Libraries to start lending money ~ NewsBiscuit

In its latest bid to kick-start the nation’s ailing economy, the government has announced that public libraries will extend their current range of services to include the lending of money. From today, customers borrowing books will also be able to take out financial loans for a period of three weeks, though it may be possible to renew the terms of these agreements provided no other customer is waiting to borrow the cash.
‘After many years experience of lending books to the reading public, the nation’s libraries are ideally positioned to move into the competitive financial sector,’ said Alistair Darling. ‘Just one look at their modern dynamic workforce and state-of-the-art equipment should reassure even the most hardened sceptic that their proven track record in bookkeeping will make this scheme a resounding success.’
Gearing up for the libraries’ new role has been a big operation. Library desks are now stocked with large leather briefcases, or ‘bags for life’, to assist customers carrying off loans in the ‘hefty to whopping’ range. In addition, books of outsize cheques, previously only accepted as legal tender at charity fundraising events, have been ordered in for the large print sections, while reference libraries have been expanding their coin collections for the benefit of customers with particularly poor credit ratings. It has also been confirmed that Securicor has been awarded the contract for a new fleet of mobile libraries.
Tight financial control will limit borrowers to no more than six loans at a time on a single library card, enforced by a zero-tolerance culture which will see any failure to return a loan by the date stamped on the cash result in harsh penalties of 5p a day up to a limit of GBP5. Persistent breaches of loan conditions will lead to customers being fixed with a chastening stare by the beady-eyed old lady on the checkout desk.
However, some critics have questioned the credentials of the public libraries to operate such a scheme. A number of branches needed massive government bailouts after announcements of enormous hikes in gas prices saw a pre-winter run on Jeffrey Archer novels. Concerns have also been raised about offering children 500% mortgages with their ‘Horrid Henry’ books, but libraries say they are prepared to accept small regular repayments from children’s pocket money to avoid them getting into financial difficulties.
The government also used the launch of the lending scheme at Watford Public Library to explain fully how it was going to get out of the current financial mess. Unfortunately Alistair Darling’s whisper could not be heard and every time a journalist asked a difficult question, government advisors around the library said ‘Shhh!’

~ Faith

The Power of Less

The Power of Less
An interesting book about increasing your productivity and efficiency. Focuses on what works for implementing change in your life.
Check it out!
--Sarah

Joan Armatrading ~ A Women in Love

When first you hear the voice, rich, warm, remarkable, it's a voice that suits a secret sharer, a woman who tells the truth. For 36 years, Joan Armatrading has done just that-- in songs crafty, subtle and sublime. Armatrading's songs are in the truest sense soul music; even at their boldest, driven by her passionate guitar, they touch the listener like a whisper to the ear, like confessions from heart to heart. - Official Website

A Woman in Love Video

When the morning comes
Like shifting sands
In a desert storm
Like a raging fire
Heats up the big sky baby
Your love is pure and strong
Chained to your heart I surrender
Here's where I belong

And If I get emotional and I'm restless
You’re like a soothing ray of light
Bring to me to my senses in a heart beat darling
Hold me tender in the night

Tell me what miracles are made of
Like the sweet soft morning dew
How can I ever show you baby
How can I prove it all to you

That I'm a woman in love
I'm a woman in love
I'm a woman in love
I'm a woman in love.

I get so mixed up and tongue tied
I can hardly say my name
Bring to me to my senses in a heart beat darling
Hold me tender in the night

Cos I'm a woman in love
I'm a woman in love
I'm a woman in love
I'm a woman in love.

Never thought this would
Never thought this would
Never thought this would happen to me

Request from WPL.

~ Faith

Earth 3.0

Earth 3.0

Scientific American: Special Edition
March 2009

FEATURES
The Next Generation of BiofuelsCompanies are poised to go commercial with gasoline substitutes made from grass, algae and the ultimate source: engineered microorganisms By Melinda Wenner

Polar Meltdown Triggers International Arctic LandgrabNations scramble to claim their share of the petroleum riches trapped deep within the Arctic seabed as global warming loosens that ocean's icy grip on its bounty By Jessa Gamble

Giving the Power Grid Some BackboneThe U.S. needs a high-voltage transmission system to deliver plentiful energy from wind and sunshine to power-hungry cities. At least one plan has emerged By Matthew L. Wald

