SATURDAY: French chaos, accordion energy, and one very determined hen. 🐔 Spinning Dot Theatre brings the folktale classic "La Petite Poule Française" to our Whittaker branch at 2pm. Free, family-friendly, and delightfully bizarre!

In case you were wondering why we have chairs at the circ desk (PS this is what public service looks like 💙)

Missed yesterday's health fair? No worries! We're doing it all again THIS SATURDAY, 2-5:30pm at our Whittaker branch! 🩺 Free blood pressure & blood sugar screenings, medication disposal supplies (including those locking pill bottles everyone loved), safe sex resources, and more.

We're officially on Threads! 📖 Follow @ypsilibrary for the latest library news, can't-miss programs, and what's happening in the community. (Pretty please? 🥺)

At least she didn't ask about the War of 1812 #librarysky

Today's "Need a Phone?" events with GenMobile at our Superior and Michigan Ave branches have been cancelled, as the phone provider is having technical difficulties. We apologize for the inconvenience!

Still thinking about last month's afternoon with Michigan Poet Laureate Dr. Melba Joyce Boyd. 🥰 Hearing her read alongside local poet Leslie McGraw and Ypsilanti's Youth Poet Laureate Ruth Mella reminded us why poetry matters: it gives voice to our stories, our histories, and our sense of place.

Check out the themes for November's book displays at our downtown branch! 🍂🍁🦃

TOMORROW: Join the University of Michigan's Pharmacy School for free health screenings, vaccine info, expired medication disposal, and more! The resources are geared towards seniors, but everyone is welcome! 1-3pm at YDL-Whittaker. 💊 Can't make it? Come to the same event on Saturday from 2-5:30pm!

If you're still paying for audiobooks, blink twice. We can help. Download Libby (formerly Overdrive). Save the $15/month. Buy yourself a little treat instead. 🍪

PSA: Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday at 2am. Your reward for remembering to change your clocks? A whole bonus hour. 🕐 (Might we suggest spending it on that book you've been meaning to start?)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! The votes have been counted, and we have a winner! Congrats to Jessica Herring, our 2025 Short Horror Story Champion. We were lucky to receive so many twisted and haunting stories, a big thank you to everyone who submitted. Let's do it again next year. 🎃

Need epic Halloween costumes? Leave it to the library staff.

As if our downtown Halloween Storytime wasn't going to be fun enough, we'll have SURPRISE animal guests, courtesy of the Leslie Science & Nature Center! Come join us for the fun at 10:30am.

⚠️ 2 days left! ⚠️ Our Banned Books Week exhibit closes October 31st. Last chance to enter the raffle, snap your criminal mugshot, and celebrate your right to read. See you before we strike the set!

THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN! Here are the Finalists for the 2025 YDL Short Horror Story Contest. To cast your vote for the winner, comment with the title of your favorite story. 🏆 Their fate is in your hands!

TONIGHT: The Great Teen Escape! 🏚️ Can your crew solve the mystery before 7:30pm, or will you be permanently checking out? (We're legally required to let you leave, but where's the fun in that?) Ages 12-18 welcome. Courage optional but recommended.

PSA: Your library isn't just books. 📱Tonight, eligible community members can come to our Superior Branch to receive a free phone! GenMobile will be in the lobby from 5-7pm (119 N. Harris). Just bring proof of your benefits/income and a valid photo ID. Walk-ins welcome.

Almost posted this in March. Showed incredible restraint. You're welcome 👻

Did you know YDL has a podcast?! Ypsi Stories covers local history through conversations with historians and community experts. In the latest episode, local historian Matt Siegfried breaks down the history of Native American communities in our region and on the land that became Ypsilanti.

Did you know reading to therapy dogs helps kids build confidence and become better readers?! 🐾 Stop by our Whittaker branch TOMORROW starting at 4:45pm to grab a ticket at the Youth desk for a 10-minute reading slot with Simba. Then hang out at the library or run errands until your time! Grades K-5

Pretending you've read the classics is a time-honored tradition and we respect it. 😉

Thank you, Friends! We ♥️ you. Want to join the best supporting cast in town? Learn more about the Friends: www.ypsilibrary.org/engage/frien...

Not all heroes wear capes! Some wear Friends Book Shop volunteer name tags. This National Friends of Libraries Week, we're celebrating the Friends of the Ypsilanti District Library—the volunteers who staff our Book Shop, run our book sales, and help fund the programs that make our library thrive.

HAPPENING NOW! 👻 We're live at Halloween Downtown. The costume contest is underway, putt-putt golf is officially haunted, and one very costumed alpaca is stealing the show. Free books and STEM kits while supplies last. Come find us at 229 W. Michigan Ave until 7pm!

