What you have told us
Here you can search through numerous patron comments and the corresponding AADL replies. Search by the type of comment, in general by what the comment is regarding, or by a particular issue.
We care about what you have to say, and do our best to address each and every concern.
Please let us know how we're doing by submitting a comment or suggestion
Search Patron Comments
Type: complaint
Regarding: fines
Patron Comment: I have been trying to pay my overdue fines by my credit card for over a week and it keeps denying me. Is your system down?? I have used this same card by email to book tickets for plays etc without problem during this passt week... Please tell me how I can do this as I rely on being able to use my online account to renew DVDS and books. Nina Scheider
AADL Reply: I'm not sure what the problem was but it looks like your fines have been paid. A couple of things, we only accept Visa and Mastercard at this time and also the number needs to be entered without any spaces. Is it possible that either caused your problem? If not, let me know and I'll do some further checking. Thanks, and I'm sorry for the inconvenience. Diane Dahlem Circulation Manager
Date Received: 2013-04-19
Type: general suggestion
Regarding: - NONE SELECTED -
Patron Comment: What, if anything, is being done about the all day parking at Traverwood? If we need to contact our council member to have that area posted for library patrons only, please let those who actually use the library know so we can start that process. Thank you.
AADL Reply: Thank you for contacting the Ann Arbor District Library with your question about parking at Traverwood! Street parking on Huron Parkway and Traverwood is property of the City of Ann Arbor, and if you would like to share your thoughts on it, then contacting the City is appropriate. Signs have been posted in the parking lots owned by AADL indicating that they are for library patrons only and that cars belonging to non-patrons will been towed. Please contact me if you have additional questions, and thank you for using your Library. Best, Celeste Choate, Associate Director of Services, Collections & Access
Date Received: 2013-04-19
Type: programs and events
Regarding: - NONE SELECTED -
Patron Comment: What a great program of storytelling & music tonight at Main Branch! as usual, Josie Parker deftly delivered a multi-layered, heart warming true story about something real in her life which reminds us in our lives to live generously. i am inspired. Laura Pershin Raynor shared humorous, time capsule, testimony to her father's ethics. Betsy Beckman astonished all with her mastery of several instruments. And Sarah. Shared her lovely voice with a story which reminded us of the first brush of romance. Thank you, AADL, for an evening which reminded us of what is best about lufe at the end id a week which challenged humanity.
AADL Reply: Thanks so much for your comments - we are so glad that you enjoyed the event. Tim Grimes Manager, Community Relations and Marketing Dept. Ann Arbor District Library 343 South Fifth Avenue Ann Arbor, MI 48104 734-327-4265 grimest@aadl.org
Date Received: 2013-04-18
Type: programs and events
Regarding: - NONE SELECTED -
Patron Comment: Dear Youth Librarian: I am thrilled to announce the release of my debut picture book C0ck A Doodle DANCE! And as a local children's author I would love to visit the children at The Ann Arbor District Libraries! I am available for author visits & events ranging from toddler & preschool story times to family reading night events. My animated author visits include a rockin' reading, Q&A session and 'doodle-dance' lesson (IE: dances within the story, such as: Conga, Salsa). You can learn more about me & my book in the current issue of "Macomb Now Magazine". Thank you for your valuable time ... I look forward to hearing your thoughts! All my best, Christine Tricarico christrics@outlook.com 586 930-2390 christinetricarico.weebly.com C0ck-A-Doodle DANCE! Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan Publishing
AADL Reply: Thanks for your interest in Library events and congratulations on your book! We will keep your suggestion in mind for future Library events. Thanks again! Tim Grimes Manager, Community Relations and Marketing Dept. Ann Arbor District Library 343 South Fifth Avenue Ann Arbor, MI 48104 734-327-4265 grimest@aadl.org
Date Received: 2013-04-18
Type: catalog problem
Regarding: website
Patron Comment: I see a link to Personal Card Catalog, it says it's copied my catalog to Personal Card Catalog, click on my lists. I do, and see no Personal Card Catalog (not surprising, as I didn't have one). What is it? How does it differ from wishlist? Is there somewhere where all the recent changes are enumerated and explained?