The Ogallala Aquifer: Saving a Vital U.S. Water SourceThe massive underground water source feeds the middle third of the country but is disappearing fast. Can it be conserved? By Jane Braxton Little

Obama's Climate Challenge: Winning the Carbon GameHow Obama and his team can pass climate legislation and reach an international accord by December 2009 By Chris Mooney

How Business Can Influence Climate PolicyBusinesses can influence government action on climate in many ways—as long as they start by building their own environmental credibility By Auden Schendler

Top 10 Myths about SustainabilityEven advocates for more responsible, environmentally benign ways of life harbor misunderstandings of what "sustainability" is all about By Michael D. Lemonick

PBS ~ Poisoned Waters

A far-reaching investigation into America's great waterways. They are in peril. There's a new wave of pollution that's killing fish, causing mutations in frogs - - and threatening human health.

"The environment has slipped off our radar screen because it's not a hot crisis like the financial meltdown, war or terrorism," Smith says. "But pollution is a ticking time bomb. It's a chronic cancer that is slowly eating away the natural resources that are vital to our very lives."

Watch online.

Information about Environmental protection and Citizen participation
is available at the Wilkinson Public Library.

~ Faith

Celebrating Earth Day

About Earth Day Network
Earth Day Network was founded on the premise that all people, regardless of race, gender, income, or geography, have a moral right to a healthy, sustainable environment. Our mission is to broaden and diversify the environmental movement worldwide, and to mobilize it as the most effective vehicle for promoting a healthy, sustainable environment. We pursue our mission through a combination of education, public policy, and consumer activism campaigns. Our campaign and programs are predicated on the belief that an educated, energized population will take action to secure a healthy future for itself and its children. Earth Day Network has a global reach with a network of more than 17,000 partners and organizations in 174 countries. More than 1 billion people participate in Earth Day activities, making it the largest secular civic event in the world.

A Billion Acts of Green
Welcome to the Earth Day Network personal actions registration tool. Enter your personal action here, be it recycling, planting a tree, changing out your lightbulbs, or any action you have personally taken to better the earth. You will be one of a billion people worldwide we hope to activate for Earth Day. We will count you as a member of The Green Generation, a movement toward sustainability that includes everyone.

Get Active
We could use your help! Earth Day Network's staff and partners provide environmental education and civic participation year round through a variety of innovative programs, activities and resources. Each year, we also provide support and resources to thousands of organizations planning Earth Day events and activities.

Here's how you can get involved:
Donate or join EDN, help fight global warming, support Earth Day and our other programs Register your organization and network with our other partners Get active with Earth Day Network. Visit our Volunteer Center Register with the EDN's Educators Network and enjoy free curriculum, contests and other activities.

Find more information on Environmental Protection at the Wilkinson Public Library.

~ Faith

2009 Pulitzer Prizes for Letters, Drama and Music

The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City.
Prizes are awarded yearly in twenty-one categories. In twenty of these, each winner receives a certificate and a U.S. $10,000 cash reward. The winner in the public service category of the journalism competition is awarded a gold medal, which always goes to a newspaper, although an individual may be named in the citation. More information on the Pulitzer Prize.

2009 Pulitzer prizes for letters, drama, and music. check it out . M

The Visitor

This is one of the best films I have seen in quite some time; Perfectly casted, perfectly acted, and thought provoking. The theme is current and portrays the conflicts of the heart that arise from our connections in contemporary America. Walter Vale is a widower who teaches economics at a Connecticut university. He lives alone and has become disenchanted by his work. In New York to present a paper at a conference, he goes to the apartment that he has not visited in some time, but has kept since his wife was alive, only to discover a young couple living there. Despite their great cultural differences, Walter befriends Tarek, a Syrian citizen and drummer, and gradually builds a friendship with Esi, his girlfriend from Senegal. The beauty in their friendship is their differences. I will not spoil the plot by revealing anymore, but I will urge you to check it out. M

Testing and Reference Center ~ Library e-Resource

This is an extremely valuable tool for anyone on the path to higher education. Search the database to choose the right college, graduate or professional school. Access practice tests and preparation tools for the GED, SAT, LSAT, GRE & specific subject certification exams. You can register to set up your preferences, save test results & searches. Study guides are also available for checkout at the library.

