Press enter after choosing selection
Graphic for events post

Blog Post

It's the FOURTH Badge Drop!

by eli

OH MY WOW! Summer Game is BIGGER THAN EVER! The ever-growing momentum is such that NOT EVEN A FEDERAL HOLIDAY CAN STOP IT! Let's make like Kai Ryssdahl and do the numbers, which reveals an ASTOUNDING 3,265 players, scoring almost 23 MILLION POINTS and earning 17,500 BADGES! Can you even wrap your BRAIN around this? We're only a quarter of the way through summer, and we sure can't!

And even though it's Independence Day, we know that our most hardcore players are ENTIRELY DEPENDENT on these Friday Badge Drops, and we certainly wouldn't leave you hanging all weekend with only week-old content to entertain you. SO LET'S GET TO IT!

2014 Badge Drop #4
echo theme_summergame_badge(771,773,775,778,777,774,780,776,779,772,782,783,784);
?>



If you missed any of our Kids Rock Concerts over the past three Sundays, it's too late now to earn TOP MASTER, but it's not too late to play TOPOPOLY for fun and BIG POINTS! Come to the Library on the Lawn tent at Top of the Park THIS SUNDAY JULY 6 from 4-8 PM to play TOPOPOLY, it's fun and challenging! And mark your calendars for Monday, July 21st; there will be a BIG BADGE associated with that night's Library Board meeting, so stay tuned for details in next friday's badge drop.



But of course, you're just here to see if we drop any hints about the long-awaited return of the SUMMER GAME SHOP, now only a few days away! Well, we'll tell you there are a TON of cool new items in the shop, and it will be opening for your SUMMER GAME SHOPPING pleasure sometime Monday Night! We've got plenty of supply to go around so no worries about missing out! (and if you're really desparate for a peek at summer game shop items past, present, and future, well, you might need to find a web geek, or at least look where one would look, to find a hidden clue in this post.)




SO, stay tuned, players, SUMMER GAME 2014 is just getting warmed up! Hang on tight with these new badges for your Holiday weekend, and come back Monday Night for the triumphant return of the SUMMER GAME SHOP!



THANKS FOR PLAYING!

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Amazing Magazines!

by iralax

Whether you call them periodicals, zines or just plain magazines you will find some cool selections in the aadl magazine collection which, except for the current issue, can be put on hold with your library card and borrowed for two weeks. Titles like Michigan Riparian, Pointe, Bee Culture, Brick Journal, Treasures, Babybug, Cheng Ming, Scrapbooking & Beyond, G.I. jobs, or a multitude of popular glossies can be browsed at the library or at aadl.org. That’s also where you can click on Research and use the General Reference Center Gold database for magazines that we no longer carry. No matter what you call them, AADL has a magazine for everyone!

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Summer Reading Lists

by muffy

Instead of the lists and lists that the NPR staff put together each year to launch your summer reading, this year they tried something utterly ingenious. They focused on literary travel - by train, plane, car, bike, boat, foot, city transit, horse, balloon, rocketship, time machine and even a giant peach. It is called Book Your Trip. Try it out.

Librarian Extraordinaire Nancy Pearl shared her favorites in Maps Out A Plan For Your Summer Reading.

LA Times Summer Books Preview 2014 has just about everything to tickle your reading fancy - from Fiction, Mystery & Thriller, SF & Fantasy, Biography & Memoir, Sports, Pop Culture, to Science and Lifestyle. There are lists for the young readers in your life.

Publishers Weekly's Best Summer Books.

Confounded by too many choices? Glamour Magazine has The 10 Best Books to Add to Your Summer Reading List.

Looking ahead, you could get a jump on the Fall movie tie-ins.

Association for Library Services to Children, a division of the American Library Association offers lists of book titles to keep children engaged in reading all summer. BONUS : Each list is available to download for free in color and black and white. Bring them on your next trip to the library.

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

The LEGO Movie on DVD & Blu-ray

by manz

Everything is awesome! The LEGO Movie is released today! It was an absolute thrill to see this on the big screen and I can’t wait to watch it again and again. All of the adults I know who saw the film liked it way more than they thought they would. It’s not just a kids movie! It is full of adventure with kind-hearted, funny and amazing characters to build with.

Be sure to also check out the awesome LEGO Movie books we now have in the collection! Here's a list of all the awesome LEGO Movie stuff at your library.

And for the LEGO super fans, mark your calendars for AADL’s 9th annual LEGO Contest on August 7th! Folks of all ages can enter amazing creations for cool prizes. Even if you don’t plan to enter a project, is it an absolute treat to walk into a large room with hundreds of amazing LEGO creations.

