The Traverwood Branch will open at 10:00 AM tomorrow morning, Monday, June 30, 2008. All are welcome to join the Library Caravan beginning at the old NEB at 10:00 AM to carry the remaining books to the new library.

The Branch is located at the corner of Traverwood Drive and Huron Parkway. There is ample free parking on the street, underneath the building, and in a flat lot to the south of the building. Entry to the underground parking is off Huron Parkway. Entry to the south parking lot is from Traverwood Drive. Handicap parking is located on Huron Parkway and in the underground garage. There is stair and elevator access from the garage. Bicycle racks are located on the north near the front entry, and in the garage.

The dropboxes are located on the north side of the building and will be available tomorrow, too.

Many events are planned for this opening week and they are posted under Events at aadl.org.

See you at the Library!

Josie

Recently, over 6,000 persons responded to a survey sponsored by the Library and the AA Downtown Development Authority on the future of the Downtown Library building and the proposed underground parking structure on the lot north of the Library.

Approximately 100 people joined us this past week at one of three opportunities to discuss the findings and to continue this important discussion on the future of library services in the Downtown.

We appreciate the support and interest of so many, and I am happy to continue to answer questions about the project. My email is parkerj@aadl.org and my phone number is 327.4263. Contact information for members of the Library Board can be found at Board.

See you at the Library!

Josie

The Northeast Branch at Plymouth Mall will close at 6:00 PM on Sunday, June 1. The Traverwood Branch at Traverwood and Huron Parkway will open on Monday, June 30 at 10:00 AM.

The need for library services in the northeast sector of Ann Arbor was recognized as early as 1965. Land was purchased in 1971 at the corner of Huron Parkway and Nixon Road, but was later sold for the development of the Plymouth Mall. The Library opened the storefront branch in the mall in 1981. This 2400 square foot space was increased by an additional 1200 square feet in 1985. This space served as the branch with several interior renovations and remodeling over the next 15 years.

The library in Plymouth Mall has served the community well as the library has adapted the space to its maximum capacity introducing a program space and computing.

It is a wonderful circumstance in any library system to say that a library is once again too small to serve its patrons. In answer to this dilemma the AADL has built a 16,000 square foot library branch .5 mile to the west. The branch includes 90 reader seats, children's spaces, a quiet reading room, study rooms, computer lab, expanded collections, and 90 parking spaces.

Those serving in 1965 as library officials understood that this branch would be needed someday to serve a growing community and they purchased property in the early 1970's to make it possible. We salute them for their foresight and for their willingness to assure public library services for this area of our community. While the location is different, and decades have passed, the day has finally come.

We invite you to join us on Monday, June 30, at the Northeast Branch at 10:00 AM to mark the transition to the new library building. Children are invited to participate in a "Library Caravan" to move picture books in strollers, wagons, and in book bags to the new building! All patrons, all ages are welcome to walk along.

Josie

The AADL is pleased to host Mayor Boris Palmer this evening, Tuesday, at the Downtown Library. Mayor Palmer, leading a delegation of 29 citizens from our sister city Tubingen, Germany will speak on environmental issues. During his first year in office, Mayor Palmer started an unprecedented climate protection campaign at the local level. Hear his ideas when he discusses climate change and the city.

We also welcome the Jazz Band and High School Brass Bands of Tubingen. They will play at 7:00 PM prior to Mayor Palmer's lecture. They are fantastic!

The sister city relationship with Tubingen began in 1965. A delegation from Ann Arbor attended the Tubingen City Fest in 2005 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the partnership. On Sunday evening the AADL hosted a welcome reception for the delegation and their host families at Malletts Creek Branch, our AIA award-winning environmentally sustainable building.

In addition to students, government officials, and educators, this year's visit also brought artists and their work to Ann Arbor. Please visit the WSG Gallery on Main Street to view their work.

Please join us in welcoming our German guests and friends to Ann Arbor!

Josie

One year ago, the Library conducted focus groups with over 100 persons in our district to discuss the future of the Downtown Library. We learned a great deal about what people love about the Downtown library and what they feel can be improved. This year, the Library has hired Luckenbach|Ziegleman Architects and Skanska to work with us to develop two programs: one for a renovated and expanded Library and the other for a new Downtown Library, both to be located at Fifth and William. At the same time, the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority is moving forward with a site plan to build a large underground parking structure on the "library lot". The convergence of these two activities led us to develop a joint survey asking for feedback on both the library and parking.

Please take this opportunity to contribute to the important decisions that will need to be made by the AADL, the City of Ann Arbor, and the DDA.

You do not need to be a library user, or resident of Ann Arbor to fill out the survey. All feedback is appreciated.

