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Blog Post

Happy Birthday, Dr. Salk!

by amy

In honor of Dr. Jonas Salk's 100th birthday, we've just posted a few photographs and articles from our archives celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Jonas Salk, the American medical researcher and virologist who spent time at the University of Michigan doing critical research on the influenza virus before inventing the first successful polio vaccine.

On April 12, 1955, the vaccine was declared to be safe and effective and within weeks was being shipped around the world.

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Blog Post

Falling Water Books & Collectibles to Close

by amy

The owners of one of Ann Arbor's signature stores, Falling Water Books & Collectibles, just announced they will be closing after 26 years. Here's a 1988 article and photograph (left) from the store's grand opening in July of that year. Falling Water was first located at 318 S. Ashley St., and later moved to Main St.

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Blog Post

Fairies in the Library!

by eapearce

Wow! Have you seen the new display in the downtown youth department? It was created by FAIRIES! As many of you know, the fairies have a special house here at the downtown library. Lots of fairy-lovers come and leave little notes and gifts at this house for the fairies—which they love! To say thank you for all these beautiful presents, the fairies have displayed some of them next to the youth desk along with a special thank-you note!

Of course, fairies don’t just live at the library: there are fairies all over Ann Arbor! There is even an urban fairy village near the library and another fairy village in Nichols Arboretum. It’s clear that we in Ann Arbor love fairies… and that fairies love us! Are you interested in creating your own fairies? The library has lots of resources that might be of help to you. Try Drawing Faeries: A Believer’s Guide, How to Draw and Paint Fairies, or Forest Fairy Crafts: enchanting fairies and felt friends from simple supplies.

If you’d rather just read and learn more about fairies, of course there are tons of great fairy stories at the library too. We have The complete book of the flower fairies: poems and pictures, which has beautiful illustrations accompanied by memorable and detailed poems about fairy life. There’s also My Treasury of Fairies and Elves: a collection of 20 magical stories, the beautiful The Little People: stories of fairies, pixies and other small folk and The Hidden Folk: stories of fairies, gnomes, selkies and other hidden folk.

Are fairy movies your thing? There’s the classic Ferngully, in which fairies help to save a rainforest from being cut down, and the enchanting Fairy Tale: a True Story, which tells of how two little girls discover real fairies and get swept up in the ensuing controversy in post-World War I England.

Happy fairy-seeking!

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Blog Post

Now Available at AADL: Instant Streaming of 'The Michigan Beer Film' and Podcast of Ann Arbor Brewing History

by SaraP

Michigan craft beer has taken off in recent years, developing hoards of dedicated followers and providing some truly amazing beers to our local communities. In fact, the Michigan beer scene is experiencing rapid growth and what better way to explore this fascinating (and fun) local craft industry than with The Michigan Beer Film?! Produced by Rhino Media, a Kalamazoo based visual media production company with lots of talent, The Michigan Beer Film is a top-notch documentary about the beer that our great state is crafting and the people behind it.

AADL is proud to be partnering with Rhino Media to make this film available through instant stream directly from our catalog! Just click on this link or search the catalog, sign in to your library account (linked to your AADL library card), and – voila! – watch the movie. Watch it instantly online without worrying about setting up apps, or going through a third party. Easy!

And if that’s not enough, check out this podcast interview with local beer historian and author of “Ann Arbor Beer” David Bardallis. He discusses the history of brewing in Ann Arbor for a fresh and entertaining perspective on our town’s important role in the making of Michigan beer.

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Blog Post

The Monuments Men Revisited

by oldnews

The Monuments Men, the movie with George Clooney and Matt Damon, was based on the book The Monuments Men : Allied heroes, Nazi thieves, and the greatest treasure hunt in history by Robert M. Edsel.

The real Monuments Men were a group of men and women from thirteen nations, most of them volunteers, who were museum directors, curators, art scholars and educators, artists, architects, and archivists. These mostly middle-aged family men, walked away from successful careers into the epicenter of the war, risking—and some losing—their lives. They raced against time in order to save the world’s greatest cultural treasures from destruction at the hands of Nazi regime.

Two of these brave men lived among us quietly for decades, one, Charles Sawyer was previously blogged about here, the second was Ralph Hammett.

Professor Hammett taught in the architecture department at U of M starting in 1931, with a hiatus to join the army in 1943, and retired from the University in 1965. His work as one of the Monuments Men and a noted architect will be forever remembered in Ann Arbor having designed some homes as well as buildings such as an addition to the Ann Arbor (then Women's) City Club on Washtenaw, the St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church parish hall and chapel, the Lloyd Douglas Memorial Chapel, and the Lutheran Student Center. He also designed the Abraham Lincoln Memorial in Springfield, Illinois. He was named “Architect of the Year” in 1957 by the Michigan Society of Architects. Hammett died in 1984. You can read Old News articles about him here. There is also an extensive website created by his grandson here.

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Blog Post

Check out that newfangled voting machine!

by amy

Voting Machine Demonstration, March 1942

On your way to the voting booth today, consider what passed for cutting-edge voter technology in Tree Town back in March 1942.

Oldnews has over 200 articles and photos of past Elections in Ann Arbor and 160 that reference past Ann Arbor Mayors, including this one of former Mayor Cecil O. Creal taking the oath of office - with his left hand - 55 years ago.

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Blog Post

A Community for Victory - Ann Arbor in World War Two

by amy

AADL is pleased to partner with the University of Michigan Stephen S. Clark Library to explore community life in Ann Arbor during World War Two. "A Community for Victory - Ann Arbor in World War Two", which will be on display May 1-August 1 on the 2nd floor of the Hatcher Graduate Library, makes use of AADL’s local historical archives, the Clark Library's map collection, and special materials from the the American Culinary History Collection.

Among the documents on display from AADL’s collection are Ann Arbor News articles and photographs highlighting homefront activities during World War II, including the promotion of victory gardens, scrap drives, and bond drives. Nearly 800 additional articles and photographs from the World War II era are available via AADL’s Oldnews site.

An opening reception will take place at the Stephen S. Clark Library, 913 S. University Ave., on Thursday, May 1st, 4- 6pm, with coffee and light refreshments provided. Public welcome!

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Writing & Publishing

Nerd Nite Ann Arbor: June 19, presented by AADL at LIVE 102 S First St.

Thursday June 19, 2014: 7:00pm to 9:30pm
LIVE (102 S 1st Street)
Adults

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Blog Post

AADL partners with UMS to present UMS Rewind

by amy

AADL is pleased to have partnered with the University Musical Society to help build UMS Rewind, a searchable database of performances, programs, and photographs from 135 years of UMS history.

Open to all researchers, this unique research tool is available for searching by composer or composition, conductor or performer, and provides access to repertoire, programs, and other material detailing the unique legacy of UMS and the history of touring in the performance arts in America.

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Public Event

The African-American Cultural & Historical Museum Of Washtenaw County Living Oral History Project

Sunday September 28, 2014: 3:00pm to 5:00pm
Downtown Library: 4th Floor Meeting Room