Meeting Room Info
Following the latest Michigan Health and Human Services Department order which eases capacity limits on gatherings, the Petoskey District Library’s meeting room guidelines have been updated to accommodate larger numbers.
Large meeting room: groups of 4 from multiple households can reserve the space.
Lower level classroom: groups of 10 from multiple households can reserve the space.
Carnegie Building: groups of 25 can reserve the space. To reserve the Carnegie, please call Sarah Biskup, 231.758.3144
All groups must adhere to social distancing and mask requirements. At this time, library programs will meet virtually, with some small in-person programs coming this spring. For more information about reserving meeting room space, please visit here or call 231.758.3100
April 22 Library Board Meeting
This month’s board meeting will be on Thursday, April 22 at 5:00 p.m. virtually on Zoom. Meetings are open to the public and held on the fourth Thursday of every month. The Library Board is made up of five residents of the City of Petoskey appointed by the mayor. Please visit here for Zoom access information and this month’s agenda.
In order to contact members of the board, the public may either email: library@petoskeylibrary.org or call 231.758.3120. The Petoskey District Library will provide necessary, reasonable aids and services, such as signers for the hearing impaired and audiotapes of printed materials, to individuals with disabilities upon a two week notice to the Library. Continue Reading
Library FAQ
Please click on the following links to read about Petoskey District Library’s services and plans:
Curbside Service
Virtual Library Cards & Digital Services
Pandemic Response Opening Procedures
Workplace Preparedness Plan
Continue Reading
No films until the end of April
The Petoskey Film Series is taking a hiatus from film screenings, per the request of the Governor for a two-week pause on indoor gatherings. Films will resume on Friday, April 30 at 7:30 p.m. in the Carnegie Building.
PDL Page Turners Book Club
Our library-led book club is in session! Our next virtual meeting is Tuesday, April 20 at 5:30 p.m. on Zoom, when we will discuss The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk W. Johnson. New members are always welcome. Registration and an email address are required for Zoom access. Visit our Reading List to see which titles are coming up, to request library copies on hold, and to see what we have read in the past.
PDL Podcast Club
Are you an avid podcast listener but wish you could talk to people about all those great episodes you’ve spent hours listening to? Join our virtual monthly podcast discussion group to get you talking! Our club meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month and the next meeting will be on Tuesday, April 27 at 7:00 p.m. and the theme is: Intelligence.
Registration and an email address are required for Zoom access. The meeting ID and passcode will be in your registration confirmation email. Once you register for this event, you will be emailed a thematic listening list with 1–5 hours of podcast episodes. Simply listen and come ready to have a great chat!
Story Adventures
Join Miss Lisa and Kate Cohen from the Learn Local Academy of TOPOnexus on Wednesday, May 5, May 19, June 2 and June 16 from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. on the library’s outdoor labyrinth for a short story time followed by a mini walking adventure that takes you out and about town. We will use our senses (including wonder!) to explore four themes that make Petoskey special – water, rocks, trees, and town. This program is appropriate for children ages 3 – 5 years old, but siblings are always welcome to join!
Kid’s Watercolor class
Virtually join Miss Megan and Rachel Leipprandt on Saturday, May 8 at 11:00 a.m. to learn some basic watercolor techniques and have fun making amazing art. The library will provide the supplies, you just need to drop by the children’s department and pick them up! This program is appropriate for school age children. Registration and an email address are required for Zoom access. Can’t wait to see what we create together!
Great Decisions
Does your inquisitive mind wish to dig deeper into current foreign policy issues? Join PDL librarians Mary Hohlbein and Kate Scollin every month for an informal study of topics compiled by the Foreign Policy Association as the most critical global issues facing America today. The topics discussed generally do not appear in the regular news cycle, but nonetheless are events that are shaping our world today. We look forward to meeting with other curious minds monthly in the quest to understand the world a little better, and connect with fellow community members in the process! Borrow a Briefing Book from PDL to prepare for the month’s discussion topic. Registration and an email address are required for Zoom access. The meeting ID and password will be emailed to registrants the day before the program. Registrations are not linked, you must register for each month’s session separately.
Next meeting: Tuesday, May 11, 6:30 p.m.
