THIS IS IT! At midnight tonight, scoring for SUMMER GAME 2011 will come to a sudden end, but that doesn't mean we're OUT OF SURPRISES! First, it's the news you've all been waiting for, players; we've just stocked the Summer Game Shop with this summer's final shipment of stuff, including:

20 more PENULTIMATE SUMMER GAME SILVER SETS
20 more GIGA CHOCOLATE LOGO VICTORY PACKAGES
100 more AMAZING AADL MAGIC BAGS

Plus, our final 5 new items, leading off with the hotly demanded STANDALONE SILVER STAFF WATER BOTTLE! Yes, after demand that can only be described as INTENSE, we've been able to obtain an additional 20 of these SLICK and SHINY bottles, previously only available to AADL staff on their first day, or as part of that PENULTIMATE SUMMER GAME SILVER SET! But that's not all... we've also got the last 4 of this year's Classic Summer Reading Game Collector's Buttons, including some truly special and unusual items!

REMEMBER, the Summer Game Shop will stay open for orders through Sunday, September 18, so you'll have plenty of time to spend your Summer Game Points. Also, any unspent Summer Game Points in your player account will still be available when next summer's game rolls around!

One more note, we're having a bit of a supply problem with AARFIDS, so some of this week's orders, including a few silver sets, did not go out in this Friday's deliveries. We've got the stock sorted now though, so we should get caught up next week... but please allow 3 - 4 weeks for Magic Bag orders, as we work through the final weeks of shopping!

Finally, don't think we're out of surprises yet; there's some yet to come over the weekend, early next week, and then on the first of every month between now and next summer... what could they be? Stay tuned to play.aadl.org to find out!

Sad news, everyone. After having completed their cocoons, the Cecropia Moth caterpillars will leave the Traverwood Branch library this Sunday, and return to the grounds of the Leslie Science and Nature Center. They will overwinter in their cocoons nestled safely in a secure outdoor enclosure, and will be released into the wild when they emerge as North America's largest native moths next spring. Thank you to all who visited them, and you still have a few more days if you want to check out the cocoons.

This is ALMOST IT, players! Only 7 days remain in AADL's Summer Game 2011! We've now crossed 5000 players and a truly staggering 37 MILLION points earned! With only one week to go, that doesn't mean that you're not hungry for one last crop of NEW BADGES, does it? We hope not, because here you go:

Take a look at the Badge Page for some clues on how to start hunting these badges down. If you need help getting started on the Smart Cookie badges, finding the only AADL local history product about food will really get you cooking with gas.

In addition, we've got another load of 5 Classic Summer Reading Game Buttons for the Summer Game Shop, and while the GIGA CHOCOLATE VICTORY PACKAGE is unfortunately SOLD OUT for this year, we will have another big load of the super-popular AMAZING_AADL_MAGIC_BAG restocking in the shop next Friday! And what will happen next friday, as scoring AS YOU KNOW IT comes to a sudden end? What will we all do with ourselves? There's only one way to find out, and that's wait until next Friday! You can stare at that clock if you'd like, but maybe you'd prefer to FIND THOSE NEW BADGES instead! Also, remember that the Summer Game Shop will stay open for orders until Sunday 9/18, so you'll have time to spend your points! Any unspent points will still be in your account when next Summer rolls around, so you won't lose them, or your hard-earned badges!

While you're waiting, check your badge page and make sure you've got that ALL-IMPORTANT Summer Reader Badge, as that's what qualifies you for the Summer Game GRAND PRIZE Drawing where you could win an iPad2, an iPod touch, or a Nintendo 3DS! You've only got until next friday to earn that badge, so make sure to complete your Classic Summer Reading Game and take it to an AADL desk to get your badge!

AADL's Biggest Summer Yet is almost over... and then what? Stay tuned to play.aadl.org to find out!

With just 2 weeks to go in the 2011 Summer Game, we've got another BONANZA of new stuff for all you dedicated players! First the score report; total score has now passed the 30 MILLION point mark with 4800 players completing an ASTONISHING 490,000 actions! And now, the news you've all been waiting for: THE GIGA CHOCOLATE VICTORY PACKAGE has been RESTOCKED! There are 20 more AADL Chocolate Logos now available in the Summer Game Shop, and in addition to that, we've got 6 NEW ITEMS this week! But first, our second-to-last crop of code seeking badges, then keep on reading to find out about this week's EXCITING Shop News!

The AADL Summer Game has an online shop where earned points can be spent on awesome schwag. To try to make it easy for the volunteers and staff to fulfill the orders we took advantage of some of the infrastructure we already had in place for other parts of the site.

