Now through May 29, 2013 -- Downtown Library: Multi-purpose Room Exhibit, Lower Level Display Cases, 3rd Floor Exhibit & Youth Wall Exhibit

Each year, the Ann Arbor Public Schools come to the AADL to showcase the work of their students. Once again, the developing talents of students from across the city will be shown in the Downtown Library.

Both two-dimensional and three-dimensional art in many mediums will fill the display cases and cover the walls of our art display areas. Come and enjoy the wonderfully creative projects of the students of the Kindergarten through Grade 12 art classes.

Now through June 13, 2013 -- Malletts Creek Branch: Exhibits

This exhibit features the collected works of the Painting Section of the University of Michigan's Faculty Women's Club (FWC). The exhibit covers a large variety of styles and media. The members of FWC strive to enrich the cultural life of the Ann Arbor area by raising awareness of, and by encouraging active participation in, the visual arts.

The FWC is a cross-campus organization, offering members acquaintance and fellowship. Members have been "painting" together since 1929, creating award-winning pieces in a wide variety of media, and learning from one another at weekly gatherings in their homes. Sharing experiences with new media, critiquing one another's work, and encouraging exploration in artistic expression are the basic elements of their continuing study of the visual arts as a group. Shows of their works have been displayed for the past 44 years at venues in the greater Ann Arbor area, including art fairs, art galleries, banks, churches, and libraries.

Saturday May 18, 2013: 11:00 am to 2:00 pm -- Downtown Library: 4th Floor Meeting Room

AADL is has teamed up with the US State Department and Germany's Zukunftswerkstatt (Future Workshop) to present the German-American Gaming League Championships. AADL staff developed the system (gtsystem) used to manage the tournament series. Gtsystem is now used by over 500 libraries around the world.

This first-ever international championship will match up three of Ann Arbor's best gamers with three winners of the German Library Gaming League to pursue ultimate LIBRARY GAMING VICTORY!

Three German Teens, ages 13, 15, and 18, are traveling to the US to compete at this May 18 tournament at the Downtown Library. The teens are guests of AADL and the US State Department and first won tournaments at their local libraries in Germany and then completed in the German Library Gaming Finals in Wolfsburg,Germany on April 16 . They won their trips to the US at the Finals.

AADL and the Zukunftswerkstatt partnered to produce this series of videogame tournaments. The teens will compete against Ann Arbor local gamers in Mario Kart, minecraft, and more. The winning team will claim victory in the first ever German -American Library Gaming Championship

Come cheer on your hometown gamers or our visiting German friends in a madcap sequence of videogame contests, from the familiar to the bizarre with INTERNATIONAL GLORY on the line! The Downtown Library is located at 343 South Fifth Avenue in Ann Arbor. For more information call the Library at 327-8301 or visit our website at aadl.org.

This event is for teens (grades 6 - 12).

Saturday May 18, 2013: 11:30 am to 1:00 pm -- Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

Hey! It's a one-of-a-kind Mad Libs Poetry Workshop with the poets of the Made In Michigan Writers Series. Have some creative (and potentially absurd) fun with some of the state's most renowned authors, as they make their first stop in a three-city, state-wide tour. Poets include Chris Dombrowski, Francine Harris, M.L. Liebler, Jack Ridl, and Keith Taylor.

Team up with a famous poet to create a one-of-a-kind poem. After the poems are completed, they will be read aloud, followed by a reading of original poetry by the Michigan poets. Everyone is encouraged to come and enjoy the readings. 826michigan students will also be joining the fun! Nicola's Books will sell Made in Michigan Writers Series titles. The event includes a book signing.

This event is for adults and teens (grade 4 and up).

Sunday May 19, 2013: 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm -- Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

Help us yarn bomb the Library! Yarn bombing is a form of knit graffiti, and we'd love your help with this art collaboration. Watch on our knit-cam and learn how to knit small pieces with an instructor to help guide you. Experienced knitters and crocheters are also welcome to stitch with us!

At the end of the program we'll take the pieces we created outside to yarn bomb our Downtown AADL outdoor garden. We'll have all the yarn, but please bring size 8 or 10 needles, if you have them.

This event is for adults and teens (grade 6 and up).

Sunday May 19, 2013: 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm -- Traverwood Branch: Program Room

Play one of the world's most popular games with players of all ages and abilities! Chess sets are provided.

This event is for grade K - adult.

Sunday May 19, 2013: 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm -- Downtown Library: Youth Story Corner

Need help with homework? Students in grades K-12 can get homework help at AADL, provided by volunteers for the University of Michigan chapter of Circle K. No appointment necessary - just drop by!

This event is for grades K - 12.

Monday May 20, 2013: 10:30 am to 11:30 am -- Downtown Library: Youth Story Corner

This is a time for babies up to 24 months and their grown-ups to gather and play. The Library will provide the space and a variety of toys.

Each playgroup includes 15 minutes of stories, rhymes and songs. Parents/guardians must remain with their children.

No older siblings, please.

Monday May 20, 2013: 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm -- Pittsfield Branch: Program Room

Washtenaw Literacy's ESL groups focus on speaking and listening skills for adults in an informal, relaxed setting. TOEFL preparation is also available.

