Director Lisa Hoenig posing with a green trophy on a replica yellow-brick road in front of a sign that reads Emeral Awards Celebration with the Washtenaw Literacy logo.

Lisa Hoenig posing with Senator Jeff Irwin.

Turns out the yellow brick road leads straight to Ypsilanti. 🏆✨

We are so proud to receive the inaugural Gateway Award from @washtenawlit.bsky.social, recognizing educational institutions dedicated to dismantling barriers and creating spaces where every learner belongs and succeeds.

Flyer for the All Ages Community Resources & Summer Opportunities Fair at Ypsilanti District Library. Event includes life-sized games, resume building, and jobs & internships resources for job seekers, students, families, and everyone in between. Saturday, April 18, 1-4pm at Library Plaza, 229 W. Michigan Ave, Ypsilanti.

Need help planning your next move? Come out this Saturday for an all-ages community fair featuring life-sized games, resume help, jobs & internship info, and local resources. Free and open to everyone!

🗓️ April 18 | 1-4pm | YDL-Michigan

The theme is "GROW." The prompt reads: "explore the slow, quiet force of becoming — roots pushing through concrete, love taking hold, or a new chapter unfurling." A closing question at the bottom asks: "what is reaching toward the light?" The design features a large dark circle with a black-to-dark-gray gradient at the top of a light green textured background.

We've burned. We've rotted. Now we grow. 🌱 The final week of our Poetry Contest is here! Submit your original poem inspired by the theme GROW by Wednesday, April 22 at 5pm. 100 words or less. ypsilibrary.org/2026/03/howp...

Graphic with a large circle fading from taupe to deep black, with the text "finalists: rot" inside the circle and the words "burn rot grow" below it.

Poetry contest graphic on a black background with a dead rat in the lower right corner. Text reads: "ydl poetry contest 2026, week 2: rot. rot lying above the ceiling by isabella perez, @kindaisabella." Full poem text visible.

Poetry contest graphic on a black background with a moldy peach in the lower right corner. Text reads: "ydl poetry contest 2026, week 2: rot. in the fruit fields by morgan noelle martin, @monoellehoops." Full poem text visible.

Poetry contest graphic on a black background with a decomposing fish in the lower right corner. Text reads: "ydl poetry contest 2026, week 2: rot. warp (the bog) by lily elliott, @briarfate." Full poem text visible in two columns.

The finalists from Week 2 of our Poetry Contest are in. Three takes on breakdown and decay for our second theme: rot. 🍄 Read them, pick your favorite, and drop your vote in the comments. Voting closes in 24 hours!

Teen STEAM Cafe Dinner, activities, and learning, oh my! Join our teen leaders and a new STEAM expert each month to explore a different career field with a presentation from our expert and hands-on activities. Dive…

Spots are limited! Register at ypsilibrary.events.mylibrary.digital/event?id=256....

📅 Friday, April 17 | 6-8pm | YDL-Michigan | Ages 12-18

Flyer for Teen STEAM Café: Public Health. Friday, April 17, 6-8pm at YDL-Michigan, 229 W. Michigan Ave. Ages 12-18. Free dinner + hands-on activities with a real phlebotomist. Register at ypsilibrary.org/events.

FRIDAY: Public health is everywhere, but most people don't know what it actually looks like as a career. At this special after-hours event, teens will explore health careers with a real phlebotomist, practice taking blood pressure and blood oxygen readings, and enjoy free dinner.

The power is restored at YDL-Superior and we will reopen at 5:30 pm. Thanks for your patience!

Graphic with the YDL logo on a cream scalloped notice card with tape in the corners. Text reads: Our Superior branch is CLOSED temporarily due to a power outage. We'll update you as soon as we have more information! ypsilibrary.org

Heads up: our Superior branch is temporarily closed due to a power outage. We'll share updates as soon as we know more!

Even the piggy bank is excited for this one 🐷 This Friday, we're celebrating Financial Literacy Month with a special Jumpstart Storytime. We'll explore fun, kid-friendly ways to talk about saving and spending. Plus a FREE book for every kid courtesy of TRUE Community Credit Union!

We have a Virtual African American Authors Book Discussion Group that meets monthly on Zoom if that helps! (Yes, the group name is a mouthful; no, the ladies who run it are not open to shortening it. 😂) They're discussing King of Ashes in 2 weeks! ypsilibrary.events.mylibrary.digital/event?id=292...

A photo of five smiling YDL staff members standing behind the checkout desk at the downtown branch, with a colorful Happy Birthday banner hanging above them. Text below reads: It's officially been one year since our downtown branch reopened.

