Kentucky Library News Digest - Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives

The Kentucky Library News Digest is a collection of articles from newspapers and other sources pertaining to Kentucky libraries and topics of interest to the library community. For more information about the Digest, contact Jimmie Epling, editor, at jimmie.epling@ky.gov.

TAX HELP FOR FREE (Lexington Public Library locations for free tax counseling and preparation for taxpayers with middle and low income, especially those age 60 and older: Beaumont Branch; Northside Branch; Eagle Creek Branch.)

Coal severance projects announced (The state budget passed last week includes coal severance money for individual counties. The following is a list of all Bell County Coal Severance Tax Projects: Bell County Public Library - Operations, $5,000.)

South End Happenings (Louisville Public Library programs: 1) A book discussion. Western Branch. Topic: "The Church That Forgot Christ" by Jimmy Breslin; 2) Chicks and Bunnies. Highlands/Shelby Park Branch. For all ages; 3) Getting the Most Out of the Library Web Site. Main branch; 4) Intermediate Microsoft Excel. Main branch; 5) Intermediate Microsoft Publisher. Main branch; 6) Internet Basics. Western Branch; 7) Introduction to Microsoft Word. Main branch; 8) Resume Workshop. Main branch; 9) Using Foundation Center Resources. Main branch; 10) Windows Basics. Main branch.)

CITY Happenings (Louisville Public Library programs: 1) Anime Club. Highlands/Shelby Park Branch. Anime movies and snacks will be offered for ages 13-19. 2) Internet Basics. Highlands/Shelby Park Branch. 3) Knitting at the Library. Main branch. Learn the basics and start your first project. For ages 10-15. 4) Leprechauns on the Loose. Highlands/Shelby Park Branch. 5) Low Maintenance Landscaping With Phyllis Fitzgerald. Highlands/Shelby Park Branch. 6) Teen Advisory Board. Highlands/Shelby Park Branch. For ages 13-19. 7) Business Resources Online. Main branch. 8) E-bay for Buyers. Main branch. 9) Intermediate Microsoft Word, Mail Merge. Main branch. 10) Internet Basics. Western Branch. Introduction to Microsoft Publisher. Main branch. 11) Introduction to Microsoft Word. Main branch. 12) Keyboarding Workshop. Main branch. 13) Patents and Trademarks Workshop. Main branch.)

East County Happenings (Louisville Public Library programs: 1) Magic Tree House Fact Finding Mission: Egyptian Pyramids. Middletown Branch. For ages 7-9. 2) Low Maintenance Landscaping. St. Matthews/Eline Branch. Speaker: Phyllis Fitzgerald, of the Air Pollution Control District. 3) Basic Computer. St. Matthews/Eline Branch. 4) For the Birds. Westport Branch. For ages 3-8. 5) A book discussion group. Westport Branch. Topic: "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamant. 6) Ceol Cridhe. Bon Air Branch. Enjoy Celtic music with the Ceol Cridhe trio. 7) Destination Spring Break. Bon Air Branch. For ages 13-18. Dream and plan your sunny spring break. 8) Kentucky Beekeepers Exhibit. Bon Air Branch. 9) Knitting Group. Bon Air Branch. Learn and share knitting skills. 10) Spring Gardening Bonanza. Jeffersontown Branch. Landscaper Dale Cashon offers tips to get gardens and lawns growing.

Kid's tea time set at library (Retired Boyd County schools teacher Jean Fraley will lead the "Tea for Two" event at the children's department at the Boyd County Public Library's Main Branch. Under Fraley's guidance, children ages 6-10 will learn what to expect when they go to a tea. Fraley will read stories and give instructions before everyone sits down for afternoon tea, complete with fruit-flavored tea and a snack. Children are invited to wear a hat, to add to the atmosphere.)

Around town (The Giles Society will celebrate the 100th birthday of Kentucky writer Jancie Holt Giles with a reception and reading of papers at Adair County Public Library. Irene Love of Bowling Green will give an interpretation of Hannah Fowler based on Giles’ writing. )

Coffee bar opening (The Whitley County Public Library is having a grand opening of their new coffee bar, "Cumberland Valley Reading Grounds" complete with breakfast and featuring Williamsburg Elementary fifth grade artwork and introduction of the elementary academic teams.)

