifestyles of coastal peoples, from all of these countries and islands, which makes for a unified, though diverse, story.

Each of the fifteen episodes includes 4-5 chapters of exploration, conducted by regular ‘guest stars’ who happen to be scientists, naturalists and historians. Aerial filming provides sweeping vistas of every segment of the coasts, from the white cliffs of Dover to John-o-Groats, and back again. On the ground we visit beaches, marshes, caves and cliffs and many of the creatures that make their homes there, as well as famous ports, castles, lighthouses, resorts, and other human habitations which have sprung up over millennia where the ocean meets the land. Full of curiosities, strange and marvelous stories, beauty and intrigue this series leaves no stone unturned in seeking the heritage and natural wonder of Britain's coast.

For other resources about the habitats and histories of coastal areas look here.

While new content is added, and updated regularly, in your Ancestry Library Edition database, the following new resources are especially noteworthy for 2013:

1. Public Member Trees
Public Member Trees have become the bridge between individual researchers and original records/sources to tell the family story. Many clues about family history can be found in these trees, which include photos, personal stories, etc. Nearly 40 million trees have been contributed by more than two million Ancestry.com members. Until now these trees were visible only to paying members of Ancestry.com (These members have indicated that their tree(s) can be viewed by all Ancestry members). The trees can change over time as users edit, remove, or otherwise modify the data.

The Fine Print: The trees in the Library Edition are read-only. Library patrons cannot edit the existing trees or add new trees. Information about living people is not shown. Each Public Member Tree is owned by the individual who put it on Ancestry.com. Ancestry.com does not verify that any tree or fact is correct, nor will they correct or edit a tree. Library patrons will not have the ability to contact the owner of the tree. Library patrons can submit anonymous comments about any tree.

2. U.S. City Directories
This new feature is a collection of directories for U.S. cities and counties in various years. The database currently contains directories for all states except Alaska. Coverage is 1821-1989. Original sources vary according to directory. The title of the specific directory being viewed is listed at the top of the image viewer page. Check the directory title page image for full title and publication information.The Gale City Directories Collection is included. Searching locally? The Ancestry Library Edition has Ann Arbor Directories from 1886 to 1960!
TIP: Use the Ancestry Card Catalog feature to go directly to U.S. City Directories.

Interested in more information? Join us for our upcoming Genealogy Online Research Class: Thursday March 14, 2013: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm -- Malletts Creek Branch or check out our collection of Genealogy materials.

Spider magazine is filled with stories, poems, and activities that are designed for newly independent readers ages 6-9 years old. Spider is the winner of the 2013 Parents' Choice Silver Honor for its advertising-free fiction, nonfiction, multicultural folktales, humor, recipes, games, activities, and puzzles. Take a look at an interactive Spider magazine sampler by clicking here.

The March 2013 issue features the story, Super Tulip, by award winning author Kate DiCamillo, as well as the Doodlebug & Dandelion series by Pamela Dell, The Giant's Wife, an Irish Folk Tale Retold by Laura Helweg, and the Tanner Mystery by Bonnie Katz, in addition to other engaging stories and activities.

Created in the 90's for Cartoon Network, Dexter's Laboratory is a children's cartoon series about the eponymous Dexter, a boy genius with a secret laboratory from which he conducts elaborate experiments, schemes to defeat his nemesis Mandark, and puts up with annoyingly perky sister Dee Dee. The series is funny and clever, with plenty gross-out jokes for children to enjoy and high-brow references that'll have parents laughing, too.

The first season is now available on DVD from the library. Check it out!

YOU can access almost 1,000 digital music albums directly through our AADL.org catalog. Stream or download as much as you like, DRM free, on any device you choose. No waiting for a copy. No due dates. Hooray!

COUNTRY / BLUES / FOLK
The Ranchhands: Fiddle Driven Modern Country Music
"Driven", the most recent release from The Ranchhands, embodies the best elements of today's country music, featuring the rocking fiddle playing of Chris Tedesco, and the star-quality vocal performance of Mickey Kennedy. Keeping true to the roots of classic country style, combined with a modern Nashville production and refreshing original songs, The Ranchhands' sound will appeal to music fans of many different genres.

CLASSICAL
Ensemble Mirable: Rare and Extraordinary Music of the Baroque
"Influenza Italiana", or the influence of the Italian style, is the unifying theme of this marvelous collection of baroque works presented by Ensemble Mirable in their latest recording. The composers represented on this recording are all Italians who helped develop the unique Italian style of baroque composition, or other Europeans who were influenced by the Italian style -- incorporating Italian elements such as the agitated style of Monteverdi or the virtuosic instrumental styles developed by such composers as Marini and Castello. Among those represented here are Becker, Buxtehude, Uccellini, Ortiz, Buonamente, and Falconieri.

POP / ROCK
Boulevard: Up-Beat Rock and New Wave for the 21st Century
Led by songwriter Benji Barton, these "Athens guitar-pop darlings" deliver a stylish performance of rock, new wave and romantic appeal. With songs of despair and bliss set to a disco beat, Boulevard continues to catch the attention of audiences everywhere. Standout tracks on "Vice and Daring" include Marie and Dreams of Home.

WORLD
Dråm: Swedish Folk Music
Dråm [drohm]: Dialect word from Western Sweden meaning "drone" (a sustained note or chord accompanying a melody), a feature found on instruments like the bagpipe, nyckelharpa etc. Also an awarded Swedish traditional music duo, consisting of the two musicians Anna Rynefors & Erik Ask-Upmark. They have been playing together for over a decade, touring all over the world, and are both "riksspelmän" ("Official master musicians of the Realm"). With their fresh and unique take on Nordic music, these musicians have taken the roots music community by storm.

26 yr.-old Claire is immediately drawn to Harry and Madelein Winslow during a summer visit to the Hamptons. The charmed couple is sophisticated, beautiful and talented (Harry is a National Book Award-winning author), and Maddy is sweet and old-moneyed. They in turn are drawn to Claire's youth, naivety and easy manners. Over the course of the summer, reverence transforms into dangerous desire.

The affair between Harry and Claire and the devastation unleashed on their circle of family and friends, especially on Maddy, is narrated by Walter, her childhood friend who also harbors his own secrets.

Charles Dubow in his first novel Indiscretion*, "proves himself to be an elegant writer... Glamorous settings, old money, and steamy sex all combine to make this one a totally addictive read". Rules of Civility meets Fatal Attraction .

"Dubow crafts an epic novel of friendship, betrayal and undying love".

* = Starred review