Monday May 20, 2013: 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm -- Downtown Library: Training Center

Learn how to adjust your digital photos using Photoshop Elements 6.0 on a Mac computer. Classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Classrooms will open 15 minutes before the class start times. class handouts

Monday May 20, 2013: 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm -- Downtown Library: Youth Story Corner

Need help with homework? Students in grades K-12 can get homework help at AADL, provided by volunteers for the University of Michigan chapter of Circle K. No appointment necessary - just drop by!

This event is for grades K - 12.

Monday May 20, 2013: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm -- Malletts Creek Branch: Program Room AB

Coming this summer, Go! Ice Cream will start a new mobile business biking adventure in and around Ypsilanti!

Learn a bit about proprietor, Rob Hess, and his adventurous variety of local, hand-made, exotic and unusual ice creams. Learn how to make your own fruit popsicles. You could start your own all-natural popsicle stand and become a frozen dessert mogul too! http://goicecreamgo.com/

Monday May 20, 2013: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm -- Malletts Creek Branch: Training Center

Open templates and insert text boxes, photos, and objects. Practice using slide layouts, designs, views, transitions and understand printing options. Basic computer and mouse experience is required. Classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Classrooms will open 15 minutes before the class start times. class handouts

Monday May 20, 2013: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm -- Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

Henry Ford was born the year of Gettysburg and died two years after the atomic bombs fell - and in that time become the most famous and richest man in America.

Richard Snow, acclaimed popular historian and former editor-in-chief of American Heritage Magazine, will discuss Henry Ford and Snow's just-released (May 14) new book "I Invented The Modern Age: The Rise Of Henry Ford," a meticulous and entertaining account of Ford, the Model-T, and the remaking of American industry in the early 20th century. This special event will also include a book signing and books will be for sale.

The car made Ford a national hero-- but that's not the end of the story. Ford was driven by a sense of messianic philanthropy, but once he'd achieved his goal he felt fettered by his very success. In Snow's capable hands, Ford is a tragic figure we watch rise and fall. Filled with scene and incident, character and dialogue, Snow's book presents us with the young, unknown, industrious, and altogether resourceful young man rising in the years when people were vying to build the machine that would define the dawning age in America. In many ways his story is well known, but Snow sheds new light onto this fascinating man by viewing him through his greatest creation-- the Model T.

Richard Snow worked at American Heritage magazine for nearly four decades and was its editor-in-chief for seventeen years. The author of several books, Snow has also served as a consultant for historical motion pictures --among them "Glory" --and has written for documentaries, including the Burns brothers' "Civil War," and Ric Burns's award-winning PBS film "Coney Island," whose screenplay he wrote. Most recently, he served as a consultant on Ken Burns' World War II series, "The War."

Tuesday May 21, 2013: 10:00 am to 11:00 am -- Malletts Creek Branch: Program Room AB

This is a time for babies up to 24 months and their grown-ups to gather and play. The Library will provide the space and a variety of toys.

Each playgroup includes 15 minutes of stories, rhymes and songs. Parents/guardians must remain with their children.

No older siblings, please.

Tuesday May 21, 2013: 10:00 am to 10:30 am -- Downtown Library: Youth Story Corner

Join us for stories and songs for listeners age 2 to 5 years, accompanied by an adult. Siblings are welcome.

Tuesday May 21, 2013: 11:00 am to 11:30 am -- Traverwood Branch: Program Room

Join us for stories and songs for listeners age 2 to 5 years, accompanied by an adult. Siblings are welcome.

Tuesday May 21, 2013: 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm -- Downtown Library: Training Center

Learn how to enjoy eMedia at aadl.org. Download Audiobooks using Overdrive Media Console, eBooks using Adobe Digital Editions, and music MP3's from Magnatune. Listen to podcasts and browse Videos on Demand. If you have a library card, bring it with you. class handouts

Tuesday May 21, 2013: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm -- Downtown Library: Training Center

Learn how to use online forms, job applications, and job sites like Pure Michigan Talent Connect. Basic computer and mouse experience is required. Classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Classrooms will open 15 minutes before the class start times. class handouts

Tuesday May 21, 2013: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm -- Pittsfield Branch: Program Room

Are you ready to reexamine long-standing ideas about parenting? Tired of being the referee? Eager for new ideas to help the kids resolve squabbles?

Heather Shumaker, the author of "It's OK Not to Share..And Other Renegade Rules For Raising Competent And Compassionate Kids" breaks down age-old parenting conventions and offers new ideas based on emerging neuroscience and child development. This event includes a book signing and books will be for sale.

Learn counter intuitive ideas about sharing, saying 'sorry,' coping with angry outbursts, rough play, social rejection, toy weapons and other topics. Be prepared to change your mind! Heather's presentation will lead you to confront deeply meaningful questions about parenting and communities in today's world.

Heather is a speaker, journalist, blogger and advocate for free play and no homework for young children. She's been featured on Fox & Friends TV, Huffington Post, New York Post, Parenting, Parents.com, USA Weekend, Wisconsin Public Radio and other media.