Library system buys 1,800 books in Spanish (The Louisville Free Public Library has purchased 1,800 books in Spanish, the system's first major Spanish-language acquisitions. The first 800 books, including adult, teen and children's volumes, have arrived, and 1,000 more are due on the shelves this spring. The books were acquired with a grant from the CE&S Foundation of Louisville. The Main and Iroquois branches will get the most books, but every branch will get some. The books include children's picture books, fiction for all age levels, and adult books on history, culture, cooking, parenting, gardening and self-help.

Library board still considering Frederica site (The Daviess County Public Library Board voted Wednesday night to test the soil on some Frederica Street property it may swap with the Owensboro Board of Education. The board also voted to have an architectural plan and final cost analysis completed for a 50,000-square-foot library on Frederica Street in the block from Ford Avenue to Maple Street.)

Sunday business hours remain divisive (A review of the history of “blue laws” requiring businesses to close Sundays. Public institutions that currently are closing on Sunday, like the Jessamine County Public Library, have their ear to the ground, trying to access the community's needs. "The question has come before the library board of trustees, and the advisory board. We are currently reviewing the impact of Sunday hours," said Susie Lawrence, the county library director. Lawrence noted that a majority of the libraries in surrounding communities, including Lexington, already have Sunday hours. "It's no longer a matter of if we are going to have Sunday hours, it's a matter of when we are going to start having Sunday hours. It's very likely to happen by 2006.")

Author to visit Easter party (The Flatwoods Branch of the Greenup County Public Library will have an Easter get-together. All guests will be entered to win an Easter basket. Author Rita Presley Salyers will read from her books "Heavenly Nursery Rhymes" and "Too Many Choices.")

Kids & kids at heart: Ages 4-15 (A Theatre of Innocence will present Charles Perrault's "Cinderella" in the Centennial Room of the Louisville Free Public Library.)

Bell librarians attend 50th Anniversary celebration for Kentucky Bookmobile service (Staff from the Bell County Public Library System, along with guests from the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA), celebrated the golden anniversary of Kentucky bookmobile service recently in Frankfort.)

Congressional panels approve FOIA bills (The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to send the Faster FOIA Act bill to the Senate floor that would establish a 16-member commission charged with recommending to Congress and the President steps to reduce delays in processing requests made under the Freedom of Information Act. The two senators also have sponsored the so-called OPEN Government Act, which would establish an independent arbiter of freedom-of-information disputes with the government and make appeals for the release of information more fair and less expensive. That bill has yet to be considered by the committee. The bill is S. 589. The bills can be found at: http://www.cornyn.senate.gov/FOIA)

Resources for School Librarians (This site provides a compilation of links for school librarians in the areas of learning and teaching, information access, program administration (including library management policies and procedures), technology, education and employment, and continuing education. Searchable, or browsable by topic. This site is maintained by Linda Bertland, retired school librarian, Philadelphia, PA.)

A Novel Feature (Japanese cell-phone owners are using them to read full-length novels. The mobile phone has become so widespread as an entertainment and communications device that reading e-mail, news headlines and weather forecasts is routine. Several mobile Web sites offer hundreds of novels; classics, best sellers and some works written especially for the medium. Cell-phone novels are downloaded in short installments and run on handsets as Java-based applications. Reading a novel via cell phone could come soon to the United States, where cell phones are increasingly used for relaying data, video, digital photos, and music. Cell-phone books are also gradually starting to gain popularity in China and South Korea. In Japan, some people are hooked, finding the phone an intimate tool for reading.)

'Shhh!' no more? Library director says times have changed, people not as quiet as 'in old days' (Henderson County Public library’s response to why libraries are not as quiet as they were in the past.)

And next, TV over your home phone line: Cincinnati Bell spars with cable providers (Cincinnati Bell by October plans to offer Internet-Protocol television, or IPTV, a technology that uses high-speed phone lines to transmit video with digital quality and even high-definition video and audio to individual customers. This means many of its residential customers could have an alternative to cable or satellite. That competition could lead to lower prices and more viewing options. It is seen as a one-stop source for customers’ telecommunications needs. It's also a way for them to answer the encroachment by cable companies nationwide and locally on phone and Internet business traditionally telephone companies.)

Projects totaling millions on way ($17,349 for the Elliott County Public Library)

This Week in the Tri-State - 03/20/05 (Boyd County Public Library programs: 1) Internet and e-mail course. Main Branch; 2) "Make Reading a Hobbit," book discussion. Main Branch; 3) "Horses, Jockeys and You." Main Branch.; 4) Study Buddy. Main Branch .)

