Blog Post
Finding Grant Funding For Community Nonprofits
by hillary dorwart
Monday December 12, 2011: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm -- Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room
Looking to up your grant-seeking skills for your community nonprofit organization? Join us for this workshop - which has been so popular that we are offering it for a third time - in a lecture format with plenty of available seating.
Returning to the AADL, Karen Downing, the Foundations and Grants Librarian at the University of Michigan, will discuss and demonstrate the various web-based funding databases currently available. She will illustrate search strategies and discuss how to match sponsor and nonprofit priorities. Resources to help with proposal writing will also be addressed in this informative session.
There is no registration for this event - which will have plenty of seating for all!
Blog Post
Finding Grant Funding For Community Non-Profits
by hillary dorwart
Wednesday, July 13, 2011: 10:00 am to 12:00 pm -- Downtown Library: Training Center
*Registration required: Register Now
Looking to up your grant-seeking skills for your community non-profit organization? Help your non-profit by attending this hands-on workshop!
Discover the online resources that can assist you in getting operating and programmatic grants for your non-profit. Additionally, there will be discussion about matching sponsor and nonprofit priorities and resources to help with proposal writing.
Karen Downing, the Foundations and Grants Librarian at the University of Michigan, and French Studies librarian, Jennifer Bonnet will discuss various web-based funding databases currently available, illustrate search strategies and give you time to look for funding for your own organization.
Registration is required for this session. Register online at aadl.org, in person at any location or by calling 327-4555.
Blog Post
Etsy Class!
by Stewart
Join us for an Etsy class next Tuesday, June 14th from 7 to 9 pm at the Malletts Creek branch. Learn about the online marketplace from a local Ann Arbor artisan, photographer, and business owner, Kate Kehoe. Kate owns Chicalookate, and has been in business on Etsy for over 5 years. Check out the book, Craft, Inc, to learn more about making your hobby your business.
Registration is not required. Classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. For a complete class schedule, click here.
Blog Post
Financial Times
by jimmyg
What will 2011 bring in politics, business, and finance? Will it bring inflation or deflation? A combination of each? And how will this impact the U.S. economy? With the stock market dominated by HFT, how can the retail investor navigate the current conditions? Many governments are prescribing fiscal austerity to address serious budget deficits. How will austerity impact economic recovery? What's the cause in the recent surge in the price of commodities and what does it mean for the cost of goods and services here in the U.S. as well as globally?
The Financial Times newspaper can help sift through these issues and others by providing commentary and analysis in international news, business, finance and economics. Based in London, it publishes several international editions. The U.S. edition is published Monday through Saturday and is now available at the Downtown location on the second floor. It's easy to spot since it's printed on salmon-hued newsprint.
Other titles available at AADL that cover international, business, and investment news include: Barron's, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, The Economist, Investor's Business Daily, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.
For more business and investment magazine titles, click here for print titles, and here for online magazine databases.
Click here for online business databases, and here for Value Line and Morningstar investment databases.
(Note that in order to access the online databases from outside the library, you will need an aadl.org username and password.)
Blog Post
The Art of Couture in Ann Arbor
by cecile
Enter the sophisticated world of couture when Rebecca Lambers, “Couturiére,” Fashion Designer and Exclusive Dressmaker visits the Downtown Library at 7:00 p.m. on September 29th.
One of Ann Arbor’s unique treasures, Ms. Lambers’ is an exclusive dressmaker and fashion designer, who specializes in creating unique custom clothing for women. She was showcased at the Detroit Institute of Arts in conjunction with fashion photographer Richard Avedon and was profiled in the May 2010 edition of Hour Detroit Magazine. Current Magazine calls her 'the fanciest stitcher between Chicago and New York.'
Rebecca will talk about her life in art – showing images, garments and presenting a few live models to illustrate her process of connecting with the ideas of each client and highlight the value of useful, tangible, beautifully made objects.
Blog Post
UCSB Professor Discusses His New Book, 'The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business'
by shannon riffe
Wal-Mart is the world's largest company and it sets the standard, both socially and commercially, for a huge swath of the global economy. On Wednesday, September 8, at the Downtown Library, UCSB History Professor Nelson Lichtenstein will discuss the company's national and international influence.