This is it! Our finalists for the last week of the Short Horror Story Contest, MONSTER MASH. Drop a comment below to vote for your favorite story, and they might just move on to the finalist round!

TONIGHT: Confused about Medicare? We've got you. Join us at 5pm for "Medicare Made Simple" with Michigan's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). Learn how Medicare works, what free assistance is available, and sign up for one-on-one counseling. No registration needed—just show up! 📋💙

FRIDAY: Burn your own designs onto cork coasters at LNGO Crafternoon! 🔥 Ages 55+, free, all materials provided. Come to our downtown branch at 2pm! RSVP: ypsilibrary.events.mylibrary.digital/event?id=212...

This is what dreams are made of 🫶 Find yourself in our catalog at ypsilibrary.org.

LAST CALL to enter our Short Horror Story Contest! Monsters are taking over and you have until Thursday to submit your 100-word nightmare. Whatever's been lurking in the back of your brain—claws, fangs, cosmic dread—now's the time to let it loose. 🧌👹🐲 🔗: www.ypsilibrary.org/2025/10/retu...

hoopla should now be back up and running! Thanks for your patience.

Unfortunately, hoopla has been impacted by a larger Amazon Web Services outage. We will share more information when the issue has been resolved. Thanks for your patience!

Looking for a dose of inspiration? YDL's own Kallista Marie sat down with WEMU 89.1 to share how Our Community Reads, the nonprofit she founded, is building community through books and representation—one reading circle, one kid at a time. Give it a listen! 📻 🔗: www.wemu.org/2025-10-07/y...

Books: for reading AND reconnaissance 😉

WE'RE FREAKING OUT! 🌈💫

TOMORROW at 3pm: Our Downtown branch is thrilled to host Michigan's very own Poet Laureate! 📜🖋

Submissions are now open for MONSTER-MASH-themed short horror stories: www.ypsilibrary.org/2025/10/retu...

The judges have made their cuts 🔪🩸 Three BODY HORROR semi-finalists remain. Which story makes your skin crawl the most?! Vote by commenting with your favorite title below. The author with the most votes will move on to the Finalist round!

Saturday's poetry event is making headlines! 📰 Dr. Melba Joyce Boyd (our state Poet Laureate), Ruth Mella (Ypsilanti Youth Poet Laureate), and local poet and community organizer Leslie McGraw will join us to read and discuss their work. Three voices, three different generations, one room.

We're ~hooked~ on your right to read. 🎣

This weekend, Dr. Melba Joyce Boyd (Michigan's new Poet Laureate!), local poet & organizer Leslie McGraw, and Ypsilanti's own Youth Poet Laureate Ruth Mella will join us to share their work, swap stories, and take your questions. Saturday | Oct 18 | 3-5pm | YDL-Michigan

We're sorry to announce that tonight's Small Business Savvy workshop has been cancelled due to our presenter's unexpected unavailability. We apologize for any inconvenience! Stay tuned for updates on a new date, and thank you for your understanding. 🙏

This means new books may take longer than usual to reach our shelves over the coming months. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate this transition! 🙏

📚 UPDATE: The company that's been selling books to libraries since 1828 is closing up shop in January. Baker & Taylor's closure means libraries nationwide are scrambling to find new suppliers, and those suppliers are currently overwhelmed with orders.

The new lounge area at YDL-Whittaker will be closed temporarily to install the final lighting fixtures. The vending machines will remain accessible. Thanks for your understanding while we put the finishing touches on the new space!

WEDNESDAY: Those "spooky" eye conditions from horror movies? Not so scary in real life! 👁️ Dr. Erin Klukas from the University of Michigan's Kellogg Eye Center will be here to demystify red eyes, glowing animal eyes, and other Halloween favorites—and explain why they're nothing to be afraid of.

Did you know our beloved Bookmobile driver Ken MacGregor moonlights as a horror author? 😱 Apparently driving around town spreading literacy wasn't cool enough! 🚌 Read more about Ken and fellow Ypsi authors keeping us up at night this Halloween season: concentratemedia.com/from-true-cr...

There's no perfect way to read—just the way that works for you. 📖

Last week's Voter ID Clinic was a huge success! 🙌 We issued 35 state IDs and connected community members with food, voter registration, clothes, and local resources. Thanks to Voting Access for All, Michigan Secretary of State's Office, the League of Women Voters, and all our tablers!

We're about to get in treble. 🎹 TOMORROW at 2pm, pianist Matthew Ball—The Boogie-Woogie Kid—brings New Orleans jazz to YDL-Whittaker. Expect serious toe-tapping energy! Family-friendly, free, all ages welcome 🎶 Sunday | Oct 12 | 2pm | YDL-Whittaker 🎶