~ Faith

Silent Spring ~ Rachel Carson

Like the resource it seeks to protect, wildlife conservation must be dynamic, changing as conditions change, seeking always to become more effective. - Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson is the founder of contemporary environmental movement, author of Silent Spring, advocate of nature and environmental ethics. She died in 1964 after a long battle against breast cancer. Her witness for the beauty and integrity of life continues to inspire new generations to protect the living world and all its creatures.

Silent Spring Institute builds on a unique partnership of scientists, physicians, public health advocates, and community activists to identify and break the links between the environment and women’s health, especially breast cancer.

~ Faith

Celebrating Poetry Month

Spotlight on National Poetry Month
National Poetry Month, launched in April 1996, commemorates poetry and its significant placement in the American cultural landscape. Literary and poetry organizations, publishers, libraries, schools, booksellers and poets throughout the nation participate in the annual month-long celebration each April, which includes poetry readings, workshops and festivals. National Poetry Month, by honoring all aspects of poetic activity, aspires to generate interest in and excitement about poetry and all of its traditions and forms. In honor of National Poetry Month, SIRS Knowledge Source commemorates notable poets from all corners of the world, introduces analyses of their work, and highlights poetry projects and programs.

Electronic Poetry Center An International Digital Poetry Festival

~ Faith

On the Run by Iris Johansen

"The CIA put Grace Archer and her young daughter, Frankie, under protective custody on a small horse farm in Alabama. When their cover is blown, the CIA wants to use Grace and Frankie as bait to smoke out Marvot, an old enemy. The only person who can help is Jake Kilmer, a rogue agent. Years ago, he trained Grace as an operative so that the CIA could benefit from her uncanny talent for handling horses. They wanted to find out why a French Moroccan underworld kingpin wanted to train two beautiful, wild, and extremely dangerous horses known as "the Pair." The mission was a failure, and Grace, then pregnant, went into hiding, distrusting Kilmer, with whom she was having an affair. Now Marvot has put a bounty on Grace and Frankie's heads, wanting to bring them back to Morocco to train the horses. Kilmer wants to kill Marvot and use "the Pair" himself. Frankie trusts Kilmer; now Grace must find out if she can do the same. Johansen gives her readers what they have come to expect from the queen of suspense: a truly evil, skin-crawling villain and complex heroes who must tangle with him in the shadow world of foreign intrigue." (Booklist) What I like about this author is her characters - they are people you recognize and care about. I will read more of her now that I have listened to this Playaway. I like suspense! - Peggy Sue

Pets Impacted by Economy ~ Second Chance

Second Chance is seeing more families and pets being negatively impacted by the economy and they are doing what they can to help keep families and their pets together.

~ Faith

You Must Read This

Being a fan of NPR I enjoy following series that they present. You Must Read This is an opportunity to find out what writers are reading. The books in You Must Read This are "buttonhole" books; books that you urge others to read, books that you feel passionate about. Everyone has "buttonhole" books, even writers. This is a wonderful way to discover new titles and revisit old favorites. You Must Read This is well worth your time.

Yet another interesting series being presented recently on NPR is The Question. The premise is interviewing movers and shakers on breaking news events and the current state of the economy, politics, and global issues. But they are also interviewed about their leisure time preferences; what they are reading , watching and listening to. A thought provoking glimpse into the newsmakers and their thoughts and "free time". The Question is yet another great NPR series. M

The Slide

Watch out for Kyle Beachy. He's a fresh young writer with a long career ahead of him. New college graduate Potter Mays moves back home to St. Louis to get his bearings and finds a new perspective on family, love and friendship. Midwesterners, you will find a lot to like here. Named best book by a Chicago author in the past year by The Chicago Reader.
-Barb B

Solar Panels Coming Soon to WPL

Check out this link to the website that will be hosting our solar monitoring. This an actual residential system in Woodstock IL check out all the features, I think it’s really cool! It gives a display of the individual panels and their output, current, by the day week month, and lifetime, and time-laps day and week and Carbon offset and other cool stuff.

