Due to the Malletts Creek branch closure, the Facebook 101 class for Wednesday February 27 has been relocated to the Downtown library training center. We'll show you how to join Facebook, make a status update, upload photos, find your friends and more. For a complete class schedule, go to aadl.org/classes.

See you in class.

Wednesday July 25, 2012: 7 to 9 pm Pittsfield Branch

Join us for an introduction to Facebook. You'll walk out of the class knowing more about walls, status updates, pokes, news feeds, timelines, profile pictures, settings, and more. Registration is not required and the classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. See you in class!

Wife 22 * * is "smart, fresh, entertaining, moving and incredibly funny" (I can't say it any better) and perhaps, one of the best Women's Fiction titles this year.

Let's see how YOU would answer the following questions:

#10 Do you believe love can last?
#44 What do you believe should NOT be done in public?
#50 If your spouse gave you one free pass to have sex with another person, who would you choose?
#80 Define passion in one sentence
#88 Has your life turned out the way you would hoped it would?

Like these? Thankfully, debut novelist Melanie Gideon (author of The Slippery Year: A meditation on happily ever after: a memoir, and 2 YA novels: Pucker and The Map That Breathed) provides in an appendix these 110 questions - some survey-generic, some philosophical & probing, some downright invasive but all seriously provocative.

Alice Buckle: spouse of William, mother to Zoe and Peter, part-time drama teacher and Facebook chatter, downloader of memories and Googler of solutions is also "Wife 22". Readers will be privy to her honest and witty response to an anonymous survey on marital satisfaction. Over time, her correspondence with Researcher 101 has taken an unexpectedly personal turn, and soon, she comes dangerously close to making a decision that will affect more than her happiness.

Rights sold to 19 countries and optioned for film. Perfect escapism and a breezy, delightful summer read.

* * = starred reviews

Monday December 12, 2011: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm -- Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

Looking to up your grant-seeking skills for your community nonprofit organization? Join us for this workshop - which has been so popular that we are offering it for a third time - in a lecture format with plenty of available seating.

Returning to the AADL, Karen Downing, the Foundations and Grants Librarian at the University of Michigan, will discuss and demonstrate the various web-based funding databases currently available. She will illustrate search strategies and discuss how to match sponsor and nonprofit priorities. Resources to help with proposal writing will also be addressed in this informative session.

There is no registration for this event - which will have plenty of seating for all!

Facebook: Wednesday, November 30, 2011: 1 to 3 pm, Traverwood Branch

Do you need an introduction to Facebook? Come to the Facebook class and you'll learn about status updates, the wall, news feeds, tags, and more. This class is perfect for folks who need a little help getting started. Registration is not required. Click here for a complete class schedule or drop by any branch location to pick up a computer class brochure.

See you in class!

Drop in at the Malletts Creek branch to learn about Facebook. Sign up for Facebook (it's free) and learn the basics: how to update your status, upload a photo, like or comment on a status, chat, and more.

Monday, July 25th, Malletts Creek, 7 - 9 pm

Classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Classrooms will open 15 minutes before the class start times. Registration is not required.

Brian Solis Online by b_d_solis

An ever-increasing number of people use social networks – Facebook for example boasts an impressive 60 million active users and 250,000 new registrations per day. As people integrate the internet and their social lives however, many are finding their personal lives become a little too public. Here are some tips and resources to help you keep your private life private on your favorite social networks.

1. Use a good password – A weak password (like ‘password’ for instance) is an invitation for someone to hack into your profile.

2. Don’t friend people you don’t actually know.

3. Check your privacy settings – Make sure you know exactly who can see what on your profile. You may be exposing more than you want to.
Facebook privacy tutorial.
MySpace safety page.

4. Don’t overexpose, literally or figuratively – Don’t display your full birthday, address, phone number or e-mail on your profile. Don’t say that you will be away from home, especially if you are on an extended vacation. Don’t post photos of yourself that you wouldn’t want to be seen by complete strangers. Don’t post anything that you wouldn’t say in front of a potential employer, because they may be watching.

5. Talk to your children about social network safety!

6. Read all about it.
Guides to the social web:
The Rough Guide to MySpace and Online Communities
MySpace for Dummies
Social Networking Spaces

Background on the issues:
Online Social Networking.
The Future of Reputation

For kids:
The Smart Kid’s Guide to Social Networking Online.

social network

The Social Nework, considered by people in-the-know as perhaps, the best film of the year, is based on Ben Mezrich's The Accidental Billionaires : the founding of Facebook, a tale of sex, money, genius and betrayal - a fast-paced, inside look at a story of fortune gained and innocence lost, and how a company that was created to bring people together ultimately tore two friends apart.

In 2003, Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerberg were Harvard undergrads and best friends looking for a way to stand out among the university’s elite and competitive student body. Then one lonely night, Zuckerberg hacked into the campus computer system to pull off a prank that crashed Harvard’s network. This stunt almost got him expelled, but it also inspired Zuckerberg to create Facebook, the social networking site, and their small start-up quickly went from college dorm room to Silicon Valley. But different ideas about Facebook’s future tested their relationship that eventually spiraled into out-and-out warfare.

Opening this weekend is Red, a star-studded espionage-thriller, based on the graphic novel by Warren Ellis (writer) and artist Cully Hammer.

Paul Moses (Bruce Willis) retired -- until the CIA, his former employer decided he was too dangerous to live. When a kill team interrupts his solitude, he changes his status from green to red. As the bodies pile up, the men who set this ruthless killer back into action feel safe in their Langley offices without realizing that Moses has a different plan.

To tweet or not to tweet, it’s a personal choice. Perhaps you’re one of the millions who are following Lady Gaga or Ashton Kutcher. Or perhaps you're more into following local goodness like the Ann Arbor News or the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market.

October 1st is Follow a Library Day on Twitter. A day to celebrate libraries and let the Twitterverse know which libraries you love. Do you follow a library on twitter? Your own AADL has a twitter account, if you’re interested in keeping up with us. Or perhaps you’d like to show your love for the Canton Public Library, the Detroit Public Library, the Dexter District Library, or even the New York Public Library. Find your library online and follow it. Nearby libraries often promote their free public events on Twitter, so it’s a quick and easy way to see what’s coming up.

You can follow all the #followalibrary day buzz on their blog. Don’t forget to use #followalibrary as a hash tag! Which libraries do you follow?
Follow A Library

This weekend at a U of M hockey game I sat behind someone that texted, talked, and googled non-stop on their phone for the entire 2 hour game, not once looking up to follow the live action on the ice. This is not a commentary, merely an observation. But I couldn't stop thinking about M.T. Anderson's novel, Feed, which follows a futuristic group of teenage friends, all of whom have 'The Feed' implanted in their brains from a young age.

The Feed functions like a search engine, complete with instant message capabilities and streaming advertisements catered to (or shaping) their personal interests. The characters live their lives unquestioningly until Violet enters their scene, sans Feed, and illuminates the unsettling cost of information overload. Listening to the book on CD is especially engaging, since part of the narrative is the sound of The Feed, channeled directly to the listener.