sarah b

six posters are laid out on a white tiled floor. the center poster is largest and is advertising the world premiere of "A Ripple in Ann Arbor"; it is largely in black and white and Blair Shelton is holding his two blood specimen tubes. To the left are three smaller posters. The top left one is a print of a fist in solidarity. The middle left is a letterpress printed quote in olive green. It is in both Arabic and English, stating, "Be bridges toward the liberation of the land and its people" by Martyr Anas Al-Sharif. The lower right is a letter press poster with a background photo in blue of Ghassan Kanafani; superimposed over it in red ink, both Arabic and English, is his quote, "There is no conversation between the neck and the sword." On the right are two smaller posters. The upper right is on red paper and printed on it in a darker red is a quote from Ghassan Kanafani, "We must love and be future-oriented if we wish to carry out the revolution." The lower right is on white paper with "The Power belongs to the People" printed in an ombre yellow to orange. The top left and lower right prints are made by local printmaker De'Mone; the other three smaller prints are made by local printmaker Aya Krisht.

Three photos on a black background. The uppermost left is a photo of a poster at the 2025 AADL printmaking festival that shows the schedule of events. The middle photo is of Aya Krisht giving her talk on Arabic letterpress's history and revival. The lower left photo is of the Q&A after the screening of "A Ripple in Ann Arbor". Nine people are on stage, seven seated at two long tables and two standing at the podium at stage left. Council member Cynthia Harrison is at the podium along with Judge Kerene Moore, who moderated the panel. From left to right seated are: Mayor Chris Taylor, Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit, Washtenaw County Sheriff Alyshia Dyer, Ann Arbor Police Chief Andre Anderson, University of Michigan Law professor Michael Steinberg, ACLU staffer Mary Bejian, and University of Michigan Professor Emerita of Social Work Dr. Edith Lewis.

i keep getting blown away by the depth, breadth, and thoughtfulness around @aadl.org's programming. this weekend's printmaking festival and screening of "a ripple in ann arbor" left me feeling revitalized and reconnected with community. huge thank you to everyone who made these events possible 📚🩵🎥

a light-medium skin toned left hand holds up a blue circular sticker with an american flag and text saying, "I voted in Ann Arbor". the hand holds up the sticker in front of the silvered AADL logo on the front of the downtown library branch.

proud to have voted yes on props a&b this morning at AADL's downtown branch! here's to being on the side of history that supports an exciting, accessible, inclusive, and future-facing library branch. polls close at 8pm today, so go vote if you haven't already! 📚 🗳️ 🩵
#a2council @aadl.org

we couldn't be luckier to be patrons of such a wonderful library system. thank *you* for all you do for the community! 📚

“This is the type of change that will allow us to build an Ann Arbor that is a welcoming, sustainable, and forward looking place. And isn’t that what we all fundamentally want?” - @alphahelicalhair.bsky.social #a2council

cherry on top, a summer game code! 📚

i’ll be voting yes on A&B in large part because it's good for our community and in no small part because i believe in our democratic process. i hope that many of you will reflect on these proposals and vote yes too, for us, for our children, and for the democracy we all believe in.

ann arbor deserves a main public library branch that is a shining beacon to our community. a place that can flourish as an essential and thriving communal space, that is a crucible for our grand ideas, that helps mitigate our housing crisis, *and* that continues to be a bulwark against fascism.

"People who love literature have at least part of their minds immune from indoctrination. If you read, you can learn to think for yourself."

like many of you in this room, i strongly believe that public libraries are essential to the lifeblood of our democracy.

“A public library is the most democratic thing in the world. what can be found there has undone dictators and tyrants: demagogues can persecute writers and tell them what to write as much as they like, but they cannot vanish what has been written in the past, though they try often enough."

my parents emigrated from an authoritarian, totalitarian state so i am especially attuned to listening for the footsteps of fascism. i think often about what nobel laureate doris lessing said:

regarding the commenters afraid of an erosion of our democratic process: ann arbor voters spoke in 2018. time has passed, new ideas have formed, and new information has been learned. what is more democratic than hearing and heeding the needs of our community *now*?

last night’s LWV forum on A&B was packed. thank you to @mollyak.bsky.social and CM erica briggs! i didn’t have a chance to speak because of time, so i'm posting what i would have said in response to those who spoke against A&B. a brief thread 🧵 #a2council

ann arbor, like so many places, deserves a main public library branch that wows and welcomes and has space to hold all of our grand ideas. if you agree, vote yes on A and B this august (and get involved at supportaadl.com/)!
#a2council @aadl.org @mollyak.bsky.social @jessicaletaw.bsky.social

walking around and soaking in BPL's atmosphere, i felt an incandescent disappointment and sadness for those lobbying to vote no on ann arbor's proposals A and B. i wish more folks weren't afraid to dream big.
#a2council @aadl.org @bpl.boston.gov

as with so many of our public libraries, it's more than just a book repository. courtyard to breathe fresh air? ✅ art galleries? ✅ reading room? ✅ cutting edge radio station with live broadcasts? ✅
and that's *barely* scratching the surface.
#a2council @aadl.org @bpl.boston.gov

walking in behind a parent and their children, i overheard them say, "this is one of the best buildings in Boston!”
#a2council @aadl.org @bpl.boston.gov

what an utterly gorgeous testament to public space that connects and informs while bridging the past, present, and future. i saw people of all ages sharing a communal space to learn, work, play, and relax.
#a2council @aadl.org @bpl.boston.gov

i spent so much time in public libraries growing up and that fostered a deep and abiding love for them. i was recently in boston for a conference and visited the central location in copley square for the first time. a brief thread 🧵
#a2council @aadl.org @bpl.boston.gov