One year ago today, we finally got to say "we're back!" After an unexpected 2.5 year closure, our downtown branch reopened its doors on April 14, 2025. Thank you for coming back to us! 💛

a sign that says hello guys on a rock ALT: a sign that says hello guys on a rock

👀

A bright blue flyer for YDL's Repair Clinic. Text reads: Your stuff deserves a second chance. We'll help. Tuesday, April 14, 7-8:30pm, YDL-Michigan Ave, 229 W. Michigan Ave, Ypsilanti MI, 734-482-4110 x2421.

TONIGHT! 🧵 Bring us your broken zippers, fraying hems, and battle-worn jeans. No appointment needed! Just show up with the thing that needs saving.

Can't make it to this one? We'll have another clinic on Saturday, 5/2 from 1:30-3pm. ✂️

A collection of colorful bookmarks on a black table, including Pegasus Books Oakland, evo, Liberty, and 32 degrees heat tag.

A second photo of colorful bookmarks on a black desk background. Includes Sitting Bull photo, Raven Used Books, No risk, no story, Pegasus Books since 1969, and more.

A third photograph of colorful bookmarks on a black desk background. Includes wouldnt you rather be behind a book next to a white pegasus, Level up at the Library, Be Kind every day. 3 photos of tigers. A cartoon of a banana. The Story Time Band. Help Save the Bees. Outside In. and more.

a fourth photo of colorful bookmarks on a black desk background. Includes Moe's bookstore. Read. Women and Children first way. And more.

Did you forget something?
A series of photos of bookmarks found in library books @THP South Branch Library:

The first rule of chess club is always share your pictures of the cool kids at the chess club.

In the spirit of competition, we can't leave out the young players from Saturday's Chess Tournament! There was even an intense playoff to decide first place. To find the next session of Chess Club at YDL (part of Project STEM @ YDL sponsored by Toyota), visit www.ypsilibrary.org/2023/02/ches....

Congratulations to all of this weekend's YDL puzzlers:
1st place: Kristen Williams and Lindsay Niedzwiecki, who finished in a record 40 minutes!
2nd place: Julia and Regina Hoving
3rd place: Ann Kay and Susie Ekkert

Keep an eye out for our next Puzzle Competition and try to set your own records 🏅

Event graphic listing YDL adult events for April 13–18, Monday through Wednesday, including Mahjong Meetup, Downtown Queer Crafting Group, ESL Community Tutoring with Washtenaw Literacy, Fellowship of the Fiber, Canva 101 Intro to Canva (full), Meditation with Ease, Science Fiction Book Club (full), Drop-in Repair Clinic, and ESL Book Club with Washtenaw Literacy.

Event graphic listing YDL adult events for April 13–18, Wednesday, including Michigan Works Community Outreach, S.E.A.T. Supported Exercise for Ageless Training (full), Google Sheets for Beginners, Basic Literacy Tutoring with Washtenaw Literacy, Moving for Better Balance with Ann Arbor YMCA, Crochet Club, Public YDL Board of Trustees Meeting, and Small Business Savvy: Business Insurance.

Event graphic listing YDL adult events for April 13–18, Wednesday through Friday, including Racial Justice Reading Group, Senior Advisory Board Meeting for ages 55+, Poetry Month Workshop, Microsoft Excel Pivot Tables, Euchre Club, Queer Book Group reading The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu, Writers Room and Drop-in Consulting with YpsiWrites, and Chair Yoga for All Levels.

Event graphic listing YDL adult events for April 13–18, Friday through Saturday, including Drop-in Digital Literacy Tutoring with Washtenaw Literacy, YDL Guitar Club, Needle Felting Bumblebees (full), Community Resources and Summer Opportunities Fair at YDL-Michigan Library Plaza, and The Gift of Song with the Threshold Singers of Ann Arbor.

Big week at YDL! This Saturday we're hosting a free community fair with job resources and summer opportunities, plus crafting, reading groups, tech help, yoga, live music, and more all week long. Swipe for the full lineup! 🗓️ ypsilibrary.org/events

Promotional graphic for the YDL Poetry Contest, Week 2, April 10–15. The theme is "ROT." The prompt reads: "find beauty in the breakdown. decay, ending, the fertile darkness where something new might stir." A closing question at the bottom asks: "what returns to the earth?" The design features a large dark circle with a dusty blue-to-black gradient at the top of a warm gray textured background.

We are now accepting submissions for the second week of our Poetry Contest. Decompose, Corrode, Spoil. Break it down to build it back. 100 words or less. Submissions close Wednesday the 15th at 5:00pm.

never too late for you :) you're our favorite non-patron patron!

twilight sparkle and rainbow dash from my little pony standing next to each other Alt: My Little Pony friends standing in a library while Twilight Sparkle twirls saying, "I think this calls for a library twirl!"