~ Faith

The Public Library Renaissance ~ New York Times

Fewer people bought books, CD’s, and DVD’s in 2008 than in the year before. The number of moviegoers and concertgoers shrank last year, too, though rising ticket prices in both cases offset declining sales. Theater attendance, overall, is also down.
We usually hear about these declines in isolation. But taken together, they seem to suggest that cultural pursuits across the board are on the decline. Indeed, if nobody seems to be out buying books, movies, and music, what are they doing with their leisure time instead?
Apparently: going to the library. The Boston Globe reports that public libraries around the country are posting double-digit percentage increases in circulation and new library-card applications:
Checkouts of books, CD’s, and DVD’s are up 15 percent at the main library in Modesto, Calif. In Boulder, Colo., circulation of job-hunting materials is up 14 percent. Usage of the Newark Public Library in New Jersey is up 17 percent. Library-card requests have increased 27 percent in the last half of 2008 in San Francisco. The Boise Public Library reported a 61 percent increase in new library cards in 2008. In Brantley County, Ga., library computer usage was up 26 percent in the last quarter.
Dubner has wondered whether public libraries could be invented today if they didn’t already exist, and we’ve blogged about how museum attendance dwarfs major-league sports game attendance.
As consumer spending recedes in the face of the credit crisis, will libraries become more popular than shopping malls as a destination?
Maybe it’s time to ask your local librarian when she’s planning to install the food court. - By Freakonomics

~Faith

Tell Mama ~ Networking for Parents

Tell Mama is a social networking site by and for Telluride parents, hosted by the Wilkinson Public Library and Bright Beginnings for Early Childhood . We hope this will provide a forum where parents and caregivers can participate in lively discussions, share ideas, and connect with others. We encourage your participation and hope this gives you a place to join others in Telluride's parenting community.

~Faith

The Future of Food

There is a revolution happening in the farm fields and on the dinner tables of America -- a revolution that is transforming the very nature of the food we eat.
THE FUTURE OF FOOD offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.
From the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada to the fields of Oaxaca, Mexico, this film gives a voice to farmers whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively impacted by this new technology. The health implications, government policies and push towards globalization are all part of the reason why many people are alarmed by the introduction of genetically altered crops into our food supply.
Shot on location in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, THE FUTURE OF FOOD examines the complex web of market and political forces that are changing what we eat as huge multinational corporations seek to control the world's food system. The film also explores alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture, placing organic and sustainable agriculture as real solutions to the farm crisis today.
Request now.

~ Faith

The HR 875 Food Safety Modernization Act Scare ~ Huffington Post

HR 875: The Food Safety Modernization Act

Background on H.R. 875

The dilemma of how to regulate food safety in a way that prevents problems caused by industrialized agriculture but doesn’t wipe out small diversified farms is not new and is not easily solved. And as almost constant food safety problems reveals the dirty truth about the way much of our food is produced, processed, and distributed, it’s a dilemma we need to have serious discussion about.

Most consumers never thought they had to worry about peanut butter and this latest food safety scandal has captured public attention for good reason – a CEO who knowingly shipped contaminated food, a plant with holes in the roof and serious pest problems, and years of state and federal regulators failing to intervene.

It’s no surprise that Congress is under pressure to act and multiple food safety bills have been introduced.

Two of the bills are about traceability for food (S.425 and H.R. 814). These present real issues for small producers who could be forced to bear the cost of expensive tracking technology and recordkeeping.

The other bills address what FDA can do to regulate food.

A lot of attention has been focused on a bill introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (H.R. 875), the Food Safety Modernization Act. And a lot of what is being said about the bill is misleading.

Here are a few things that H.R. 875 DOES do:

It addresses the most critical flaw in the structure of FDA by splitting it into 2 new agencies –one devoted to food safety and the other devoted to drugs and medical devices.

It increases inspection of food processing plants, basing the frequency of inspection on the risk of the product being produced – but it does NOT make plants pay any registration fees or user fees.

It does extend food safety agency authority to food production on farms, requiring farms to write a food safety plan and consider the critical points on that farm where food safety problems are likely to occur.

It requires imported food to meet the same standards as food produced in the U.S.

And just as importantly, here are a few things that H.R. 875 does NOT do:

It does not cover foods regulated by the USDA (beef, pork, poultry, lamb, catfish.)
It does not establish a mandatory animal identification system.

It does not regulate backyard gardens.

It does not regulate seed.

It does not call for new regulations for farmers markets or direct marketing arrangements.

It does not apply to food that does not enter interstate commerce (food that is sold across state lines).

It does not mandate any specific type of traceability for FDA-regulated foods (the bill does instruct a new food safety agency to improve traceability of foods, but specifically says that recordkeeping can be done electronically or on paper). - Food and Water Watch

~ Faith

Joe Dirt

Silly with a big heart. A must for any rocker.
~ Ty

Check it out.

