Library Annual Report 2025

Mike Fornes will take attendees up the red carpeted steps, through the doors, back to the past, behind the scenes, and to today’s world of Mackinac Island finery with this presentation. While operating the Straits Area Step-On Guide Service for three decades, Fornes has escorted many private tours, corporate organizations, and motor coach groups to the 19th Century mystique of Mackinac Island, including the Grand Hotel. 

The Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library is hosting a monthly book club at the Ishpeming Senior Center (121 Greenwood St., Ishpeming)! This month’s selection is “This is Not a Game” by Kelly Mullen. Copies are available for checkout at the library. Newcomers are always welcome to attend.

Gather together with fellow crafters to socialize while you work on a project of your choice. Beginning supplies and instruction will be provided if you’d like to learn how to crochet! This event is for kids, teens, and adults.

Join us for a gardening presentation with Partridge Creek Farm! You’ll learn how to transplant seedlings and keep them healthy all growing season long. This workshop will feature a (FREE!) transplant swap so bring any extra seedlings you want to trade!

Adults are invited to join us for free Zumba classes at the Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library with instructor, Lola from Aurora Fitness & Yoga! Funded with support from Molina Healthcare of Michigan. 

Adults are invited to join us for the kick-off to our Summer Reading Program! Join us to register for the program and enjoy coffee and donuts while you are here. Drop-in and learn about all of the fun things happening this summer! If you can’t make it at this time, you can still register anytime. 

Join us for adult horror book club! Copies of Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark are available for check out. Meetings are held at the library. 

Join us for discussion and snacks. Copies of the book will be available to checkout at the library ahead of time. Newcomers are always welcome to attend.

Adults are invited to join us for free Zumba classes at the Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library with instructor, Lola from Aurora Fitness & Yoga! Funded with support from Molina Healthcare of Michigan. 

Have you ever wondered how much an antique of yours is worth? Do you have old treasures taking up space? Join Corie Richley from Superior Finds LLC to learn how her business can help with downsizing and clearing clutter that so many of us accumulate throughout the years. She also invites you to bring an item that you would like her to appraise for you at the program. This will be a fun and lighthearted workshop to see what different items are worth!

Travel back to the ancient seas of Michigan and uncover stories hidden in stone from honeycomb corals and trilobites to the colorful feathers of bird-like dinosaurs. Through hands-on fossil matching, microscopes, and paleo-art, discover how scientists piece together life from hundreds of millions of years ago. For children, tweens, and teens. *Two opportunities to attend this event, registration is required and space is limited, please call the library to register*

Travel back to the ancient seas of Michigan and uncover stories hidden in stone from honeycomb corals and trilobites to the colorful feathers of bird-like dinosaurs. Through hands-on fossil matching, microscopes, and paleo-art, discover how scientists piece together life from hundreds of millions of years ago. For children, tweens, and teens. *Two opportunities to attend this event, registration is required and space is limited, please call the library to register*

Join us for adult book club! Copies of The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys are available for check out. Meetings are held at the Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library.

National Mine - Tilden Township Park (650 Co Rd PBD)

Join us for storytime at the National Mine Tilden Township Park followed by playtime at the park!

Join us for guided art classes with local artist, Courtney Johnson. Call the library at 906-486-4381 to register for any classes you wish to attend! For adults.

Social Security: Your Questions Answered is an educational program for people who are nearing retirement, ages 55 and up who have questions about social security. During this 15-minute seminar we'll help answer these questions: 

• How does Social Security fit into my retirement income plan?

• When should I start taking benefits?

• What about taxes?

Join us for adult book club! Copies of The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys are available for check out. Meetings are held at the Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library.

Gather together with fellow crafters to socialize while you work on a project of your choice. Beginning supplies and instruction will be provided if you’d like to learn how to crochet! This event is for kids, teens, and adults.

Tom Biron is Crane Clan (Ajijawk Dodam) and a member of the Anishinaabe Ojibwe First Nation known as Garden River (Kitigan Zibing) in the Gathering place (Bawaating) also known as Sault Ste Marie. Tom Biron is a survivor of the Holy Childhood Boarding School and will be sharing the truths about his experiences at the boarding school from 1956-57. 

Friday, June 19th at 2pm - Painted Book Edges *Registration Required*

For tweens and teens, ages 10+. For events requiring registration, please call the library to register.

ICPL and the Great Start Parent Coalition will team up to offer learning stations and play opportunities all about dinosaurs! Chief Chad of the Ishpeming Police Department will also be here to give books to children as part of the “Books and Badges” program. Ages 6 and under.

Calling all fibers artists including knitters, crocheters, quilters, and other fiber crafters! Gather together to work on blankets for Project Linus, an organization that donates homemade blankets to children in need. Bring your own project to work on for the cause. Also, yarn will be provided to make blankets to donate. 

Join Producer, Lead Investigator and New Jersey Native Mike Familant as he shares his experiences researching and tracking down the truth behind North America’s most iconic cryptid, Bigfoot. Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Grassman, Skunk Ape or Big Red Eye, whatever name you choose to call this large, bipedal hominid, Mike has probably tried to track it down. Mike has been researching this amazing creature for over 15 years, and has captured some impressive evidence along the way. From the Florida Swamps to the North Country of Maine and everywhere in between, Mike is the full-time, lead investigator and producer of the show, “In the Shadow of Big Red Eye. A Q&A will be held after the presentation and Mike will be available after for photographs and autographs.

Learn about fossils, how they were created, where and how we find them, and what they tell us about Earth history! Featuring hands-on activities and the opportunity to explore fossil samples! For ages 6+.

Join us for a visit from Alex Vartan Gubbins featuring his new book of poetry, titled Decoding the Hill of Dead Kings, a part of the Made in Michigan Writers Series. This poetry book focuses on the experiences of living between two places: Michigan and Armenia.

Friday, June 26th at 2pm - Fantasy Map Making

For tweens and teens, ages 10+. For events requiring registration, please call the library to register.

Emily Cummings is the Local History/Adult Programming Coordinator for the Dickinson County Library, which has allowed her to delve into our history in such an exciting, fun, and rewarding way.  When she learned there were local ties to a family onboard the Titanic that had lived close to the house she grew up in on the East Side, she was intrigued. She wanted to learn more about these people and why they were sailing across the Atlantic on this incredible "unsinkable" ship. Through this research, she was able to connect to the tragedy in a much more personal way and wanted to share the stories of these families with others in this presentation.

Local author, MaryAnne Welch will lead our group in a storytime featuring her “viral” picture book, Gnome Place Like Marquette. Storytime will be followed by a discussion about all of the amazing places and things to do in both Marquette and Ishpeming and a themed craft.

Strengthen, stretch, and move with intention in Pilates Mix, a blend of Pilates with functional movement and a touch of a challenge. This class targets the upper body, lower body, and core, building strength, stability, and coordination from the inside out! Bring your own mat if you would like and ankle weights will be provided. Funded with support from Molina Healthcare of Michigan.