Yard Sales and Scavenger Hunts

May 1 is the town wide yard sale in Rensselaer, and most of the community will be out hitting the streets in search of a good deal.

Of course we know one of the best deals in the community are the free books, movies and services provided by the library, but you can rest assured we'll still be here when you're done shopping, or when you're ready for a break.

Tomorrow, we expect, will also introduce a new crowd to the library. Just for the fun of it, a group of local businesses have arranged a scavenger hunt to go on during the day. Proceeds will benefit local organizations including the Jasper County Animal Shelter and the Crisis Center.

Without giving anything away, we can say we are a stop on the scavenger hunt trail, and we hope to see you tomorrow. For more information about the hunt, look for signs in participating businesses, or check out the website at http://www.huntrensselaer.com/.

Good luck to all the teams hunting tomorrow, and for those doing their own special deal hunting.

Happy April Fools Day

Did you know penguins could fly? They can with the magic of the British Broadcasting Corporation and an expert team of skilled video technicians. If you visit the JCPL Kids Zone in April, you can find the video and read more about April Fools Day.

Did you know the BBC also once aired a video about the endangered Swiss spaghetti harvest, back in 1957?  You can also see this interesting video clip via YouTube.

Using television (and other means) to pull practical jokes on friends and the public at large is a tradition that may go back to our primal roots, when early cultures praised the actions of the clever human tricksters that braved the gods and brought us stories (Ananse - Africa), or fire (Prometheus - Greece), or light (Raven - Native American).

Most people know of someone who has been "gotten" by an April Fools Day prank, but those done in good humor and with a good heart are bound to provoke a laugh no matter how long ago they were pulled, and how ludicrous they might seem today.

For an interesting roundup of April Fools Day pranks, check out the Museum of Hoaxes, which has created a user-friendly list of the Top 100 April Fools Day Jokes.

May your spirits of jest always be in good cheer!

Census 2010

It is time again for the U.S. Census, the count of population the country undertakes every 10 years as required by the Constitution, and though this year's form promises to be one of the shortest in history, there will still be plenty of questions about what it is, who must take part, and why.

The what is, simply, the Census counts people. Why? Census information affects the numbers of seats your state occupies in the U.S. House of Representatives, but more than that, the information the census collects helps to determine how more than $400 billion dollars of federal funding each year is spent on infrastructure and services like:

• Hospitals
• Job training centers
• Schools
• Senior centers
• Bridges, tunnels and other-public works projects
• Emergency service

And the who is everyone must take part so the country can have as accurate a count as possible. In March, forms will come to every home in the United States. If the forms are not returned, employees of the Census Bureau known as census takers will follow up with each address.

Thanks to the Internet, there are plenty of sites online to help answer questions about the process. You can even see an advance copy of the form.

You can begin your search here: http://2010.census.gov/ or in Spanish at http://2010.census.gov/espanol/. For common questions about how your information will and will not be used, check out the Census's Common Privacy Questions or check out some common questions asked about the Census itself at The Whole Story.

For those interested in how the Census is going around the country, you can track the progress this year through video, audio and photo blogs, and get an interesting snapshot of American in the process, at the Census's Take Part page.

Whether you are a government planner trying to get money to improve roads or schools or just someone looking for a long-lost ancestor, Census records play an important part in all our lives. For some interesting information gathered from the last census in 2000, check out the main Census site at http://www.census.gov/. Or for something a little closer to home, check out the special list of Census facts gathered about Indianapolis and New Orleans for the Super Bowl XLIV crowd.

Library Lovers Month

February has always been the month for lovers. From sweet nothings of the pen to sweet nothings of the chocolate variety, the month that gave us the Valentine has been the month of romance and amour.

Now, thanks to the Friends and Foundations of California Libraries, it is also the month for those who love their libraries, and frankly, we couldn't be more flattered.

Libraries are non-profit organizations that depend on the support of individuals, corporations, and foundations to help ensure that libraries remain free to the millions of people who visit in person or via the web each year. While government funding supports the basic operations of many of our nation's libraries, those funds don't provide for the many small niceties that make library service such a beloved part of our communities.