Scratch beginnings

One on my favorite books ever is Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed, which describes how hard it is for minimum wage workers in America to scrape by. It's a great book in that it exposes how terribly these workers are treated, but it is definitely a depressing read. Adam Shepard set out to prove Ehrenreich wrong and to show that it is possible to get out of poverty. In Scratch Beginnings, Shepard tells of how he left home shortly after graduating from college with only $25 and a sleeping bag. He had a set of goals to achieve in the next year, like buying a car, being able to afford an apartment, and even saving money. While he may not have found the American Dream in that year, his hard work makes for an inspirational story.

-Amy

Tilting at Tree Bags

Heard of the plastic bag challenge? And our Green Film Series, April 20th: "Addicted to Plastic..." read this piece to get a whole new look at those darn bags by essayist and author Ian Frazier.
--Sarah

The Watch ~ Regional Food Pantry Opens

Regional Food Pantry Opens by Karen James

Help For Everyone

TELLURIDE - Times are difficult for almost everyone right now, but when it comes to putting food on the table, for some they aren’t quite bad enough.

In other words, while local layoffs have forced some two-income households to depend now on one, and while reduced work hours have pared down some people’s paychecks –although money may be tight, it may not yet be quite tight enough to trigger federal food stamp benefits that could go a long way to help individuals and families make ends meet during this present recession.

Which is why San Miguel County has stepped in to help those struggling to feed their families by donating space for a new regional food pantry that officially opened at 335 West Colorado Ave. (at the corner of Aspen Street) with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday.

“Anybody who needs food will be able to get it,” said Allan Gerstle, director of the county’s Department of Social Services, of the new pantry being managed by the local nonprofit organization Angel Baskets.

Qualification for the nation’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (known as the Food Stamp Program prior to October 2008) is based upon financial need as a percentage of the national poverty level. Participating households may earn a net income of no more than 100 percent of the poverty level, which varies according to the size of the household.

The maximum net income for a family of four residing in Colorado is $1,767 a month, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website, but that number is not indexed to account for regional cost of living variations.

As a result, people who live and earn in places where the cost of living is above the national average can appear to not need help when they actually do – an effect that can be seen in San Miguel County where above-average incomes are accompanied by above-average food and housing costs.

“We’re seeing more people in our office who have never come into Social Services before,” said Gerstle.

The county, which has not yet begun using the building located at the corner of Colorado and Aspen avenues it recently purchased, got to thinking that the location would be ideal for a food pantry – which the community has gone without since the one previously located at Christ Presbyterian Church shut down several months ago.

So given Angel Baskets’ proven track record of running a successful community holiday food and gift drive every year for the past 26, the county inquired if the organization would be interested in using the space for a year-round effort at no charge.

“The answer was a very gracious, exuberant yes,” said Gerstle, who expects that the community will embrace Angel Baskets in its new endeavor the same way it has every holiday season for decades.

“We think this is a really good fit between us and the community,” said Angel Baskets volunteer Angie Peterson. “It’s a really, really perfect spot. I think it’s going to work out really well.”

And that community support is key, because the pantry won’t receive federal food or financial subsidies since it is not restricting help only to those people who meet the income guidelines that would make them eligible to receive food stamps in the first place, Peterson explained.

“It’s more of a goodwill effort,” she said. “The good thing is there isn’t a bunch of criteria.”
The pantry, located directly behind Needle Rock Fiberarts, is entered through a side door on Aspen Street. It will be open on Tuesdays and Fridays from 4 to 6 p.m. initially, but that and other logistics could change once it’s up and running.

Donations of non-perishable items, particularly foods like macaroni and cheese, hearty canned soups and pastas, and powdered milk would be greatly appreciated.

“Spaghettios are phenomenal,” said Peterson.

Proteins like canned tuna and chicken and peanut butter also go a long way, as do foods packaged in individual portions like oatmeal and cereal.

With just one refrigerator, perishable items are generally difficult for the pantry to manage and so best avoided, with butter being one exception to that rule because it can be frozen, said Peterson.

Think like a camper, she recommended.

"What would be easier for us to give out?”

Donations to the San Miguel Regional Food Pantry are tax deductible. Food may be dropped off on site during operating hours, and cash donations can be mailed to: Angel Baskets, PO Box 22000 – PMB 180, Telluride, CO 81435. The pantry would also appreciate the donation of a six-foot sorting table.

~ Faith