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

School is OUT! And Summer Game 2014 is ON!

by eli

IT'S FINALLY HERE! Summer Game 2014 is now activated and READY TO PLAY! We've got some new features, new badges, and NEW PRIZES yet to come! Including:



- Points for Downloads. Get 100 points for downloading MUSIC from our collection.
- Easier Recruiting! Your recruits don't need library cards to get recruiting bonuses.
- QR codes on Code Signs! If you have a smartphone, get a QR code reader, because we've actually found something QR codes are good for! You can still type in the codes too, it's just a shortcut.
- NEW BADGES starting with BADGE DROP #1 coming around 5 PM today!
- NEW PRIZES including Binoculars, Sunglasses, Adorable inedible erasers, Glass Tumblers, AND MORE!
- BRANCH MASTER BADGES will drop August 1, and no new codes will be added to Library Buildings after August 1, so you'll have the whole month to get all the codes.
- COMPLETING THE PAPER GAME (Summer Game Classic) is now worth 2000 POINTS!
- A SUMMER GAME WRAP PARTY will be coming at the end of the summer, so stay tuned for that!

The SUMMER GAME SHOP opens Monday, July 7. For now, get hunting for codes, and start TAGGING, RATING, and REVIEWING items in the AADL Catalog for points! Or SIGN UP ONLINE if you haven't played before! Or WATCH THIS VIDEO if you have no idea what any of this is about!

Any questions? Post comments here (for points!) or drop us a Contact Us anytime, we're here to make your SUMMER FUN! Enjoy, and as always....

THANKS FOR PLAYING!

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

The Summer Game Begins Friday

by aadl staff

Get ready for the summer's best game! Our Summer Game officially begins this Friday, June 13.

Sign up to play; it is truly an all-ages program. Participants collect points by reading books, watching movies, visiting the library, and attending events. Points can then be redeemed for cool prizes.

We will also be hosting a kick-off party at TOP on Sunday, June 15, 7 pm at Rackham Stage with The Dirty Sock Funtime Band.

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Bibliocraft - A Crafter/Library Lover's Dream

by nicole

An honest question here: Do you love your library? If you're here, on this page, reading this, then I can pretty much guess that you do. I'm not surprised; your library has so much to offer! Books, and games, and science-y things--and now, for all of you library-loving crafters out there, a book that can help you combine your crafting talents and your undying love of all things LIBRARY.

Bibliocraft. How perfect is that? A book that tells its reader all about how to harvest crafting inspiration from the endless potential on the library shelves. It starts you out slow and steady, walking you through some library basics, like how to find what you want in a library catalog and some important points about copyright in library books.

And then it gets real. Part 2: THE CRAFTS.

The rest of the book is a smorgasbord of amazing projects inspired by library resources like, oh, perhaps, the ones you might find here. Historic watermarks transformed into pillows, Japanese family crests turned into coasters, votive holders, pendants made from quilled paper, and, my personal favorite, instructions for making a pocketed kitty-kat apron. With...wait for it...additional instructions for making actual knitted kittens to put in those pockets. Because why not?

You had me at "kitties", Bibliocraft.

And don't forget, along with this biblio-gem, the library has dozens of other awesome craft books and crafting programs, so make sure to check them out! (...see what I did there?)

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Science Tools to Borrow

by aadl staff

Did you know AADL has some really cool science tools available for cardholders to borrow? We have globes of the Earth and Mars; there are dinosaur and other prehistoric animal kits. There are several meters available such as an environmental, UV, sound, microwave and EMF . We also have stereo and digital microscopes and Dobsonian telescopes.

With summer almost here, plan a quiet evening stargazing with one of the telescopes or reserve one of the dinosaur kits to share with your little ones on a rainy day. If you are runner, consider borrowing the neulog pulse meter to compare your active and resting heart rate. With so many geeky-cool fun things to try, it may take all summer to try them all.

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Games People Play

by aadl staff

Just in time for summer, we have added games to our list of Unusual Stuff to Borrow. But, not just any ol' games! We now have giant-sized versions of small games and small-sized versions of giant games. Available only Downtown, we have giant lawn Checkers, giant Dominos, a mini Ping Pong table, Kubb and more, available for all AADL cardholders to check out.

The games are limited in quantity, and are on a first-come first-serve basis; they may not be renewed or requested. You can see the full catalog list of games here.

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Join us for Chesstastic this Sunday at Traverwood!

by eapearce

Whether you are already a talented chess player or you barely know the rules of the game, whether you're retired or still in elementary school, the Chesstastic program is a great way to hone your chess skills, learn more about the game, and meet new people of all ages.

This Sunday will be our last Chesstastic event before the summer (don't worry; they'll resume again in September) so it's a great opportunity to come see what it's all about. Chesstastic goes from 1:00 to 4:00 at the Traverwood branch on Sunday, May 18th, and you can feel free to come for all or any part of the program. Chess sets, as well as refreshments, are provided for the players.