Saving for retirement, college, or a new home? Learn the ins and outs of better investing using Morningstar Investments Research Center.

Morningstar is a comprehensive online investing database that provides independent opinion and data on more than 30,000 stocks and mutual funds. Available to Southern Pines Public Library cardholders via NCLive, Morningstar can be accessed 24 hours a day from home or office computers.

To provide the skills needed to make the most of Morningstar, Southern Pines Library is offering a free training session on Wednesday, April 29, at 4 p.m.

Attendees will discover how to use this valuable database to evaluate retirement and portfolio holdings and how to get helpful articles and industry commentary to make sense of the challenging market. The workshop is free of charge and no sign-up is necessary.

For those who prefer to take part from their home or office, the training session may also be accessed from any location with a phone and Internet connection. To register, send an e-mail to librarytraining@morningstar.com and be sure to mention Southern Pines Public Library in your message.

For more information call the Library at 692-8235 or visit www.sppl.net.

Deadline for Limericks

The deadline for The Pilot's current limerick contest is Apr. 30, with selections published on Wednesday, May 27. Here's the leading line: "My retirement fund is on hold..." This theme may really test your sense of humor. Pilot columnist Joe Piper offers an example:

My retirement fund is on hold;

Should have shifted my dough into gold,

Or even pork bellies,

Peanut butter and jellies,

Heck, even round lots of leaf mold!

E-mail your verses to joelimericks@embarqmail.com. Or mail them to Limericks, The Pilot, PO Box 58, Southern Pines, NC 28388.

Shepard Coming

Adam Shepard, author of "Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream," will be at The Country Bookshop on Thursday, April 23, at 4 p.m. This event was rescheduled from March when Shepard had to cancel because of an injury.

Since his book was published, Shepard has become a much sought-after speaker for high-school and college students, as well as a motivational speaker to other groups. His topics include "The Best Four Years: From Orientation to Graduation, Getting the Most Out of Your College Experience," "Words Talk, Action Walks: On Taking Your Life to the Next Level (Now!)," and "After the Ball Flattens: Preparing Now for Life After Sports."

Shepard recently appeared on "20/20" with John Stossel, "The Today Show," CNN, Fox News and Fox Business, and NPR. His book, "Scratch Beginnings," has been optioned for a movie.

For information, call The Country Bookshop at 692-3211.