Local crafter Beth Battey returns to teach this fun, monstrously creative, sewing workshop.

Make your own unique stuffed monster! All supplies provided. This is an intricate project that will require patience and the entire time to complete.

Local crafter, Beth Battey, returns for this unique hands-on workshop. Using very small crochet hooks make your own beaded bracelet. Be warned, once you make one you'll be hooked and want to keep making them! All supplies provided. Previous experience with crochet is required.

For the last year and a half, crowds have gathered each month in the early evening - in bars and venues around Ann Arbor. Around 7pm, it begins: three boisterous speakers geek out up front. What is this? Some secret club?

Nope! It's Nerd Nite Ann Arbor! And it's open to anyone and everyone who loves to learn or share what they love.

For the uninitiated, Nerd Nite (NN) has been described as “...like the Discovery Channel™…with beer!” Sounds fun, right? It is! NN is held monthly in 70+ cities, giving several folks the opportunity to give 18-21minute fun-yet-informative presentations across all disciplines. Imagine learning about everything from the science of the Simpsons to the genealogy of Godzilla. Fun stuff!

The next Nerd Nite will be Thursday, August 21 at LIVE (102 S 1st St.). Doors open at 6:30, and speakers start at 7pm.

This edition will have a special science focus - stay tuned for an updated lineup!

So show up, have a drink, meet other nerds, and learn a bunch of awesome new junk!

Want to see past topics and a little more info? Check NNA2's site.

AADL is sponsoring this month's event, so there will be NO COVER (usually $5)!

Mark your calendars and spread the word! Any and all nerds (and non-nerds!) who love learning and having a great time are welcome to join us!

When the Michigan Wolverines arrived in Minneapolis to battle the Minnesota Gophers in 1903, a simple 30¢, five-gallon Red Wing stoneware water jug began football’s first rivalry trophy game. The Little Brown Jug has been the subject of conspiracy theories, theft, national championships, and most of all pride, with each game’s victor prominently displaying the jug on its campus—until it is fought for again.

Authors Ken Magee and Jon M. Stevens will discuss their new book (just released September 1), The Little Brown Jug: The Michigan-Minnesota Football Rivalry, and the history of this legendary contest between the two opposing teams. They will also have a replica of the Little Brown Jug that was made in the 1940s along with other memorabilia related to the rivalry.

Book signing and copies of the book will be for sale at this event.

Storytellers Josie Barnes Parker and Laura Pershin Raynor will join musicians Betsy Beckerman and Sara Melton Keller for an evening of funny and touching tales and tunes.

By sharing stories of personal experiences, Josie and Laura explore universal themes, while Sara and Betsy mix it up with hammer dulcimer, guitar and banjo tunes.

This 2014 VISIONS Vendor Fair is presented by the Ann Arbor District Library (which also serves as the Washtenaw Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled) and is cosponsored by the State of Michigan's Bureau of Services for Blind Persons and Washtenaw Community College.

A variety of Michigan exhibitors will demonstrate the latest products and services for the blind and visually impaired. Electronic readers, magnifiers, support services for the blind, Braille devices, library services, CCTVs, leader dogs, and transportation services are just a few of the many outstanding services and products that will be on display.

Presentations will also be offered each hour:

11:00 AM - Don Olson, National Library Service For The Blind And Physically Handicapped;
12:00 PM - AADL Library Director Josie Parker will present service highlights from Washtenaw Library For The Blind@AADL services, now in its 5th year ;
1:00 PM - The A T Guys - What's New In Assistive Technology?;
2:00 PM - Sherry H. Day, O.D., FAAO and Ashley Howson M.S., OTR/L of the U-M Kellogg Eye Center

There is no admission charge and ample free parking is available.

Four hundred people attended the 2012 Visions Vendor Fair and this year's fair, featuring presentations addressing national and regional issues, promises to be even more eventful.

Sara will lead a few short writing exercises and answer questions about her books, publishing, and being an out queer author. Sara Ryan grew up in Ann Arbor. She's the author of the Lambda Literary Award finalist novel Empress of the World, the Oregon Book Award-winning novel The Rules for Hearts, and most recently of Bad Houses with Carla Speed McNeil, a TIME Magazine and USA Today Top Graphic Novel of 2013. Find her online at sararyan.com or @ryansara on Twitter. Literati Bookstore will be selling Sara's books and Sara will do a book signing.

Want to get better at drawing? Want to take your art to the next level? There is more to getting better than just “talent.” Hard work—combined with the right approach—can help an artist of any skill level advance to the next level.

Whether you are a seasoned artist or a beginner, Brandon will discuss practical strategies for assessing your current abilities and specific exercises and drills to help you make the most of your art study.

Brandon Dayton is a concept artist and comic book creator who has created concept for EA Games and Disney Interactive’s Disney Infinity. His 2009 comic book Green Monk won the 2011 YALSA Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens book award.

The Forum is for comics enthusiasts and cartoonists—beginning and professional. Bring your drawing tools and drop in for learning, drawing and sharing

Midwestern Gothic is proud to partner with the Ann Arbor District Library to host a reading of its contributors on Saturday, June 14, 2014.

Started in 2010, Midwestern Gothic is an Ann Arbor-based quarterly literary journal dedicated to featuring work about or inspired by the Midwest, by writers who live or have lived here. Midwestern Gothic aims to collect the very best in Midwestern writing in a way that has never been done before, cataloging the oeuvre of an often-overlooked region of the United States ripe with its own mythologies and tall tales—stories and poems that help to paint a portrait of the region. The event will consist of Midwestern Gothic contributors Rob Kenagy (poetry), Cindy Hunter Morgan (poetry), John Rodwan (creative nonfiction/poetry), and Jeff Kass (fiction/poetry) reading their work. The reading will be followed by a short reception.

AADL cardholders can download previous issues of MG from our catalog here.

Looking for a seriously fun and unique craft obsession?

Amigurumi is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed toys. Local crafter Beth Battey will teach you how to make your own cute amigurumi octopus. Beginners with lots of patience are welcome to give it a try, but previous crochet experience is recommended. Beth will be teaching a Beginning Crochet class on Tuesday, July 15, 6:00-8:45 pm at the Malletts Creek Branch.
A “crochet cam” will be set up for projection of instructions on the big wall! All supplies will be provided.