ADULT WINTER READING PROGRAM
The Pigeon District Library’s Adult Winter Reading Program has begun and will end March 15. Weekly prize drawings are held and participants are invited to the end-of-program party on March 22nd at 5:00 PM. The library staff would like to thank the following individuals and businesses for donating prizes to the program: Bailey Insurance-Pigeon, Bay Café - Caseville, Bay Port State Bank, Bay Theatre - Caseville, Sue Bouck, Caseville True Value Hardware, Co-op Elevator Company, Elkton Hardware, Haist Flowers & Gifts - Pigeon, Harjo’s Ben Franklin - Pigeon, Jeff’s Marketplace-Caseville, Lefty’s - Caseville, Linda’s Basket Case - Pigeon, Mainsail Quick Stop-BP-Caseville, Orr’s Drug Store - Pigeon, Pigeon District Library, Pigeon Hardware, Riverside Roadhouse - Caseville, Scheurer Family Pharmacy-Pigeon, State Farm Insurance-Pigeon, and Thumb National Bank - Pigeon.

CONGRATULATIONS!
Congratulations to Jack Peck and Sheila Davis - Our Week 4 winners in our Adult Winter Reading Program. Jack received a free book along with a $25 gift card which was donated by Cooperative Elevator Company, and Sheila received a free book and two movie tickets donated by Bay Theatre of Caseville.

VALENTINE’S DAY DRAWING WINNERS
Congratulations to the winners of our Valentine’s Day drawing. Cathy Steele was the winner of a box of chocolates and a long-stemmed rose. Hannah Keim, Brittany Richmond, and Shantel Blackburn each won a Valentine bear.

LAP-SIT STORY TIME AND PRE-SCHOOL STORY HOUR
“George Washington” will be the theme for Tuesday, February 22, 2011. One half-hour session is held for Lap-Sit Story Time each Tuesday at 10:00 AM with parent and child attending the Story Time and Pre-School Story Hour is held each Tuesday at 10:30 AM. In both sessions, children listen to stories and participate in finger plays, songs and crafts. There is no cost for this service and new families are always welcome. For more information, please call the library at 453-2341 and ask for Jane Himmel.

MICHIGAN ELECTRONIC LIBRARY (MeL)
MeLCat Hits One Million Requests in 2010
MeLCat, Michigan’s statewide resource-sharing system, received over one million requests in 2010, making MeLCat the first integrated library system to break a million requests in a single calendar year. At the end of December 2010, MeLCat had received 1,049,653 requests and had filled 931,812 loans, achieving an impressive fill rate of 88.77% for the year.
From its humble beginnings in 2005, MeLCat has grown to include 409 libraries of all sizes and types – academic, public, school, and special – that reach urban and rural communities across Michigan. Over the past six years, MeLCat has received 3,312,727 requests and has filled 2,948,089 loans, all at no cost to the Michigan library patron. Resident cardholders of a MeLCat library can go online to the MeLCat system at any time of the day or night to place a request for a book or other item at the click of a mouse. In just a few days, the item will be delivered to their home library.
MeLCat is funded as part of the statewide Michigan eLibrary (MeL) project of the Library of Michigan. The Library of Michigan contracts with MCLS (Midwest Collaborative for Library Services) and partners with a number of Michigan organizations and institutions to provide MeL services. This project is made possible by grant funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the State of Michigan through the Library of Michigan.

JEAN M.R. SMITH COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP
The Jean M.R. Smith Foundation was established in 1996 for the primary purpose of granting college scholarships to Huron County high school seniors seeking to obtain an undergraduate degree. Scholarships may be awarded to students initially attending community colleges. Applicants must be Huron County residents. Scholarship selection criteria include character, academic achievement, extra-curricular activities, community service activities and financial need. Scholarship applications are available from your high school counselor, the Bad Axe Library, or the Pigeon District Library.
The deadline for applying is April 1st.

USED BOOK SALE
The books have been restocked and are bursting with books, video tapes, and puzzles. Join the Friends of the Pigeon District Library at their March Used Book Sale on Saturday, March 5, 2011, in the Reference Room of the library from 10:00 AM to 11:30 pm. Prices range from $.25 to $3.00. Also, don’t forget the On-Going Used Sale. Selected hardcover and paperback books are always on the bookshelves near the circulation counter.

CIRCULATION
Circulation for January 2011 was 3,126 items including 1,785 Books, 1 Toy, 283 DVD Rentals, 298 Video Checkouts, 109 Audio, Books on CD and Playaways, 91 Magazines, 303 Internet Users, 12 Puzzles, 432 New Materials, and 76 NF Videos and DVDs. Inter-Loan statistics included 255 borrowed and 393 loaned to other libraries through the Valley Library Consortium and on the Peabody System 1 item was loaned to another library. Income received included $153.20 from Copier, $178.80 from Fines, and $63.00 from Faxes. Thirty-two registrations for the month included: Caseville 1, Caseville Township 1, Fairhaven 5, McKinley 6, Oliver 8, Winsor 10 and 1 Limited Use Card.