Community Vinyasa Yoga

Saturday August 2, 2014: 10:30am to 12:00pm
Traverwood Branch: Program Room
Adults And Teens Grades 6 And Up

Yoga @AADL

Mon, 03/31/2014 - 9:00am by prlhw

Monday March 31 | 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm | Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room
This event is FREE and intended for adults and teens grade 6 and up

Spring is here, but after this tough winter, most of us are still trying to chase the winter blues away - and yoga can help! Join us for a clarifying and detoxifying yoga set with local yoga instructor Victoria Duranona. We will learn about how yoga can be used to detoxify the body, mind and emotions, while cleansing the blood through breathing and movement.

Please note: Bring your own mat or towel to sit/lay on and dress comfortably for the workout.

Under the Radar Michigan

Tue, 02/18/2014 - 3:31pm by Enzy

During this winter season we might all be driven to insanity, so it is nice to be reminded of the wonderful aspects of our fair state. Under the Radar Michigan is the perfect way to combat the desire to flee to a warmer climate. By watching just one episode you will be reminded of all the amazing places that exist in Michigan. When you are cooped up inside, you might as well dream of the local places you can visit once everything thaws or be so enticed by a location that you decide to brave the elements. Either way you are going to be better off. Some of the places included in these videos are Grand Rapids, Traverse City, Detroit, and our very own Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor!

Arborwiki Edit Night At Arbor Brewing

Wednesday April 23, 2014: 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Arbor Brewing - 114 East Washington

Arborwiki Edit Night

Wednesday March 26, 2014: 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Downtown Library: aadlfreespace
Adults And Teens Grade 9 And Up

Let it Snow!

Fri, 12/06/2013 - 7:13pm by skcramer

Snow is on its way, and with it comes plenty of cold-whether fun. From building snowmen to sledding down giant hills, there are lots of great winter activities that can only be done while snow is on the ground. Since the season of snow is almost upon us, I was very excited to stumble upon this book, Snow Play: How to Make Forts & Slides & Winter Campfires, Plus the Coolest Loch Ness Monster and 23 Other Brrrilliant Projects in the Snow by Birgitta Ralston.

If you’re looking for some creative new ways to play in the snow this winter, then this is the book for you. Learn how to make snow ghosts with glowing eyes, marble runs made out of snow, glisten ice charms, and much more. While some of the projects will work great with young children, others require lots of time and special techniques to complete. Fortunately, each project comes with a description of the project’s time frame, difficulty, the type of snow required (fresh, sticky, deep, compressed), the types of tools required, and the number of people needed to complete it.

Vegan Ultramarathoner Matt Frazier Discusses His Book "No Meat Athlete: Run on Plants and Discover Your Fittest, Fastest, Happiest Self"

Wed, 10/09/2013 - 3:08pm by yugure

Vegan ultramarathoner and blogger Matt Frazier will be visiting AADL on Saturday, October 12th at 9:30 a.m. to discuss his new book No Meat Athlete: Run on Plants and Discover Your Fittest, Fastest, Happiest Self, as well as talk about his active, vegan lifestyle. Copies of the book will be for sale, and the event includes a book signing.

This event is cosponsored by VegMichigan, a nonprofit organization promoting awareness of the health, environmental and ethical benefits of a plant-based diet. In conjunction with this event, local business Running Fit (at the corner of 4th Ave and E. Liberty) will be hosting group runs at 7:00 a.m. (for distances over 10 miles) and 7:30 a.m. (for distances under 10 miles). Anyone interested in running is invited to lace up and join them! A vegan breakfast will also be available at The Running Institute (connected next door to Running Fit) from 7:30-9:30 a.m.

There's Still Time to Find AADL's Geocache

Mon, 09/09/2013 - 7:03pm by skcramer

The Summer Game may be over, but you can still look for AADL’s Summer Game Geocache!

Our geocache will remain in place through the end of September, so if you didn’t have a chance to find it over the summer, there’s still time. Plus… you can snag some awesome AADL swag. We’ve just hidden a number of AADL mini flashlights in our cache (not even available from the Summer Game Shop).

So what is geocaching? If you haven't heard of it before, you should know that geocaching is a real-life treasure hunting game. Players can log onto the geocaching website to find the coordinates of caches (small containers usually containing a logbook and inexpensive "treasures"). They can then locate the caches with a GPS or GPS-enabled device. You can find out more about geocaching at Geocaching 101 or from the geocaching books in our collection. You can also find out more by visiting our original geocaching blog post, where we answer lots of FAQs and include a handout for new geocachers.

August is American Adventures Month!

Fri, 08/02/2013 - 12:27pm by yugure

Although summer vacation may soon be over for many of us, there’s still a little time for some impromptu getaways and plenty of time to plan future vacations. August is American Adventures Month, a time to celebrate and explore the vast and varied landscapes of North, Central, and South America.

You’ll find some great adventuresome vacation ideas in Ultimate Adventures: A Rough Guide to Adventure Travel, and if you’re looking for a state-by-state breakdown of adventures in the United States, check out National Geographic’s list of America’s 100 Best Adventures. We’ve also got some great books in our collection like Discover America: A Comprehensive Travel Guide to Our Country’s Greatest Destinations and The USA Book: A Journey through America.

Here are some suggestions from the National Geographic list: Hike the Appalachian Trail (and we even have Jennifer Pharr, 2012 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year and two-time thru-hiker on the Appalachian Trail, coming August 16th to the Downtown Library!), paddle the Na Pali Coast in Hawaii (The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook has a good write-up about it), raft through the Grand Canyon in Arizona, camp in Glacier National Park in Montana, or dive for shipwrecks in the Great Lakes around Michigan!

Want a Fun Activity to Try This Summer? How About a Scavenger Hunt!

Sat, 07/06/2013 - 12:37pm by skcramer

If you’re looking for something fun to do while exploring a new city (or even your hometown), then try an Alphabet City scavenger hunt!

This scavenger hunt is inspired by Stephen T. Johnson’s Caldecott-Honor-winning picture book Alphabet City. As the author explains, “The idea for Alphabet City came to me while I was walking along a city street. I noticed an ornamental keystone that looked like the letter S. Then suddenly I saw the letter A in a construction sawhorse and the letter Z in a fire-escape. At that moment, it became clear that in urban composition I could discover the elements that form the letters of the alphabet.”

To try an Alphabet City scavenger hunt of your own, simply look around for alphabet letters made out of everyday city sights. Is there a K in that sidewalk crack? Can you spot an L in that flower bed? See if you can find all the letters from A to Z. You can even take pictures of all the letters you find. What a fun vacation souvenir!