The Ann Arbor District Library Board is hosting three community forums in June to discuss the future of the Downtown Library. In March of this year, the Library Board commissioned an EPIC-MRA telephone survey, and based on the results of the survey, the Board is considering the options on how to provide 21st century services in a building originally built in 1958 and renovated twice. The last of two renovations was completed in 1991. The AADL library system has received 1.7 million visits a year for several years and the Downtown Library alone receives over 600,000 visits each year. The library in Ann Arbor is, and will be, about books for a long time to come, but more importantly, it is about people. How will people use a library going forward, what will people need, and what type of building can provide for that need and those demands?

Currently, the capacity of the Downtown Library is constraining the services we can offer. If the level of service and the array of program offerings currently enjoyed by the thousands of people using the library are to continue to grow into the future, these building constraints need to be considered and addressed.

Please join us for one of three community forums to learn what we know about our current situation, and to tell us what you think about the future of the Downtown Library in Ann Arbor. All three meetings will be held in the lower level multi-purpose room in the Downtown Library.

June 9, Saturday from 10:00 AM to Noon
June 12, Tuesday from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
June 20, Wednesday from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

If you are not able to join us at one of these community forums, questions and comments can be sent to downtown@aadl.org. All questions and answers will be posted on this blog.

Josie

Winning the Teen Short Story contest in 1997, Caitlin Horrocks will be back as a guest speaker at this 20th Year Celebration of teen writers. Caitlin's stories have appeared in Best American Short Stories 2011, and The PEN/O.Henry Prize Stories 2009, among others. Released in June 2011, This Is Not Your City a debut collection of short stories received praise, ". . .impressively sharp" and "appealingly rugged-hearted" (New York Times)

350 submissions were received this year from teens in grades 6th through 12th. All finalists have been notified and will be honored at an Awards Ceremony on Saturday, May 12, 1:30-3:00 pm in the downtown library's, Multi-Purpose Room. The top three winners will receive $250 for 1st Place, $150 for 2nd Place, and $100 for 3rd Place in three grade categories. All finalists will receive certificates honoring their achievement. Stories were judges by an impressive team of authors for teens.
We applaud all the teen writers for their creativity and talent!

Bluefish is the fourth teen novel for Pat Schmatz. This latest book received a starred review from Horn Book Magazine, Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, and School Library Journal. In Bluefish, everything changes for thirteen-year-old Travis, a new student who is trying to hide his illiteracy, when he meets a sassy classmate with her own secrets and a remarkable teacher. Pat currently lives in rural Wisconsin.

She is also a Judge for this year's It's All Write Teen short story writing contest. The panel of 10 judges will look at the finalists in three grade categories of 6-7-8 (Middle School), 9-10 (High School) and 11-12 (High School) and select the winners who will be announced at an Awards Ceremony on May 12, 2012.

Celebrate Children's Book Week by watching the Magic Carpet Theatre bring some classic children's stories to life. They will be performing at the Downtown Library, in the downstairs multi-purpose room on Thursday, May 10 at 7:00 p.m. Featured stories include Dr. Seuss's The Sneetches and Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are.

This is for children in grades K - 5 and their grown-ups.

dia

Join AADL and YDL Sunday April 29 for Día from 1:30-4:30 downtown. There will be super-fun crafts for kids to make; tasty refreshments and we'll feature the festive sounds of Mariachi Mexico 2000, 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!

Circle K Logo

Tutoring sessions will resume on Monday and Wednesday evenings on April 30. Homework Help will continue throughout the spring. Please read on for more details about homework help at AADL.

Looking for help with your homework? Look no further than AADL’s Downtown Library. The University of Michigan Chapter of Circle K is once again providing tutoring for students in grades K-12. Stop by the Youth Department Story Corner Mondays and Wednesdays between 4:00 and 8:00 pm to take advantage of this great service!

AADL also provides access to Brainfuse, an online tutoring service. Live tutors are available from 2:00 -11:00 pm every day!

Josh Fangmeier, a policy consultant with UM Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation, will provide us with an overview of the Affordable Care Act and how it is playing out in our lives since it became law in 2010. The talk on April 11 will be a great opportunity to cut through the sometimes confusing rhetoric that clouds the media discussion of this vital issue for all Americans. Prior to joining CHRT, Josh Fangmeier was a health policy intern at the National Governors Association in Washington, D.C. He holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Michigan, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

Health Care Reform: Its Contents and Challenges | Wednesday, April 11 | 7:00-8:30 pm |
Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

It's the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Learn about another catastrophic shipwreck, the 1956 collision of the
SS Andrea Doria and the MS Stockholm. Survivor Pierette Domenica Simpson who was nine years old at the time, shares her personal and harrowing account of the event when she visits the Downtown Library on Monday, April 16 at 7 pm.

She is the only survivor in history to write a complete account of the disaster, Alive on the Andrea Doria!: The Greatest Sea Rescue in History. Pierette's new young adult novel is I Was Shipwrecked on the Andrea Doria!: The Titanic of the 1950s. Books will be for sale.

madcat

Tuesday April 10, 2012: 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm -- Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

Peter Madcat Ruth has established an international reputation and is a champion of the long-standing tradition of the one-man band. He sings and plays harmonica, guitar, high-hat, ukulele, jaw harp, banjo, kalimba, penny-whistle and pretty much anything else he can get his hands on.

Madcat's repertoire of songs, which he has written or collected over the last 50 years, is quite eclectic. Blues and American Roots Music songs predominate, but elements of Jazz and World Music are also part of the mix.

Madcat's enthusiasm is unpretentious and contagious. His audiences, from pre-schoolers to senior citizens, delight in his performances. Check out or place holds on his albums!

You can also listen to our podcast with Madcat from 2009, where he talks about his career and musical influences...and treats us to his own indelible harmonica rendition of "Take 5."

Make a cool bracelet using simple knots and colorful beads. A couple books that may give you some ideas to try at home are New Macrame Contemporary Knotted Jewelry & Accessories or Hemp Jewelry Hope to see you on April 5, Thursday at the Downtown library from 2-3 pm. Grades 6-Adult are welcome.