Join the Royal Oak High School students of PushPLAY as they "Scoop Up Literacy." Support your local libraries while enjoying your favorite ice cream at Treat Dreams in Ferndale at 22965 Woodward on May 19 from 12:00 noon - 10:00 PM. Donate a gently used book or bring in the flyer below, and Treat Dreams will donate 50% of your purchase to the libraries. Donations will be used to purchase new books and media to support literacy in our communities.

In honor of the Battle of the Books, Treat Dreams will feature custom-designed ice creams for each of our competitors: Royal Oak Public Li-Berry and Ferndale Public Library Reading Rainbow. The library with the best-selling flavor (first to sell out) will receive an additional $50.00 donation from Treat Dreams.

The Royal Oak Public Library’s hours will be changing beginning the first week of June. The new library hours will be: Monday and Wednesday 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM; Tuesday and Thursday 12:00 noon – 9:00 PM; Friday and Saturday 10 AM:00 – 6:00 PM. This is a reduction of four hours - from the current 60 hours a week to 56. Additionally, in June library overdue fines will increase from 15 cents to 25 cents per day. Overdue fines can be avoided by renewing materials online, dropping them off 24/7 at the outside drop boxes, or renewing by phone during library hours at (248) 246-3700. The threshold for a library card being blocked because of outstanding fines will be changed from the current $10 to $5. The Royal Oak Public Library Board of Trustees voted to make these changes now to avoid the potential for more drastic cost saving measures in the future.

The art exhibition will coincide with the dedication of Royal Oak Public Library Butterfly Garden Dedication Ceremony on June 23, 2012. Names of participating artists will be included in the Butterfly Garden Dedication program.

April is National Autism Awareness Month and the fifth annual World Autism Awareness Day is April 2nd. This is an excellent time to learn about the impact of autism on citizens and to promote treatment methods and research developments. According to the CDC, 1 in every 110 children has an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

In 2003, Governor Granholm declared April as Autism Awareness Month. Corner Pieces, has launched Light It Blue Michigan in recognition of autism awareness. The Mackinac Bridge will be lit blue at sundown on April 2 to kick off the month-long campaign.

Royal Oak Library cardholders will be able to check out a day pass to any of the 98 state parks from April 1 through October 1, 2012. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment and The Library of Michigan are offering Park and Read for a fourth year.

Park & Read allows library card-holders the ability to "check-out" a one-day pass into any Michigan state park or recreation area in lieu of the resident daily motor vehicle permit. This $6 savings also provides free access to the more than 500 events taking place in state parks throughout the summer.

Brown’s novel Lethal is this year’s choice for the annual community reading program sponsored by metro Detroit public libraries in Oakland and Wayne counties.

Royal Oak Public Library cardholders can enter a raffle for 29 pairs of free tickets to see Brown on Thursday, March 22 at 7:00 PM at the Adat Shalom Synagogue, 29901 Middlebelt Road, Farmington Hills. Just visit the library to submit a raffle entry. Entries must be submitted by Thursday, March 15 at 5:00 PM.

Are you interested in Royal Oak History? You can visit our Local History Room or the Royal Oak Historical Society Museum. Museum curator, Muriel Versagi, gave a very informative talk describing all the treasures found at the museum here at the library on November 2.

Are you interested in your family’s history? Milford Librarian Sarah Hatter presented a workshop here on November 9th titled Researching your Family History.

It’s getting late in the season, but not too late to visit the butterfly-friendly garden established on the grounds of the Royal Oak Public Library. The garden is complete with host and nectar plants and is growing more beautiful with year. This past spring and summer, Maria Blair, our new garden coordinator, along with her crew of volunteers, maintained and planted in the garden.

They recently planted fall flowers and dressed the garden up with pumpkins, just in time for the Time Capsule ceremony.

Plans are underway for a special dedication ceremony for the Butterfly Garden in June 2012. Many exciting Butterfly Garden events will take place next spring and summer!

The project involved gathering artifacts that reflect what life in Royal Oak is like. These items were buried on Saturday, October 1, 2011, in the Butterfly Garden on the lawn of ROPL in a sealed container to be dug up in 2046 when the City of Royal Oak is celebrating its 125th anniversary as a city. How different will Royal Oak be 35 years from now? And how much will it be the same? The Time Capsule Project has given us an opportunity to assess what a vibrant community we have and ponder its past and its future. When residents of 2046 dig up and open this time capsule they will discover what Royal Oak was like in 2011, which should evoke memories of the past and contribute hopes for the future of this community.

Next month the Library will host a four-part series saluting the enduring appeal of Jane Austen. Speakers will examine her works, her life in Regency England and how her books compare to the many film adaptations of her work. We’re even hosting a “Jane Austen Tea.” To learn more about Austen, check out the Library’s fine collection of the author’s novels and stories; books analyzing her literature; and the many mysteries, romances and even zombie mash-ups she has inspired. Some titles are listed here.