Blog Post
New Arrivals for Career Assistance
by cecile
Top 300 Careers: Your Complete Guidebook to Major Jobs in Every Field is a great guidebook for career changers, job seekers, students and employers. Culling information from the Occupational Outlook Handbook by the U.S. Department of Labor, this book gives an overview of employment projections through 2018, reviews major trends, has explanations of job descriptions and a job-match grid that helps in choosing a career. A fine resource to find out about jobs in every field.
Expert Resumes for Career Changers has over 100 resumes created by professional resume writers for careers in health care, technology, business management, sales, marketing, recreation, sports, education, performing arts, government and law enforcement. Packed with excellent examples and advice, it is an outstanding tool for revamping your resume or creating a totally new one.
Whether you are job hunting or preparing a presentation for work, Successful Presentation Skills is a book you will find very useful. Learn how to present your case with advice on structuring a presentation, choosing the right words and phrases, knowing your audience, understanding body language and gaining the confidence to bring your message home.
Blog Post
Small Business Loans
by cecile
A major problem facing small business owners today is the difficulty in arranging credit and bank loans to finance ongoing operations. Many financial institutions have been reluctant to lend money at a reasonable rate, if at all.
One retailer, Sam's Club, realizing this situation was impacting their business customer's ability to buy at their stores, has gotten creative. About half of the store's members are small business owners and they account for more than half the revenue at the retailer. As a result of surveying their customer's needs, they will soon start marketing S.B.A. loans of $5,000 to $25,000 for members nationwide. The company that is managing the loans is giving Sam's members a $100 discount on the application fee, and lower interest rates, because of how much business it expects through the arrangement. You can learn about how it works at Sam's Club S.B.A. Program.
The Ann Arbor District Library has many resources designed to help small business owners.
To find potential new business use Reference USA to get detailed information on over 15 million businesses including company size and sales information, stock information, and management biographies. To discover new ways of doing business and up-to-date management techniques use General Business File to find millions of articles on business and finance for analyzing company performance, industry events, and the latest in management, economics, and politics.
Legal Guide for Starting & Running a Small Business, Deduct It!: Lower Your Small Business Taxes, The 7 Irrefutable Rules Of Small Business Growth and The Small Business Start-up Kit are just a small sample of the many books we have devoted to helping the small business owner.
Blog Post
The 100 Most Creative
by jimmyg
The feature story in the June issue of Fast Company is The 100 Most Creative People in Business 2010. You may know James Cameron, Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, Jamie Oliver and Elizabeth Warren, who are on the list, but do you know Ping Fu, Dele Olojede, Igor Puseniak, Kr Sridhar, Beth Simone Noveck and Majora Carter?
It's helpful to know that the editorial team tasked with compiling the list couldn't include anyone who was on last year's list or who's been featured in the magazine before. Therefore, you won't see Steve Jobs, John Legend, Mark Zuckerberg and many others who might normally qualify for such a list. Nevertheless, the editorial team feels that their choices still "reflect the breadth of new ideas and new pursuits at play in our business landscape."
Take a look and see who else is on the list. There are 90 more to learn about...
Blog Post
National Outburst Week
by cecile
Congressman Joe Wilson, Serena Williams and Kanye West bestowed upon the world the first National Outburst Week, as treating people with dignity and respect seems to have gone out the window. It is a major concern of our time, both in private and work life. A recent book, The Cost of Bad Behavior by Christine Pearson, delves into this timely issue by trying to quantify the effects of rude, uncivilized behavior in the workplace. Just what happens when you’ve been verbally assaulted by a coworker or a customer, tried to communicate with someone while they are texting, or made to feel left out of the loop during a team project? It can cause stress, health problems and weakened commitment.
Pearson looks at companies with strong leadership that implemented policies designed to create an environment where civilized behavior, dignity and respect are taken very seriously. And guess what? When the talk is walked from the top down companies can quantify the positive effects to their bottom line. Three cheers for dignity and respect!!!