street corner

Two upcoming public meetings will give Ann Arbor residents an opportunity to learn about and provide input on city street projects. On Monday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m., city officials will outline the Street Millage Projects planned for 2007. On Tuesday, Jan. 30, at 6 p.m., officials and consultants will discuss the City’s Traffic Calming Program. Both meetings are in City Council Chambers on the 2nd floor of City Hall.

Tracy Kidder writes about the everyday lives of people—a couple building a home, a year in a fifth-grade classroom, a doctor caring for the poor—but his attention to detail and the nuances in life make his work anything but ordinary. He will visit our community on Thurs., Jan. 25, 7:30 pm at Washtenaw Community College to talk about writing his book, the 2007 selection for AA/Y Reads, Mountains Beyond Mountains—The Quest Of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure The World. Kidder won a Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award in 1982 for The Soul of a New Machine, a now-classic chronicle of the computer age and the people who created it.

Register on this snowy day to learn how weather works! Join the library and the UM Exhibit Museum of Natural History this month in the first Family Science Workshop of the series. Learn about past climates by analyzing petrified tree rings, explore the differences in weather around the world, and discover why global warming is happening.

Children must be between ages 6-11 and attend the program with an adult. Register at the location you would like to attend.

Pittsfield: Wednesday. January 24, 4-5 PM
Malletts Creek: Saturday, January 27, 10-11 PM
Northeast: Saturday, January 27, 2-3 PM

Project Design

Do you design and create your own clothes? Are you a fashion fanatic? Our first ever A2 wide design event is a juried design exhibition and a fabulous opportunity to showcase yout talent. To enter you must attend the Submission Panel Session on Saturday, January 20|2:00-4:00 PM @ the Downtown Library in the Multipurpose Room. The Fashion Show will be on Friday, April 6|6:00-8:30 PM. Complete guidelines can be found by clicking HERE.

Get in the game as the Animanga Club discusses our favorite sports manga and does a cool craft. We’ll be focusing on Prince of Tennis, Eyeshield 21, and Crimson Hero, but come with recommendations of others sports manga that you’ve loved. Pocky and other snacks will be provided. The event will be held from 7:00-8:30 pm at the Malletts Creek Branch on Wednesday, January 24th.

Check out some of the shakers, sliders and traditional noise makers, from around the world, in the small glass case in the Youth Department at the Downtown Library. The AADL Storytellers like to shake it up with these rhythm instruments once in a while. If you get inspired and catch the beat you can grab a pot and spoon and join in the fun with Tanka Tanka Skunk! by Steve Webb.

Science Saturday Workshops!
Questions about Science Fair Projects are coming to the Reference Desks.
Schools are planning Science Night Events.
AND the LIBRARY has Science Events planned in partnership with UM Exhibit Museum.
Keep your eyes on the blogs.
Science Fair Resource Night will be at the DownTown Library. There are Science Saturday Workshops at three Branch Libraries. The January Workshops are at Pittsfield Branch, at Malletts Creek, and at Northeast Branch.
Workshops are for ages 6-11 with an Adult. No younger siblings please.
Family Registration is requested.
Watch for more workshops in February and March.

Reading Rainbow

Calling all Kindergarteners through Third graders! Do you like to write and illustrate your own stories? Enter your masterpiece into the 13th Annual Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest. For entry form and rules, visit the Detroit Public Television website, call (313) 876-8196, or email readingrainbow@dptv.org. The contest deadline is March 27, 2007.

Every entrant will receive a Certificate of Achievement signed by host LeVar Burton. Three stories will be chosen from each grade level as national winners, and be featured in a gala awards show to be aired on Detroit Public Television.
Grand Prize: Laptop
Second Place: Flat Panel TV and DVD Player
Third Place: MP3 Player
Each of the twelve winners will also receive Reading Rainbow library sets of 10 DVDs and books for their home, school and library.

For books and movies that have been featured on Reading Rainbow, check out our collection at the library.

Test time draws near again! LearningExpress Library can help you get ready. Join us in the Pittsfield Computer Training Center and take an e-practice test.

The University of Michigan is holding it's annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium. There are many events going on through out the months of January and February. Most of the events are free and open to the public. For more information please click here or call: 734-936-1055.

The library also holds many great books about Martin Luther King, Jr. and impact he made on our country. Check out About Martin Luther King Day or one of the many other great books the library has to offer.