For the Month of June, Ask Us About…Summer Reading Programs!

Summer Reading is a way for children, teens, and adults to engage with the library over the summer. Summer Reading can be as challenging or as casual as the reader wants, they simply stop by PDL and pick up a bingo board, or print off your own, and start reading! We encourage reading FOR FUN, and we will help create a habit of reading for pleasure by connecting kids, teens, and adults with books they enjoy in a variety of formats. Additionally, we will provide access to reading materials, activities, and programs designed specifically for their ages and interests. Finally, fun prizes will be given to all who turn in their bingo boards!

The turquoise waters of beautiful Walloon Lake have long attracted resorters from across the Midwest, including many from Petoskey’s best known families. Join lifelong Wallooner Lauren Macintyre on Monday, June 27 at 7:00pm in the Carnegie Building, located at 451 E Mitchell St. and explore the legends and lore of Walloon’s famous families, hotels and camps. Lauren is a former president of the Walloon Lake Association who writes articles on Walloon history for the Wallooner magazine.

Visit our second floor and just past stacks and stacks of fiction books, you will see another display of books of a slightly different variety. Handcrafted ceramic book spine tiles make up the Library’s donor wall located near the entrance to the Local History Room. The beautiful display of tiles each display a brass nameplate of the donor(s) or memoriam description, and each color of tile represents a different donation amount bracket in amounts of $500 to over $10,000.  Since 2004 when it was created, the donor wall has continued to grow, each donation carefully tracked and moved up the amount brackets accordingly. Continue Reading

Can’t pick up your library items during regular library hours? Choose to pick up your library items from our 24/7 entry lockers. Lockers are located in the indoor entryway found at our east entrance off of Mitchell Street. The purchase of the 24/7 lockers was made possible by a grant from the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation, thank you! If you’d like to request a locker, call us at 231.758.3100 (press 2), or learn how to request your items for pick up in the 24/7 lockers here.

Attention! Beginning January 2022, Ancestry Library Edition will no longer be available remotely (from home). ProQuest had graciously allowed temporary remote access for nearly 2 years, due to the closing of so many libraries in the wake of Covid-19. Once the new year begins, it will only be available within the physical library. For those of you who still wish to access genealogical sources remotely, MyHeritage Library Edition(powered by Ancestry) is your best option. This is accessible through Michigan eLibrary (MeL) via the e-resource MyHeritage Library Edition. Also, make sure to check out the Greenwood Cemetery website for local research.

Enjoy access to genealogical research in the Library, or from home! The Petoskey District Library is providing Ancestry.com (Library Edition) to you remotely. Remote access is available to PDL cardholders until December 31, 2021. Login to our online catalog to access the link from the Research drop-down menu.

Another cool resource is The Greenwood Cemetery website. Here you can access full newspapers from Emmet County, dating back to the 1870s. This site is always expanding, and it now has thousands of historical photographs and documents, all accessible from your home computer. We are very fortunate to have such a unique resource available to us.

Did you know that the Library of Congress has digitized a ton of Sanborn Fire Maps? Currently, you can access maps from over 3000 U.S. cities. These detailed maps are historical snapshots that tell a vivid story of our past. Beware! This site can take you down some rabbit-holes, and you may lose track of hours of your time.