In addition, you are invited to attend any of the following Public Meetings to review our work and add your thoughts to the discussion.

Monday, June 2nd 7:00 – 9pm
Wednesday, June 4th 10:00 – noon
Sunday, June 8th 3:00 – 5 pm

Location: Downtown Library - 343 South Fifth Avenue, Ann Arbor

Josie

AADL is working with the Arts Alliance to determine how many artists and creative individuals live and work in Washtenaw County. Why? Because artists are the spark that ignites our county’s creativity -- but without knowing how many dancers, writers or photographers there are here, it’s hard to give individual artists the credibility and respect (not to mention the services) they deserve.

Artists of all types – visual, literary and performing, of any age and educational background – are encouraged to participate. The census is entirely confidential and includes only 10 questions.

http://www.artscount.org

Josie

The Ann Arbor District Library is co-presenting a program for all ages at the 46th Ann Arbor Film Festival at the Michigan Theater on Saturday, March 29 at 3 pm. Present your AADL library card at the box office prior to the screening and get $2 off the regular ticket price of $8. This is an offer that is available to the general public for the Saturday screening only.

See you at the movies!

Josie

The AADL is pleased to announce that the Library Board at a Special Meeting on Tuesday, February 5, selected Luckenbach|Ziegelman Architects, PLLC for the Downtown Library project. This firm was chosen from a field of 15 firms who responded to a Request for Qualifications, 9 of which made public presentations to the Library Board last week.

Carl Luckenbach, FAIA and Robert Ziegelman, FAIA have provided full service architectural, planning, and interior design for 27 years. They have studios in Ann Arbor and Bloomfield Hills. The firm designed Malletts Creek Branch, winner of the Michigan AIA Award for Sustainability in 2005, and the Pittsfield Branch.

Luckenbach|Ziegelman will be joined by the following consultants on the Downtown project:
Douglas Kelbaugh, FAIA Ann Arbor Urban Design
Insite Design Studio, Inc. Ann Arbor Landscape Architecture
Enliven Consulting Ann Arbor Public Engagement
M.E. Engineering Consultants, Inc. Plymouth Mechanical and Electrical
Midwestern Consulting, LLC Ann Arbor Civil Engineering
Acentech, Inc. Cambridge MA Acoustics and A/V

A press release with more complete information is attached.

Josie

Nine architectural firms will be making presentations on the Downtown Library project next week. All of the presentations are open to the public and the schedule is attached on this post.

The presentations will be made in the 4th Floor Board Room in the Downtown Library. Board agendas are posted at http://aadl.org/aboutus.

The opportunity to address the Library's need to create an accessible and flexible space Downtown that will adjust to new uses over the next several decades is very exciting. The opportunty to do this in collaboration with the DDA and the City of AA, in terms of the development of the "library lot", is a very positive step toward a progressive urban design plan for the Fifth Avenue/William street area. We appreciate the interest and support we are receiving from the DDA and the Ann Arbor City Council.

Josie

Last evening, the AADL Board reviewed responses to the Request for Qualifications for Architectural and Engineering services for the Downtown Library Renovation and Building project. The Board will be inviting 15 architectural firms to make presentations early in 2008. The public is invited to attend the presentations. Dates and times will be announced later this month. The 15 firms invited to present are:

C2AE: Grand Rapids, MI
designLAB architects with Quinn Evans Architects: Boston Ann Arbor
Engberg Anderson, Inc with Mitchell and Mouat Architects: Milwaukee Ann Arbor
Frye Gillan Molinaro Architects: Chicago
Gwathmey Siegal and Associates with David Milling Architects: New York Ann Arbor
HKS Architects, P.C.: Farmington Hills, MI
Holzman Moss Architecture, LLP: New York
inForm Studio: Detroit
Luckenbach|Ziegelman Architects, PLLC: Ann Arbor
Merrit McPherson Cieslak, PC: Farmington, MI
Meyer Scherer and Rockcastle, LTD: Minneapolis, MN
Neuman/Smith Architecture with Hiddell and Associates: Southfield Carrolton, TX
Penchansky Whisler Architecture with A3C Collaborative: Ann Arbor
PSA-Dewberry, Inc.: Naperville, IL
TMP Associates, Inc.: Bloomfield Hills

Earlier this year, the Library received a report on the programing needs for operations and services Downtown for the next 20 years, and also a report on the condition of the Downtown facility. The Board's decision to go forward with a plan to renovate the Downtown library derived from these study results. Over 100 people participated in 12 focus groups, and while their needs and interests varied widely, they overwhelmingly agreed that the Downtown Library should remain at 5th Avenue and William Street. In early November, the City Council passed a resolution authorizing the DDA to conduct a feasibility study that will determine how much underground parking is possible on the lot that is now surface parking next door to the Library. We are pleased that the DDA, the City of AA, and the Library are working toward a common vision for redeveloping the Fifth and William area around the Library, and proud that AADL is taking the lead and moving forward in its selection of an architectural firm.

