This class has been canceled.

Learn to create a spreadsheet and manage a list with Microsoft Excel 2007. Prerequisite: Mouse and keyboarding skills. Join us Friday, September 14th from 10:30 AM to Noon.

CPL's Back to Business School is a great educational opportunity for local businesspeople and entrepreneurs. The following sessions are available:

• Franchising 101 — Tuesday, September 18, 7:00-8:30 PM — with franchise owner George Lytle
• Beginning Business With SCORE — Thursday, September 20, 12:00-1:00 PM
• WordPress to Webpage — Tuesday, September 25, 12:00-1:00 PM — advertise with a free website
• Tweeting for Business Success — Thursday, September 27, 12:00-1:00 PM — with Mike McClure, president of Social Media Club Detroit and Executive Creative Director at The Yaffe Group

Registration is now open: space is limited.

The fourth annual Buy Michigan Now Festival begins today, August 3rd, and runs through the weekend. The festival takes place in Northville and is a celebration of the state’s annual Buy Michigan Week. It includes sidewalk sales, street vendors, live music, and children’s activities, all highlighting Michigan-based businesses and Michigan-made products.

Want to create a spreadsheet, a family budget or manage a list? Learn how with Microsoft Excel 2007.
Date: Friday, May 18th from 11:30 AM-1:00 PM in the Internet Lab
Online registration now open. Attendees should already be familiar with keyboard and mouse.

Are you out of work or thinking about a new career? Stop thinking and start doing! Michigan Shifting Gears is a career-transition program for seasoned corporate professionals who want to pursue opportunities in business growth sectors where they can leverage their business knowledge and experience in new ways.

The daily you: how the new advertising industry is defining your identity and your worth by Joseph Turow

Deadly valentines: the story of Capone's henchman "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn and Louise Rolfe, his blonde alibi by Jeffrey Gusfield

God's jury: the Inquisition and the making of the modern world by Cullen Murphy

Few people know or can adequately explain what cash flow management is, why it is important, or how to manage it through market ups and downs. Find out from a group of panelists tricks and tips on understanding cash flow, and managing to maximize the effectiveness of your company. Want to know more? Register online in advance for free admission to this MIT Enterprise Forum of the Great Lakes event on Tuesday April 10, 2012 from 5:30-8:00 PM at one of these or six other host sites:

• Ann Arbor — with Menlo Innovations, UM Center for Entrepreneurship, SPARK, NEF, MITEF
• U of M Dearborn College of Business — with Henry Ford CC and MITEF

Summer is around the corner. Babysitting is an excellent way to spend your time and possibly make a few extra bucks in the process. On Saturday, April 14th from 9:30 AM-4:30 PM the staff from Starfish Family Services will teach young men and women from 6th-8th grade the basics of babysitting, including safety in the home and caring for infants. Participants will receive certification in first aid. This is an all day event, so don't forget to bring a sack lunch. Registration begins on March 31st at 9:00 AM.

No matter where you are in your life span, you need a life plan. The American Psychological Association Committee on Aging put together a useful brochure to assist in developing an effective plan to secure a healthy, happy, and financially sound old age. Their brochure, Life Plan For The Life Span, begins by checking your attitude and understanding about your aging process by asking important questions.

The complete history of American film criticism by Jerry Roberts

A natural history of the piano: the instrument, the music, the musicians—from Mozart to modern jazz, and everything in between by Stuart Isacoff

The rise and fall of the Bible: the unexpected history of an accidental book by Timothy Beal

Craving guidance to grow your startup? Check out TechTown's upcoming educational workshops designed for entrepreneurs who are hungry to learn:

• 2/28 Intro to Market Research
• 3/14 & 3/21 Invention Development
• 3/20 Sales Essentials
• 3/27 Lunch & Learn with Lawyers
• 4/14-6/16 Operation JumpStart: First Step (Fee based)

You are invited to TechTown's Open House on Tuesday, February 7 from 5:00-7:00 PM. Register at the TechTown site or call 313-879-5250.

If you have an idea for a new product or business or need help developing your idea, tour TechTown's facilities, learn how they can help you, or chat with TechTown's entrepenuer of the month at their this monthly open house.

Before you apply for a business loan, first attend a free financing roundtable. Schoolcraft College MI-SBTDC Business Development Center will be hosting a forum on small business lending on Friday, January 20th from 9:00 AM-Noon at the Schoolcraft Livonia campus with teams of bankers, an SBA representative, an SBA business counselor, and business owners like you. The roundtables are best suited for those who have good credit, a solid business idea, and some money to invest in the business. This event is free, but you will need to register online. For more information, contact Schoolcraft College at 734-462-4438.

If you've wondered about franchising as a possible career for you, be sure to attend University of Michigan-Dearborn's January meeting of The Business of Franchising Initiative on January 12th from 6:00-8:00 PM at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dining Room D.  Bob Fish, founder and CEO of Biggby Coffee will be presenting his story of a small business that grew to a franchise with over 130 locations.  The meeting is free, but you will need to register. 

The Obama administration proposed regulations on Thursday, December 15 to give the nation’s nearly two million home care workers minimum wage and overtime protections. Those workers have long been exempted from coverage. According to the federal government, six million of the 40 million Americans older than 65 now need some form of daily assistance to live outside a nursing home. That number, government officials say, is expected to double to 12 million by 2030.

Then Again by Diane Keaton

1861: the Civil War Awakening by Adam Goodheart

Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, and the Education of a President by Ron Suskind

Fortunate Sons: the 120 Chinese Boys who came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization by Liel Lei

Fred Meijer, the long-time chairman of the Meijer Corporation, reportedly has died of a brain hemorrhage. A statement released by a Meijer representative reads, "Fred Meijer, Chairman Emeritus of Meijer Corp., passed away Friday evening, November 25, 2011 at the Spectrum Health Systems in Grand Rapids, Michigan after suffering a stroke in his home in the early morning hours."

Videos and images from the November 15 award ceremony are now available on the National Book Foundation website. John Lithgow, actor, writer, and musician was NBA Dinner and Ceremony host.

Salvage the bones: a novel by Jesmyn Ward

The swerve: how the world became modern by Stephen Greenblatt

Inside out & back again by Thanhha Lai

Entrepreneurs. Small Business Owners. Got an idea? Curious about how TechTown can help you? Drop in to Wayne State University's Tech Town's inaugural Open House on Tuesday, November 8 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM and have a look around their thriving entrepreneurial community! Register online. The open house features:

• Tours of the facilities
• A Chat with the entrepreneur of the month
• Discussions with staff about how we support entrepreneurs

Fringe-ology: how I tried to explain away the unexplainable—and couldn't by Steve Volk

But will the planet notice?: how smart economics can save the world by Gernot Wagner

The unexpected patriot: how an ordinary American mother is bringing terrorists to justice by Shannen Rossmiller; with Sue Carswell