On March 13, Ann Arbor District Libraries closed all of their libraries indefinitely to help contain the spread of the COVID-19 within the community. In addition, the AADL is asking community members to hold on to all items instead of returning them into the library’s dropbox. During this period, where many families are homebound, AADL encourages community members to look into its various online resources. 

“The AADL continues to offer a number of resources via aadl.org, including audiobooks, ebooks, music and movie downloads, access to arts and crafts tutorials, genealogy resources, Consumer Reports and so much more,” Rich Retyi, manager of communication at AADL, said. “We’ve also got some surprises in store starting March 16. Watch aadl.org for updates.”

The library has been an integral part of Ann Arbor for over 164 years. The long-term closure is unprecedented in the library system’s history. 

“In my time at AADL, the only time we’ve closed was during a big ice storm,” Retyi said. 

All due dates for items from the library will be currently extended to April 30, however, this date is subject to change if the library decides to continue to remain closed into May.