When adults walk in and say boldly, "I'd like to get a library card."
Us:

Event flyer for A City on Mars, part of the Ink Drinker Reading Series at YDL-Michigan. NYT Bestselling Author Dr. Kelly Weinersmith appears Saturday April 11, 3-5PM at 229 W. Michigan Ave, Ypsilanti.

SATURDAY: Join New York Times bestselling author Dr. Kelly Weinersmith at our downtown branch to talk "A City on Mars," the research-backed, unexpectedly funny case for slowing down before we blast off. 🚀

Free & open to all | 3-5PM | YDL-Michigan

Graphic with a large circle fading from terracotta to deep black, with the text "finalists: burn" inside the circle and the words "burn rot grow" below it.

Poetry contest graphic on a black background with orange flame photography along the bottom. Text reads: "ydl poetry contest 2026, week 1: burn. icarus by ann kay. A blue aurora, reflects my bruises back to me. Rage baited, 2x speed."

Poetry contest graphic on a black background with fire visible in the upper right corner. Text reads: "ydl poetry contest 2026, week 1: burn. pass the salt by elka marie chamberlain." Full poem text visible.

Poetry contest graphic on a black background with flame photography along the right side. Text reads: "ydl poetry contest 2026, week 1: burn. drowning ashes by tree hammons, @treewritespoety." Full poem text visible in two columns.

The finalists from Week 1 of our Poetry Contest are in. Three takes on our first theme: burn. 🔥 Read them, pick your favorite, and drop your vote in the comments. Voting closes in 24 hours!

Brand New Digital Drops — A promotional graphic from the Libby app featuring eight book covers: Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity by Paul Kingsnorth, Archipelago by Natalie Bakopoulos, What Survives by M. Amelia Eikli, Five Bullets by Elliot Williams, A Crushing Walk in Cornwall by Nicholas George, Scapegoat: What the Invasive Species Story Gets Wrong by Clare Follmann, and Vengeance in Venice by Erica Ruth Neubauer. The center slot shows the Libby logo and the bottom-center slot shows a photo of a winding stone garden path.

Brand New Digital Drops — A promotional graphic from the Libby app featuring eight book covers: Almost Life by Kiran Millwood, The Hospital at the End of the World by Justin C. Key, Robbie McNeil's Hit List (a mystery), History Lessons (a mystery), A Spell for Saints and Sinners by Emily Carpenter, A Ruin, Great and Free by Cadwell Turnbull, and The Women's House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison. The center and bottom-center slots show the Libby logo and a photo of red poppies in a field, respectively

New titles just landed on Libby! Fresh reads, free with your YDL card. 🔥 Borrow ebooks and audiobooks anytime, anywhere.

Learn more: tln.overdrive.com/destination-...

Map of the United States showing registered public library cardholders per capita in 2023. Michigan is highlighted at 0.39, well below Ohio at 0.64. Source: Institute of Museum and Library Services via USAFacts.

Okay Michigan, NCAA championship secured. 🏀 Now can we PLEASE do something about this.

Free community event alert! 📢 The Black Maternal Health Café is SATURDAY in Ypsilanti -- and it's stacked. The founder of RxKids, community resources, chair massages, DJ Mars, a photo booth, facepainting, a free raffle, and more.

📅 April 11 | 12-4pm | YCS High School | 2095 Packard Rd

Real SSA emails will always come from a .gov address, and the agency will never threaten you, demand gift card payments, or ask you to click unsolicited links.

If something feels off, trust that instinct! Delete it, don't click anything, and report it.

Learn more: www.mlive.com/news/us-worl...

Screenshot of an MLive article with the headline "Social Security warns of new scam that can cause major financial losses." Below the headline is a photo of the official Social Security Administration seal mounted on a stone wall, with a caption noting the rise in scams targeting beneficiaries. The first paragraph of the article is partially visible, quoting an SSA official warning that fraudulent emails are not from Social Security and should be deleted and reported immediately.

⚠️ Heads up: scammers are sending fake Social Security Administration emails designed to look like the real thing, and they're getting pretty convincing.

The SSA issued a warning last week about a sharp rise in fraudulent emails meant to steal personal information.

A graphic with a light orange textured background. A large circle fades from tan at the top to deep navy and black at the bottom. Text reads: "ydl poetry contest, week 1, april 3-9, BURN, poems about fire in all its forms — destruction, desire, transformation, or the light we leave behind. what consumes you?"

The deadline to submit your BURN poems to our National Poetry Month contest is Thursday! You have three days left to channel your inner inferno. 🔥 Destruction, desire, transformation – whatever scorches, smolders, or sets you free. 100 words or less.

Visit ypsilibrary.org to submit your poem.