The Ypsilanti District Library (YDL) is making summer more accessible, educational, and fun for all. From the eighth annual Summer Challenge to free meals, mutual aid programs, and teen-led music showcases, YDL offers a full slate of free programming as part of a continued effort to connect, uplift, and empower residents of all ages in creative and practical ways.

The YDL Summer Challenge invites readers of all ages to earn points by reading, attending library events, and exploring local businesses through Aug. 24. Participants can earn 10 badges of any kind to claim a prize at the library. Kids and teens get a free book courtesy of the Friends of YDL, while adults receive a themed gift bag. There are additional chances to win grand prizes and treasure chest goodies for every 10 badges earned. 

"The challenge is a great way to see what the library has to offer and what the community is doing," says Jodi Krahnke, YDL's head of youth services and Summer Challenge coordinator. "You can come together and participate in something simple, and I think break some barriers as well."
Doug CoombeJodi Krahnke next to Summer Challenge materials at YDL's Michigan Avenue branch.
This year's Summer Challenge is broken up into three participation categories: "read," in which participants earn points for every book read and logged until Aug. 24; "learn," which encourages participants to enjoy various library programs throughout the summer to collect secret codes for points; and "explore," which prompts participants to go beyond the library to hunt for Summer Challenge signage at businesses and restaurants throughout the Ypsi community. The library has also partnered with local schools to bring more accessible summer camp programming to children and families throughout the community, which also allows them to participate in the challenge and put their points towards a variety of prize packs. All participants under 18 receive a free book courtesy of the Friends of YDL. 

"We have over 2,000 people participating right now, and we’re set to be on track to have similar participation rates to previous years," Krahnke says. "We’re seeing a lot of people really happy that they’re able to come here and find things for their families to do."

In addition to the Friends of YDL, Krahnke highlights the variety of sponsors that have helped to build 26 prize packs for participants to win this year. From the Toledo Zoo, Meijer, and Toyota Project STEM to local businesses like Cold Comfort Ice Cream; This, That, and the Odder Things; and Ypsilanti Art Supply, prize packs can be enjoyed by individuals and families alike. 

"We really try to listen to and partner with other organizations so we can provide what people are requesting," Krahnke says. "We want to make services and activities from across the county more accessible so families don’t have to pay a fee to participate in them somewhere else."

Noise Permit

The Summer Challenge is aimed at all ages, but other YDL summer programming is geared specifically toward Ypsi's youth. One such program is the ongoing Noise Permit, a series of events started in 2011 for youth up to age 24 to hone their creative skills. The program culminates in a concert for participants to showcase their work. 

"This is an opportunity to celebrate the teens in our community and everything they have to say," says YDL Teen Librarian Kelly Pedersen Scott, who is overseeing Noise Permit this summer. "And it reminds the community that teens do have a voice and have something valuable to add to our world."
Doug CoombeKelly Pedersen Scott in the basement of YDL's Michigan Avenue branch, where Noise Permit programming takes place.
This year's Noise Permit program kicked off in June and will run until July 29. Participants meet twice a week at both YDL's Michigan Avenue branch and the Ozone House Drop-In Center to write and/or produce songs, poems, or other creative pieces to be performed at an Aug. 2 concert. The program is a partnership with Dante Dorsey, founder of the Flint nonprofit organization Music Means More, Inc., which aims to connect youth with creative opportunities and education. Dorsey runs the workshops at both YDL and Ozone House. 

Scott highlights that Noise Permit is open to any teens in the community, regardless of their interest in live music performance. She explains that Noise Permit's core goal is to connect teens with the broader community and highlight their voices, regardless of the creative medium they choose to express themselves. 

"We’ve had teens showcase their artwork with a table. Some have sold stickers they made. Another ... sold baked goods," Scott says. "We want to try to give opportunities to teen entrepreneurs as well, since there are teens who maybe aren’t interested in a stage performance."

Scott hopes that more adults in the community will recognize the value of teen voices when it comes to social and political matters that impact the city and township of Ypsilanti. She feels that teens in general are "the voiceless of all ages," and hopes that those who participate in the program this summer feel welcomed and accepted by the community while also expanding their knowledge of their creative pursuits.

"As much as teens are dealing with everyday life troubles, they’re also worried about what’s going on in the world beyond them," Scott says. "This is an opportunity to take the stage without adults overshadowing them or speaking over them. It will be cool to see what they have to offer."

Mutual aid programs

YDL also has a robust new offering of mutual aid programs, courtesy of recently hired library social worker Kat Layton. Since spring, Layton has been developing a Library Care Coordination program, consisting of a variety of recurring events designed to connect community members with Washtenaw County organizations to address homelessness and health care access.

"Just by being a resident and a community social worker here in Ypsi over the past 10 years, it’s so clear how synonymous Ypsi is with mutual aid," Layton says. "We want to build true wrap-around coordination efforts. If I can’t do something, I know someone who can."
Doug CoombeKat Layton.
Layton hit the ground running at YDL. She says she served 76 people within her first two months at the library, connecting them with local resources. Through discussions with library patrons and other service providers, she determined that the community's primary unmet needs were "housing, phones, and vital documentation." To address these issues, she has connected patrons with Housing Access of Washtenaw County (HAWC) to start the process of finding housing, and brought Michigan Secretary of State staff to the library on a regular basis to help patrons get legal identification.

Layton has also connected community members to more local resources. Library patrons are able to get free meals for themselves and their families through a partnership with FedUp Ministries at the library’s Michigan Avenue branch on Tuesdays, and the Superior branch on Thursdays. Those in need of harm reduction supplies or minor wound care can visit Leaf Harm Reduction and Wolverine Street Medicine on Mondays at the Michigan Avenue branch. Layton says that bringing local resources together helps to inform community members about programs they may not know about yet, while ensuring that library staff don’t burn out developing new programs when successful programs already exist elsewhere in the community.
Doug CoombeFedUp Ministries' food truck at YDL's Michigan Avenue branch.
"Having a trusted person who they see every other week helps folks to build community," Layton says. "We were very intentional about how to get to the root issues our neighbors are having, and make sure we aren’t just putting a Band-Aid on things."

Layton says the crux of her work is the one-on-one conversations she has with patrons, whether through appointments or her drop-in hours. She hopes to help broaden the library’s ever-growing resource map this fall, when the library will receive new social work interns from the Eastern Michigan University School of Social Work as part of the library’s ongoing partnership with the university.

"What’s really nice about this position is we can expand what’s possible and connect with who is doing what, all through one coordinated hub of the library," Layton says. "We want to create a presence and have conversations to find out where the barriers are and who to tap into next to fill that gap."

Layton says she’s hoping to continue expanding program offerings, depending on service providers' capacity. 

"The beauty of the program is how we get to be creative about what is possible and what isn’t, and then find ways to make it possible," Layton says. "I wish I could do even more, but having those intentional moments with people really goes a long way."
Doug CoombeKelly Scott, Jodi Krahnke, and Kat Layton.
Information about the YDL Summer Challenge, Noise Permit, and all other summer programming at YDL can be found on the library’s website. For more information about ongoing social work and mutual aid programs, contact Layton at librarycare@ypsilibrary.org.

"Libraries bring people together," Krahnke says. "When you’re looking at all the different people who come to and support the programs, they are coming from all different cultures and identities, and the library lets them come together in a safe and welcoming space."

All photos by Doug Coombe.