Join the Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library at for a spring bag sale! We provide the bags, you stuff them as full as you can with books, puzzles, and CDs for $5 per bag.

Join visiting Japanese rakugo-ka Sanyutei Ponta for a lively session of traditional, Japanese rakugo.

Performed in Japanese, this event will include translation and subtitles.

This event is co-sponsored by the University of Michigan's Center for Japanese Studies and the Japan Business Society of Detroit.

The League of Women Voters return to AADL to give an informative presentation about new voting rights in Michigan.

60% of voters approved Prop 2 in November 2022. That proposal amended the state constitution to expand voting rights. This presentation describes both new rights and improvements to existing processes. Topics include certification of election results, early voting, improvements to absentee voting, voter ID, election audits, and public disclosure of charitable contributions.

Scent references in literature connect us to emotions and memories embodied in ourselves and fellow human beings. We extract smells from text without realizing it, locating internal experiences in the brain and sense-making the rest as we immerse ourselves in story.

Familiar aromatic references create a bond between reader and story, but what about scent references particular to a culture that readers are unfamiliar with?

The anticipation that precedes the first bite of a chocolate-covered candy bar is filled with expectation. This is true whether you're indulging in a novel candy bar or an everyday favorite. If a chocolate confection is made just right, the experience can be as powerful as Proust’s memory stoking madeleine.

Candy bars–especially chocolate covered candy bars–tantalize taste buds with sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami nuances that combine with smell to produce flavor. They also work their magic on trigeminal senses (hot, cold, spicy, tingling) and touch (aka mouthfeel).

Join us as we explore the Braille alphabet and other tactile means of communication. Use a slate stylus to write in Braille, make a craft of your name in Braille, complete a tactile coloring sheet, and more!

Ann Arbor Fiber Arts Expo consists of a full slate of hands-on programs, demos, and presentations, and a lobby full of local vendors. You can learn about knitting, crocheting, weaving, and spinning. Try your hand at macramé, embroidery, and more!   Vendors will be on hand selling accessories, patterns, books, dyes, and all things fiber related!   If you have any questions, please contact aafax@aadl.org.

For a full list of AAFAX 2024 events and vendors, go to aadl.org/aafax.

Tiny Expo features over 40 artists and crafters selling handmade wares in a festive library space in the heart of downtown Ann Arbor. Our annual holiday show is a great way to support your community and find unique gifts.

Steffen Arctander was a renowned chemist, perfumer, and flavorist. He is best known for authoring Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin (1960). The encyclopedic book contains more than 500 monographs on natural materials inclusive of aromatic descriptions and classifications to help the user evaluate sensory impressions. 

Take a quick tour of the Secret Lab to see all that it has to offer: letterpress, sewing, button-making, 3D printing, laser cutting, and physical computing with the Raspberry Pi.