UPDATE: The Library Board invited all of the responding firms to make presentations, and 14 firms accepted. These presentations are open to the public and all of them will occur at the Downtown Library in the 4th Floor Board room the week of January 28-January 31. The schedule is attached for your convenience.

Josie

On Monday, August 20, we will begin a transition from plastic bags to unbleached, cotton totes. Unlike the heavy plastic bags, the totes will not be free. They can be purchased for $2.00 at any circulation desk. Plastic AADL bags are seen everywhere. Sometimes they end up in places that are not good for us or for the environment. This new way to carry library material is in keeping with the AADL's emphasis on sustainability.

So, be prepared to get carried away and support the AADL's efforts to lead by example by purchasing a tote that is washable, squashable, and good-looking! The plastic bags will be gone when supplies are depleted or by January 2, 2008, whichever happens first.

Josie

The Library Board received a space needs and facility study from Providence Associates at its July 23, 2007 Board meeting. The study was commissioned in February of this year in an effort to answer questions related to space needs for library services and programming, and to assess the physical and mechanical integrity of the current facility. The study meets a Facilities objective in the library’s current Strategic Plan that was adopted in 2004 and runs through 2010.

I would like to express my gratitude to the 150 or so persons who gave their time to this study by agreeing to participate in one of 12 focus groups conducted in March, and to those who accepted the public invitation to attend a focus group session in April. This honest appraisal of what works and what doesn’t and what needs to exist that is currently not offered by the Library, combined with real data about the facility, is captured in the study document.

This space needs and facility study form the beginning of a process that the Board will use to determine what steps to take in assuring library service in Downtown Ann Arbor. Options for what can be done at our current location are provided in the study, but these are concepts and are not intended to be viewed as plans. The Library Board will take the study information, expand on it, and continue to work to determine the best next step for the community at large.

Please review the attached documents, and then come back and post your own thoughts and questions about the study findings.

Providence Proposal 2007
Providence Report July 23, 2007

Josie

On July 5, 2005, we launched a new website. Over the past two years the website has done its job in expected and unexpected ways. Our top priority was to develop a web presence that was organized, dynamic, and accessible. Judging by the numbers, and the feedback from our users, we did just that. Below are a few stats that we are proud to share:

• Out of approximately 46,000 active cardholders, 32,979 are registered aadl.org users
• Growth is steady with an average of 2,000 new users per month
• 10,900 comments on posts made by aadl.org users
• 12,000+ comments received from users and added to our online comment database
• 298 reviews and ratings on items in the catalog since January ‘07
• 2,183 patron contributed tags on items in the catalog since January ‘07
• 6,246 saved catalog cards, and 3,544 comments on catalog cards since December, ‘05

In June 2007, a typical month for us, aadl.org had 162,409 visits from 56,036 unique visitors, during which 3,446,096 webpages were served. In fiscal year 06/07 we served 44,522,045 pages during 1,898,605 visits.

Are we proud? Yes, we are! We are serving most of our cardholders and from most accounts serving them well from aadl.org.

There has been another major benefit to the library in Ann Arbor and to the library profession worldwide, that was unexpected, but one that is a hallmark of great change in how public institutions communicate to their supporters and users. Using Drupal software allows us to blog and provides a dynamic website that is responsive to changes in technology. We took this as an opportunity to make the library and all of its operations and services transparent in ways that no other library in the country had done, and few are doing now. We commonly receive emails from around the world such as this one from a university professor in Berlin, "It may please you to know that the AA Public Library is well known even here in Germany for its innovative work. I have students who mention it regularly in connection with Web 2.0".

We trust our staff, and we know that when we expect the best of people that is usually what we get. Allowing staff to post in an unmoderated fashion has worked well and they produce great content. We have had only one incident of profanity posted on the site by a patron and that was during the first quarter after launch. We post all comments from patrons and our responses directly on the site in a searchable database. 96 staff members have contributed unmoderated posts and content to the site. Our rules are simple. Keep it factual, simple, direct and about library related business.

Aadl.org has been a major success in the library world. We are proud of the awards that AADL has received for the design and functionality of the site. We are proud of the critical acclaim received from our colleagues from around the world about the philosophy of social computing adopted by AADL, but we are most proud of the support from so many AADL cardholders expressed in the astonishingly high use of the site.

Josie

Malletts Creek re-opens today, Monday, June 11 regular hours: 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM. Thank you for your patience.

Josie Parker
Director