As some know our hold notices currently go through a script that sends an email along with printing a custom label to a label printer, that is used for identification on our hold shelves. We reused this process to print a custom pickup/order label every time an order comes through the ubercart game shop by hooking into the payment process. This leaves a spool of order labels that those doing fulfillment can pick up throughout the week and start filling. A spool that has been increasing dramatically in length. This makes it easy for the shop keepers to keep on top of all the orders and properly mark the bags for pickup.

As orders are filled the barcode on the custom label is scanned, which sets the order as fulfilled and adds a notification job to a redis queue. Players have the option of getting SMS notifications (sent through Twilio) or email. Shop keepers can also cancel orders if need be which refunds the points to the player account.

After the items are delivered to the branch destinations on Friday morning, a script goes through the jobs on the redis queue and sends the notifications letting players know their items are ready for pickup.

More background info on our Summer Game is in the works and keep that order spool growing!

The 2011 Summer Game has brought big changes to the way we play here at the library. In addition to the "classic" summer reading game, players can earn points for writing reviews, adding comments and finding game codes at events and locations. Players also earn badges for special accomplishments. We just passed player ID #4000 and we still have weeks to go for even more players to join and earn points and prizes. The pieces that make up the Summer Game are diverse but by adding custom code to the solid foundations provided by these open tools we've been able to concentrate our efforts on adding new content and functionality rather than chasing bugs and putting out fires. Here's some of the tools and technologies that make up the Summer Game:

Drupal: The aadl.org websites run on the Drupal Content Management System. In addition to giving us a framework for writing blogs, creating user accounts and writing comments, it has a extensive API which allows us to leverage those pieces to add our own functionality. A drupal module for Summer Game was created that keeps track of player data, lets players add points through multiple activities, and displays a leaderboard. Players are attached to user accounts, and a simple function which could be placed in any code that runs the site allows us to award points for any website action. The summer game module is available through github: Summer Game module.

So far this summer we've had a magician and a juggler. Now it's time for a ventriloquist. Join us this Tuesday, July 26 at 2:00 p.m at the Pittsfield Branch for a great show by ventriloquist Vikki Gasko and her charming friends from around the world. The show will be repeated at the Downtown Library at 7:00 p.m that evening.

Have you ever tried ventriloquism? Start here.

This Month is packed with all sorts of games! We've got Madden, Marvel vs. Capcom, Smash Bros. Brawl, Mushroom Wars and Mario Kart Wii, Not to mention THE ARCADE MASTER SERIES! The Arcade Master Series is a retro gaming high-score contest with a new retro game to play at each AADL-GT event. Come to different gaming events throughout the season and rack up high scores to earn an invitation to the Arcade Master Tournament in January.

Friday July 22 6:00pm-8:30pm @ the Downtown Branch

Madden Grid Iron Throwdown: Coach your favorite NFL team to victory in our Madden 2011 tournament for PS3.
Marvel vs. Capcom: You think you've got the skills to reign supreme? Time to show what you've got!

Saturday July 23 1:00pm-4:00pm @ the Downtown Branch

National Smash 2: Wanna play some Smash Bros. Brawl? Come to the Library and defend the AADL's national standing. This event will include both a national tournament against other libraries all over America and a House rules tournament.

Sunday July 24 1:00pm-4:00pm @ the Downtown Branch

All-Ages Mario Kart Tournament: prizes in novice and pro brackets!
Mushroom Wars: We've also got a crazy fun take on the speed risk genre of games, Mushroom Wars!

Monday July 25 1:00pm-4:00pm @ the Downtown Branch

PokeMonday: As always you'll need to bring your Nintendo DS or DSi and a copy of your Pokemon game(Black and White won't work Sorry.) Big screen and Union Rooms battles are used for admittance into the finals, so be sure to have Pokemon of all levels trained for battle!

Most of the Cecropia Moth caterpillars at the Traverwood Branch have once again molted (though there are still a few little orange ones hanging around), passing into the developmental cycle scientifically known as "Green Pulsating Terror." To celebrate we've created a new Summer Game code, worth 500 points. Stop by the Traverwood Branch library to visit the caterpillars, which are on loan from the Leslie Science and Nature Center, and find the code to earn your points. Then redeem 'em for cool stuff in the Summer Game Shop!

It's going to be a very exciting week in Ann Arbor. Along with the Art Fair there are always many interesting activities. We're going to provide you with one of them. On Tuesday, July 19 Juggler Jason Kollum will be coming from Chicago to the Library for two shows. At 2:00 p.m. he'll be performing at the Pittsfield Branch. At 7:00 p.m. he'll be at the Downtown Library.

These shows will be fun to watch!!

To learn how to juggle yourself, click here.