Rosetta Stone Logo

Rosetta Stone has sent us “formal notice that Rosetta Stone Online will no longer be available to public libraries for use in online database offerings.”

Therefore, the Ann Arbor District Library will no longer be able to provide online access to Rosetta Stone after our current contract expires on March 31, 2008. At that time all public library registered users will no longer be able to log on to Rosetta Stone.

Foreign Language Materials at the Library

In the Foreign Languages section of the AADL Select Sites you can find some basic online instruction through the BBC Languages, FSI Language Courses, Livemocha, and Mango Languages.

We will be adding the substantial subscription price for Rosetta Stone to the library’s budget for foreign language learning materials in order to provide the Pimsleur Language Programs on compact disc (the beginning, intermediate, and high intermediate (Levels I, II, and II) courses).

The library has very good collections of print and audio courses available for check out. Click on Read More for links to the catalog for a few foreign languages or search the catalog under the name of the foreign language you want to learn.

Need to keep up with the latest educational research? Looking for information on testing, special education, or school administration?

K-12 teachers, administrators, and education students can find articles, reports from the US Department of Education and reference material in the Educator’s Reference Complete database.

Find the database in the College, Careers, & Education section of our Research page. And remember, library cardholders can search the database from home!

The University of Michigan School of Dentistry and the Mott's Children Health Center in Flint, Michigan have created a website designed to support Kindergarten through elementary school teachers in their efforts to promote healthy oral hygiene and prevent dental disease. Check out an array of lesson plans, activities and worksheets. Help make those Michigan smiles stay healthy and white!

Pair the lesson with some good books from the library like:
Stories to Go: Teeth
Maisy, Charley and the Wobbly Tooth
Vera Goes to the Dentist
Junie B., First Grader: Toothless Wonder

If you’re planning to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the AADL can help you get ready!

The LearningExpress Library database has online preparation courses and practice exams for the TOEFL that include sections on reading, writing, speaking, and listening. You can also get an overview of the exam and learn test-taking skills.

Access LearningExpress Library from home with your library card!

Value Line Logo

Value Line has finally decided to allow libraries to provide their patrons’ access to Value Line from home and work. AADL cardholders can now research stocks and mutual funds using Value Line from home, work, or at the library.

All branches of the library have the Value Line Investment Survey, the Value Line Investment Survey: Small and Mid-cap Edition and the Morningstar Mutual Funds in paper form. Downtown also has the Value Line Mutual Fund Survey.

Now both Value Line and Morningstar are also available online remotely through the AADL’s Research page.

These two premier investment services will help you make informed investment decisions based on analyst’s reports, investment objectives, risk, return, and the overall rank of particular stocks and mutual funds.

Need an encyclopedia to finish that homework assignment, but can’t make it to the library? No problem!

Library cardholders can access the World Book Encyclopedia Online to find articles, use a dictionary, check an atlas, and more.

World Book Encyclopedia Online is listed in the Kids and Teens section of our Research page.

sanborn

Want to know more about your house? Then you need the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. These indispensable tools for historical cartographic research were created by the Sanborn Map and Publishing Company to help fire insurance companies find who they needed to bill and what they needed to pay, they now serve as an important record of America's urbanization.

The maps cover some 12,000 cities and towns across the country and were published from 1867 to 1970. Many libraries and historical societies will carry maps of their surrounding areas. The Ann Arbor District Library has copies (on micro film) for Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Dexter, Manchester, Milan, Saline, and Ypsilanti (with dates from 1884 to 1948). They can be found in the micro film drawers (2nd floor, way behind the periodicals desk).

Need some support for your side of the debate? Or just want to present a balanced view in your research paper? The Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center database can help.

Find viewpoint articles from both sides of current issues as well as background material, articles, and web sites.

Access Opposing Viewpoints in the Kids and Teens section of our Research page. Search from home with your library card!

vote

Polls open at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 4th. Remember, this election you'll need to show valid I.D. when voting. Visit the Michigan Votes website and you'll get answer to these questions and more: Am I registered to vote? Where do I vote? How do I get there? What type of voting equipment is available? Who is my city/township clerk? Am I eligible to vote absentee? Need to review the candidates and proposals? Visit the Washtenaw County Elections website and scroll down to the November election.

Ann Arbor Cookbook

AADL is proud to present Ann Arbor Cooks, a new online database of local historical cookbooks and heirloom recipes, created in partnership with the Washtenaw County Historical Society, the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor and Ann Arbor Hadassah. The Washtenaw County Historical Society provided the core collection of cookbooks from their archives at the Museum on Main Street and will play a continuing role in enhancing the online collection with more items from their archives. Ann Arbor Cooks also presents a complete set of digital copies of Repast, a publication of the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor. So dig in! You can search or browse the entire collection of recipies; read the cookbooks cover to cover; or send us recipes of your own.