Topic: The Arctic
Digital Magazines on Libby!
NOW AVAILABLE! Ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines all in one place! We are excited to help streamline your reading experience by offering magazines in the popular Libby app you are already using for our collection of ebooks & audiobooks. Petoskey Library cardholders can read digital magazines on Libby, the award-winning one-tap reading app from OverDrive, or by visiting here. Magazines check out for 7 days, will not count against your checkout limits and can be renewed, or borrowed again at any time. Enjoy a vast variety of titles like US Weekly, National Geographic, Good Housekeeping Vanity Fair, and Rolling Stone, to name a few. For help using Libby, view this helpful guide. The RBdigital app you used for digital magazines will be retired on March 31, 2021.
Material Recommendation Forms
Book Stack is a book recommendation form for kids or grown ups of kids to use. The youth services staff will pick out five titles we think you’ll love and email you the list! You can choose to place the items on hold or come into the library to pick them up. If you need us to put the books on hold, let us know! Try it out!
Book Match is a book recommendation form for teens and tweens. Are you stuck, trying to figure out your next read? Then you have come to the right spot! Let us help you out, fill out the simple form and we’ll help pick out your next read.
PDL Stack is an item recommendation form for adults to use. Are you short on time? Want to try something new? Fill out the form and we will pick a stack of items (books, DVDs, CD music, etc.) just for you!
Service of the Month
For the Month of April, Ask Us About … Libby
Libby is the one-tap reading app from our library where you can borrow up to 5 ebooks or digital audiobooks, and unlimited digital magazines for no charge using your library card. You can stream books with Wi-Fi or mobile data, or download them for offline use and read anytime, anywhere. View this Getting Started with Libby guide for more information on downloading, signing in, and using Libby, or view our Niche Academy tutorial here.
TumbleBook Library
PDL has a TumbleBooks subscription that can be accessed online through this direct link. Explore, read and have fun! TumbleBooks are animated, talking picture books which teach kids the joy of reading in a format they’ll love. TumbleBooks are created by taking existing picture books, adding animation, sound, music and narration to produce an electronic picture book which you can read, or have read to you. TBL also includes National Geographic videos and games. Users can also access TBL from any smartphone or iPad/Android tablet by downloading the app. Subscriptions are unlimited, meaning your kids can read as much as they want, when they want, with no wait times, check-outs, or downloads.
Tax Form Information – Petoskey Library now has 2020 IRS and MI forms!
IRS (Federal) Tax Forms
The 2020 IRS 1040 Forms and Instructions are available in the reference area on the second floor. We will gladly assist you in downloading and printing forms or ordering forms by mail at the Reference Desk on the second floor. The following list contains links to some common IRS tax forms, instructions, and publications. Other forms and publications are also available at the IRS website.
Tax return preparation and filing options include Free File and e-file can be found here. Continue Reading
Value Line at Home
Now with your Petoskey District Library card (barcode), enjoy remote access to Value Line, the most complete guide to investment research and a full array of products including the Research Center, Value Line Investment surveys (standard edition, plus edition, small & mid-cap edition), the Selection & Opinion newsletters, Value Line Mutual Fund Surveys and many more. Value Line is one of the most highly regarded and widely used independent investment research resources available. Create your own custom reports; use the screener tool to understand profit and risk; and gather incomparable data, news, and analysis all from home. Library cardholders can access this premium investment tool from any location with Internet access, while non-cardholders can access Value Line from a Petoskey Library computer. The library’s print subscription of Value Line Investment Survey will continue until October 2020.
Genealogy Research from Home
Need a fun activity to do while social distancing? Why not try some genealogical research from home? The Petoskey District Library is providing Ancestry.com (Library Edition) to you remotely. Remote access is available to PDL cardholders until June 30, 2021. Log in to our online catalog to access the link. Here are some directions to get you started.
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.
Fine Free 2020
If overdue fines have kept you or your family from using the Library, we have great news for you! Petoskey District Library (PDL) is proud to join fine-free libraries across the country and we look forward to welcoming back many patrons who have stopped using the library because of overdue fines. What started on January 1, 2020, overdue fines are no longer charged on most items. Most patrons’ existing overdue balances were wiped clean to give them a fresh start to the year. Continue Reading