AADL Reply: Hello, thanks for contacting us. Your personal card catalog (if you had one), your wishlist, and your checkout history can all be found under my lists. This isn't a recent change; the only recent change has been the layout of the search box. Please let us know if you're having any trouble or are missing any lists, and we can investigate further. Thanks again for your patience, and thanks for using your library! -eli Eli Neiburger Associate Director for IT and Production Ann Arbor District Library
Date Received: 2013-04-14
Type: web site feedback
Regarding: catalog/searching
Patron Comment: Currently, there is no way to change the delivery location of the items in my request list. I can change the default location, but that only affects new items that I request. There needs to be a way to change it for the items currently on my list. If there is a way, it's certainly not clear. Thanks
AADL Reply: Hello, thanks for contacting us. We're sorry for the inconvenience, but the system does not offer a way for patrons to change the pickup point of requests that have already been placed. We are doing early work on a new system that would include this and other features, but for now, if you call the renewal line at 327-4219 they can change your pickup points for you, even for requests that have already been placed. Thanks again for your patience, and thanks for using your library! -eli Eli Neiburger Associate Director for IT and Production Ann Arbor District Library
Date Received: 2013-04-14
Type: programs and events
Regarding: other
Patron Comment: At FoolMoon, AADL hosted a motion-senstive wand game. Who are the wands made by and/or what are they called? Thank you.
AADL Reply: Hello, thanks for contacting us, and thanks for visiting us at Foolmoon! Those wands are Sony Playstation Move controllers: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002I0J51U The game is called Johann Sebastian Joust, and right now it only runs on a Mac: http://www.jsjoust.com/ It's still in Alpha and hasn't been released yet. We will bringing it back to Top of the Park this summer, so you can play some more there! Thanks again for your interest, and thanks for using your library! -eli Eli Neiburger Associate Director for IT and Production Ann Arbor District Library
Date Received: 2013-04-11
Type: general suggestion
Regarding: - NONE SELECTED -
Patron Comment: This is partly a suggestion, but more so a question about the library's philosophy regarding Zoom lends. My suggestion piece is to consider making more copies of popular video titles as Zoom lends. However, since you may have very good reasons for keeping the number low (it feels too low, based on my experience) I'm curious to know why the number is relatively minimal. I imagine you have good reasons for that, but I am curious to know the thinking behind the policy. Many thanks for maintaining such a wonderful library system!
AADL Reply: Thank you for contacting the Ann Arbor District Library and for your kind words! I am glad that you enjoy using the Zoom Lends collection. We purchase Zoom Lends DVDs for titles when they are ordered; given what we know about how popular they were at the box office. We also see how popular other titles are with our patrons and purchase Zoom copies for these additional titles. I hope this information is helpful and that if you would like to contact me directly, you reply to this email or call me at 734-327-4241. Thanks for taking the time to write us and thank you for using your Library! Best, Celeste Choate, Associate Director of Services, Collections and Access
Date Received: 2013-04-11
Type: web site feedback
Regarding: - NONE SELECTED -
Patron Comment: Access to digital media? Is it true that libraries can not acquire new book ( recently published) digital media? Because of the purchase of most of the providers by Amazon ( Audible) libraries are now restricted to hard copy books, no audio or ebooks. I feel frustrated about this. I would like to bring this to the attention of the press so people know what has happened but I would like confirmation from my library. That this is correct. Thank you for your help.
AADL Reply: Hello, thanks for contacting us. Yes, it is correct that there are new items that the library cannot obtain in digital format; there are even digital-only items that the library cannot obtain in any format! Some publishers are still not licensing ebooks to libraries, and unfortunately, it's not even newsworthy anymore. However, we do have some ebooks, sold to us at prices far above retail, through systems that can be hard to use and unreliable. You can try them out at http://ebooks.mcls.org . We are also approaching iindependents and smaller publishers to make digital content deals that work for our patrons; one example is Magnatune, a collection of over 12,000 songs in many genres for immediate download, for you to keep! Check them out here: http://aadl.org/magnatune and some other deals in the works. So, while things look grim for the most popular commercial items, there's plenty of opportunity for libraries to stay in the game a bit for a while. Thanks again for your interest, and thanks for using your library! -eli Eli Neiburger Associate Director for IT and Production Ann Arbor District Library
Date Received: 2013-04-10
Type: general suggestion
Regarding: - NONE SELECTED -
Patron Comment: Was surprised and intrigued to learn just now that you loan out energy meters. What I'd really like to be able to borrow is one of these: http://www.scangauge.com/. It plugs into any car, and computes gas mileage and other driving data. I'd like to know how my driving habits affect my gas mileage, but wouldn't need to keep the device once I learned what to do to maximize mileage. Just a suggestion.
AADL Reply: Thank you for your suggestion and your interest in the library! We will consider this device for the collection. Best, Sherlonya Turner Youth & Adult : Services & Collections Manager

