The Bancroft Branch of the Community District Library will host a beginners beading class on Tuesday, February 23rd from noon until 2:00 pm. The class will be taught by Lorna Kellogg. She will cover beading techniques and participants will have the opportunity to practice contour beading on cloth as well as beading on an Indian loom. Lorna says, "This is a very easy skill which can produce impressive results!"

Those attending the class are asked to bring a pair of scissors and a piece of cloth such as flannel, corduroy or a smooth cotton dish towel. They are also invited to bring anything made with beads that they would like to show to the class. Needles, thread, seed beads and materials to practice on will be provided. Preregistration is required and the class fee is $15. The first six people to sign up will also receive a beading book, valued at $25, covering many techniques and projects. Phone Mary at 989-634-5689 to register. The library is located at 625 Grand River Rd. inside the Shiawassee Township Hall.

As many of our patrons know, receiving library notices via e-mail is a fast and convienient way to get notified by the CDL if you have a book on hold and ready for pick-up. Our e-mail notice system also sends you reminders when items are coming due. The problem with e-mail notices for many people is that some patrons don't check their e-mail very often. By the time they read the notice, they're already home or at work. Well, what if you could get these notices on your cell phone via a text message?

Getting notices on your cell phone as a text message is handy since most cell phone owners have their phones with them all the time. You can receive library notices (and any other e-mail based messege) as text messages by simply sending the message to something called an e-mail gateway. Basically, you e-mail your cell phone carrier using your phone number as part of the e-mail address and the carrier forwards the message to your cell phone as a text message.