Join AADL and YDL Sunday April 27 for Día from 1-4 downtown. There will be fun crafts for kids; storytelling (¡en Español!) & refreshments. We will feature the festive sounds of Mariachi Cora Jose Bueno so come on down! This event is for all ages to enjoy, and parking is free on Sundays. ¡El Día de Los Niños El Día de los Libros!

Bring a partner or find one here and play in our Doubles Tennis Tournament on the Wii console. Show off your backhand or serve up an ace. Prizes will be awarded to the top two teams. See you on Saturday, March 22nd at 1 PM at the Downtown Library Multipurpose Room. All ages are welcome. We’ll battle across the net until 5 PM.

It's all about mischief when Ivan the Terrier by Peter Catalanotto jumps into every story and little caterpillar, tricks all the big tough animals for the last week of January at the Wednesday Downtown and Thursday Pittsfield storytimes.

If you have been thinking about writing your memoir, and are fifty or above, this is the time! Register now by calling 327-4560 for the free 8-week workshop, Reconstructing Life Stories, starting Jan. 17 at 1:00-3:00 (Group 1) or 3:00-5:00 (Group 2). Past participants praise social work librarian Sally Lawler for creating a comfortable atmosphere, where they feel safe to read their thoughts to the small group and to receive helpful suggestions and encouragement. AADL has several books that can help you start keeping a journal and learn more about how to write your life story.

Claymation Puppet Workshop Returns! And Claymation Animating Workshop Debuts!
Brad Pattullo returns to teach the popular Claymation Puppet Workshop on Friday, January 4 from 11:00-4:00 at the Downtown Library. Brad will guide participants through the process of fabricating a clay puppet for animation-- from character design, to the assembly of a posable aluminum wire armature, and scultping with plasticine clay - you will come away with a fully-realized stop-motion puppet for animation or display. Pizza and drinks will be served! Registration is REQUIRED - call 327-8301 to save your spot! NEW this year is the Claymation Animation workshop on Saturday, January 5 from 11:00-4:00 PM at the Downtown Library. Participants MUST bring a clay puppet made at any previous AADL Claymation Puppet Workshop. Brad will lead participants in the painstacking and technical proces of stop-motion-animation with clay puppets. Everyone will learn the basics of animation and make arrangments to animate their puppets at a later date on our sets. No registration for this event! Pizza and drinks will be served! See you there...

Join the Pokemon Frenzy! Bring your DS and your copy of Pokemon Diamond or Pearl to battle in such places as the Pokemon Union Room or the Hoenn Underground! Prizes will be award to the top two finishers each day. Come at the beginning of the event to register to be in the tournament.

December 26: Level 50 & Under Tournament
Downtown Library Multipurpose Room, 1-5 PM

December 27: Level 51 & Over Tournament
Downtown Library Multipurpose Room, 1-5 PM

December 28: Pokemania Championship
Downtown Library Multipurpose Room, 1-5 PM

Don’t have a Nintendo DS? Don’t worry about it. Come anyway and battle using our house Pokemon. Or bring your XD and have impromtu matches with friends at the event. Hope to see you there!

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).

Join us for the French Family Cultural Celebration on November 4 at 2:00 pm at the Downtown Library for a French sing-along with Isabelle Ryan, a snack of biscuits, a display of French materials and a stained glass window craft!

How better to spend a Sunday afternoon than 5 hours in the basement of the Downtown Library!? We start @ 12 when the library opens with DDR, Wizzywig will be there to sell there wares, and help judge the Cosplay contest (btw no one showed to the contest this summer - which left many $$s in Wizzywig gift certificates unclaimed - don't let this tragedy happen again!) and gab. Then from 2:00-3:00 or so members from the A2 Go Club (including our own Joy) will be on hand to teach and play this ancient, strategic, fun board game. After that we'll be screening anime until 5:00. Food and drinks of course and hopefully you and many friends will be on hand.

Local media icon and Found Magazine creator was pictured as one of the top 20 people to watch (who happen to be Jewish) in the fall issue of Heeb Magazine. The magazine paired the individuals with their favorite photographer. Davy’s cheesy snapshot was taken by Sears Portrait Studio, reminiscent of a 3rd grade school photo. Oy vey!

New at the downtown library in the Youth foreign language collection on the 1st floor in the Youth department, there will soon be a selection of children's Portuguese books including picture books and titles for older children. Put a hold on the books through the library catalog and have them delivered to the branch of your choice or browse the shelves downtown. If you have any questions, suggestions, comments on Portuguese titles or any foreign language books, please e-mail stantont@aadl.org.

A selection of the new titles:
A girafa que comia estrelas
O meu livro
Doze reis e a moca no labirinto do vento
O castelo verde
O cavalo da noite

Evelio Rosero, the Columbian author of several novels as well as stories for children and teens and previous winner of the Columbian National Literature Award, won the Premio Tusquets Editories de Novela in 2006 for his book Los Ejercitos, a novel about a small Columbian town that is devastated by fighting that erupts between various armed factions in Columbia. Told through the narrator Ismael, a retired teacher who is losing his memory, Criticas Magazine says the book has "undeniable elegance and a masterly command of the Spanish language, and offers a profound exploration of human life in the face of irrational violence."
Reserve this book through the library catalog or look for it on the shelf on the third floor of the downtown library in the foreign language collection.

Did you borrow a digital camera to take vacation pictures this summer? Are you ready to buy one for yourself but find the terminology confusing and the options in the digital camera market overwhelming? Then sign up for the Library’s class Buying a Digital Camera. Find out what a megapixel really is. Discover the difference between optical zoom and digital zoom. This free class will be held on September 17 at the Downtown Library in the third floor Computer Training Lab. Space is limited so register soon at any Branch or by calling 327-8367.

Join us this Monday @ the Downtown Library’s Multi-Purpose Room from 2:00 to 4:00 for the last meeting of the Animanga Club. Gear up for this fall’s Naruto Nation by watching episodes of the anime and making your own ninja headband. Can you name all the members of Team 8, or match the signature move to the character? You won’t want to miss our trivia quiz—there are cool prizes from Wizzywig for those with high scores. We’ll also have updates on our fall anime/manga events. Snacks and drinks will be provided. See you there!

Art Prints are on display from the 5th Annual Teen Graffiti Art Contest, held on July 20th at the downtown library. 50 artists turned out on a windy art fair day to paint a spontaneous piece of art.
1st Place - Andrea Herrero - "Untitled"
2nd Place - Tyler Vane - "The Shadow of the Sun"
3rd Place - Mina Hirzel & Nika Olzewski - "Bunny's Honey"
Titles overall ranged from "An Alaskan Wilderness" to "Hope is Green" to "Inspired"

Come check out these works of art at the downtown Library's 3rd floor gallery space and in the Multi-Purpose Room. The exhibit will last until August 31st.

Thanks to Jerzy Drozd a local published graphic artist, who judged this year's contest.