AADL-GT old logo: AADL-GT: Videogame tournaments from the Ann Arbor District Library

The weekend after Thanksgiving we have three straight days of video game heaven. Friday - Revolution Hero, Saturday - AADL-GT, and Sunday PL2. Who would believe your library could be this much fun?

Friday Night | 11/28 | 6PM-8:30PM - REVOLUTION HERO - Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution
-Two all ages tournaments with prizes for the top three in each
-High Powered Sound systems, Cobalt Flux pads
Saturday | 11/29 | 12PM-5PM - AADL-GT - Gaming Tournament series (middle & high school students only)
-Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart Double Dash
-Four tournaments with prizes and pizza for lunch.
Sunday Afternoon | 11/30 | 1PM-4PM - PL2 - Public Library Pokemon League
-Battle Revolution and Union Room Tournaments with prizes for the overall top three
-Bring your Nintendo DS and copy of Pokémon Diamond or Pearl and get ready to battle
-Open Play too!

traces of the trade

This powerful film was an official selection of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Traces of the Trade was filmed by Katrina Browne, a first-time filmmaker who discovers after looking into her family history that her New England ancestors were the largest slave trading family in U.S. history. View clips here.

Thursday, November 20 | 6:30-8:30 PM | Downtown, 4th floor | Grade 9 - Adult

children

The Washtenaw Area Council for Children is presenting a series of monthly lectures by local professionals titled, "Tough Times: Helping Children, Families, and Those Who Serve Them Through Economic Hard Times." The Council's mission is to provide educational services to those serving youth to prevent child abuse. On Thursday, November 20, local physician Bethany Mohr will speak on "Neglect: When Do You Intervene?" Lunch is also provided. The series is held at the Washtenaw Intermediate School District Bldg., 1819 S. Wagner Rd. $15 (students, $10) per lecture or $50 (students, $35) for the series. Reservations requested. 434-4215.

The Library has a number of books that may be helpful with this topic. One that's been published recently is Stolen Beauty: Healing the Scars of Child Abuse:One Woman's Story by Amy Madden, an ultimately hopeful story of her recovery from years of abuse by her stepfather.

AADL-GT Pad Logo

This Saturday is the first-ever American Library Association's National Gaming Day @ Your Library. We'll be hosting a Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament, plus DDR and maybe a little Rock Band. AADL's tournament management software, gtsystem is the center of this event, and we'll be coordinating simultaneous events at over 100 libraries, including a 40+ library national brawl bracket, where the best players from around the country will square off online! Don't miss it, this Saturday 11/15 from 1 - 5 PM at our Malletts Creek Branch. Hope to see you there! A2 FTW.

Science experiments mulit-cultural

Join us on Tuesday, November 25 at 6:30 pm for this hands-on science workshop. Learn some science experiments and watch some cool demos based on traditional and new concepts in science and engineering. All kids (by age or at heart) are welcome! It's a night guaranteed to make you want to be a scientist or engineer. Presented by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and Proyecto Avance: Latino Mentoring Association (PALMA) from the University of Michigan.

Survivor<--break-->

November 22nd is National Survivors of Suicide Day and the 10th annual teleconference sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention reaching over 170 sites across the country.

You can register to watch the conference on your computer at home or you can attend the teleconference at the Malletts Creek branch from 12 to 3 pm. Registration is not required for the teleconference at Malletts Creek. The 90 minute conference will broadcast from 1 to 2:30 pm EST.

Dr. Cowie

Join us Sunday, November 16, from 2-4 p.m. in the Downtown Library's Multi-Purpose Room for a talk by Dr. David Bloom on the history of the University of Michigan Medical School. In preparation, consider taking a look at some of our online collections, including this panel about the history of medicine in Ann Arbor from our new online collection of Ann Arbor Founders, or search for the term 'medical school' in The Making of the University of Michigan, 1817-1992.

corn on the cob

A panel discussion is coming up 6-7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17, on “Community Agriculture, Community Health: Connecting Healthy Eating, Community Gardens, and Access to Lower Cost Produce," presented by Project Healthy Schools. Panelists will be Sharon Sheldon, of the Washtenaw County Public Health Department, who works with the community advisory board of the Downtown Ypsilanti Farmers Market; Amanda Edmonds, founder of Growing Hope; and Deb Lentz and Richard Andres, coordinators of the Community Supported Agriculture program at Tantre Farm near Chelsea. The panel discussion will be in Danto Auditorium in the U-M Health System’s Cardiovascular Center, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive. If you’d like to go, contact Jessica Moorman, tessimo@med.umich.edu, 975-3063.

The mastermind who created such legendary recordings as Pet Sounds, Surfin' USA, Friends, and other Beach Boys hits is coming to the Michigan Theater on Wednesday, November 12 at 7:30pm. Brian Wilson is best known for his groundbreaking use of lush harmonies and nostalgic, emotive lyrics which contemporary artists such as Panda Bear, Apples in Stereo, and The New Pornographers continue to ape today. Promoting his 2008 release, That Lucky Old Sun, the concert will feature songs from this recording and, of course, some Beach Boys hits as well.

john green

Join the Ann Arbor District Library in welcoming John and Hank Green on Friday, November 14th, to the Downtown Library at 7 PM.

The brothers are the founders of Nerdfighters—“ We're Nerdfighters. We fight against suck....we fight for awesome. We fight using our brains, our hearts, our calculators and our trombones.” Hank and John communicated for more than a year and a half through videoblogs, and thus became vlogbrothers. What began as an experiment in bringing long-distance siblings closer has become a sprawling community devoted to books, social activism, and the love of all things nerdy.

John Green is best known for his award winning writing. He is a YA novelist and has won the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award for Looking for Alaska, and a 2007 Printz Honor for An Abundance of Katherines. His newest book is Paper Towns.