From their website "How to Love Your Library," we offer just a few suggestions for ways you can show your support for your favorite public library (wherever it may be):

• Nominate your library as your community, school or corporate organization's project for the year.
• Buy your library a subscription to a popular magazine.
• Donate a book...or a whole shelf of books.
• Remember your library in your estate planning.
• Join your library's friends group and come to a meeting or two.
• Share your passion by offering to present an adult program or fill a display case.

Whatever you give your love to this year, we are glad that many people out there are thinking of libraries. In turn, you can know we are also thinking about you.

Healthy and Helpful

If you've held on this far through the winter without a sniffle, you might think it's all behind you, but according to the Centers for Disease Control, February has been the highest month for flu activity for the past several years!

Now might be time to look at some JCPL resources and recommended links for staying healthy. Through our digital collection of databases, you can check out Facts on File's Health Reference Center. All you need to access these sites at home is your JCPL card and a four digit PIN number. If you don't have a number, call your local library today and we can set one up for you over the phone.

In February you can also stop in at the library and get free and low-cost health screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol and vision. There are different programs offered at each location. Check out our monthly events calendar for more information.

The National Institutes of Health has recently announced NIH Senior Health, a site aimed at older Americans that features larger print options, a print contrast control for easier reading, and each page comes with the option to have the text on the screen read to you.

You can also check out a wide variety of health topics at the NIH's Medline Plus site all year long.

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On an unrelated but timely note, the state of Indiana also sends us this helpful link this week to the Better Business Bureau's charity check website. Click on the special button for tips and information about those charities registered and working in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti. Now you can check before you give.

That time of year again

Once again the Rensselaer Library will be offering AARP-sponsored Tax Assistance appointments free to low and middle income taxpayers,with special attention to those 60 and older.

You can now call the library to schedule an appointment. The appointments will only be scheduled on Thursday, Friday and Saturday: each of those days from 9:15am to noon, Thursday and Friday also from 1-5 p.m. All appointments are one hour, except the 9:15am appointments, which are 45 minutes.

Call now, as appointment slots fill up quickly. Appointments will begin on Saturday January 30 and will run through Thursday April 15.

You can also check at your local library to see what tax forms are available. As with previous years we receive only a limited number and range of forms. If we don't have what you need, we should be able to get it for you online at the cost of 10 cents per page.

Happy filing!

New Year, Lots to Do

If you're lucky, or careful, by now you have probably stopped putting '09 on your correspondence and started adding in the required '10. If you're more like me, you have learned by now you can squeeze that 1 in before the zero and usually it doesn't look too bad.

Speaking of squeezing things in, there are a few more note-worthy events going on this month at the library.

The Prairie Writers Guild will be finishing up their tour of the Jasper County Public Library system this month with a stop in Rensselaer on Monday, Jan 18 at 6:30 p.m. Members were at DeMotte in November and Wheatfield in December, reading from the 2009 edition of From the Edge of the Prairie.

This book, which has been in publication since 2004, has become a place to showcase some of the best writing of the community. This year in addition to guild regulars, the works of several students are featured in its pages, as well as the poetry of Norbert Krapf, the Indiana Poet Laureate in 2008.

Books will be available for purchase, and you can get yours signed by the authors.

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For those with an artistic bent, the DeMotte Library this month is offering an opportunity for patrons to explore the world of oil painting with an all-day (10 a.m.-4 p.m.) class on January 23. The class, which costs $55 for materials, is geared at those of all skill levels. Even if you've never picked up a brush before, you will leave at the end of the day with a finished project.

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DeMotte is also hosting a reading program all month long. See how much your family can read and compete against other families for prizes. For more information, or to get a log book, stop in at the library and see how much time you can rack up with the written word.

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For the younger patrons, there are programs at each location. Teens can check out DeMotte's West Room Writers; younger siblings can check out the Library Kids and Third Thursday program at Rensselaer; and Wheatfield Library is offering some unique storytimes for tots ages 3-5 next week themed around pirates and Strawberry Shortcake.

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All of these stories can be found at our website myjcpl.org.

Whatever you decide to do with all the time in the month or the year that you have left, think on the recent buzz in the library world from New Bedford, Mass., where a patron returned a book that was 99 years overdue. The full story can be read here, but the short fact is, it is never too late to do something worth doing.