Community Calendar: Week of March 20 (Kenton County Public Library programs: 1) Free Tax Assistance. Mary Ann Mongan Library.; 2) Weird Wednesdays: Duct Tape II. Independence Branch.; 3) Mountain Dulcimer and Storytelling Workshop. Mary Ann Mongan Library.; 4) Get Creative. Mary Ann Mongan Library. Join us for buggy stories and create your own rainbow-colored, smiling centipede with many dancing legs. For those in kindergarten through fifth grade.; 5) Homespun: Celebrate Opening Day. Mary Ann Mongan Library. Join us as we celebrate the joy of America's favorite pastime. Hit a home run with this special story and craft hour. For home-schoolers in kindergarten through sixth grade.; 6) We READ: So Much Silliness! Erlanger Branch. Celebrate National Humor Day as we read silly poems and stories. Explore, Accomplish and Do silly new things. Silly crafts and silly fun included! For students in grades one through six.; 7) Spring Break Fun: Mexican Fiesta! Erlanger Branch. Join us for a fiesta that will include nachos, games and fun stories. You will also make your very own piñata! For grades one through six.; 8) Read & Tell Book Club. Mary Ann Mongan Library. What did you read this week? Bring it for show and tell. Snacks will be available for all participants.)

Not a Big Mystery (Skye Connerley, a librarian who runs the book club at the Newport branch of the Campbell County Public Library, said she chose Jack Kerley's book "The Hundreth Man," for discussion last month because they aim to talk about a variety of books and because Kerley is a local writer.)

March Madness reading (Whitley County Public Library will have a March Madness Reading featuring family reading activities and basketball game crafts.)

Quilting program at the library (Third Fridays @ the Library presents Quilting Today ... and Yesterday at the Shelby County Public Library. Quilter Cathy Carlson and friends will explain and display today's commonly used techniques, tools and materials. Quilts and wall hangings made in the last part of the 20th Century will also be shown.)

Library seeks members for board of trustees (The Campbell County Library is looking for people interested in serving on its board of trustees. Board member responsibilities include approval and oversight of the library's budget and policies for its three branches. Applications will be accepted until May 16. Appointments will begin Oct. 1. Board members should have an interest in libraries, be willing and able to attend monthly meetings and be dedicated to the community. Board members are not compensated. The term lasts four years, and members can be re-appointed one time. Those who would like to be considered for the board should send a letter of interest to J.C. Morgan, library director of the Campbell County Public Library, ATTN: Board Selection Committee.)

Libraries recovering in Steinbeck's hometown (Cities across the country have been struggling to balance budgets, but Salinas' decision last fall to shut down its library system brought it international notoriety. Salinas was the hometown of Nobel Prize-winning novelist John Steinbeck. A life-size bronze statue of the author stands guard over the city's main library downtown, which bears his name. After rejecting a ballot measure last year that would have provided new taxes for libraries, residents suddenly have decided to open their wallets. Contributions are pouring into Rally Salinas, a nonprofit group established to keep the libraries open until a permanent solution can be found. Launched about five weeks ago, Rally Salinas has collected $240,000 toward its goal of raising $500,000, with an additional $75,000 contribution expected to arrive soon. If the goal is met, the money would pay for a skeleton crew who would move from library to library, opening the three branches for a day or two each week starting in June.)

THE KID ZONE: Fun stuff for the family (The Lexington Public Library pograms: 1) Hats off to Spring. Northside Branch, For ages 2-5.; 2) Spring Origami. Eagle Creek Branch, For ages 12 and older.; 3) Make Your Own Wind Chimes. Beaumont Branch. For ages 7-12.; 4) It's Alive: Animation and Crazy Caricatures Online. Tates Creek Branch. For ages 7 and older.; 5) Teen Book Group. Beaumont Branch. Happy Birthday, Randolph Caldecott. Read books that have won the Caldecott Award for best children's illustrations.; 6) Pink Bunny, Blue Bunny, My Bunny. Northside Branch Library, For ages 2-5.)

LIBRARIAN: DON'T HATE ME BECAUSE I'M BEAUTIFUL: SAYS HARVARD DIDN'T PROMOTE HER BECAUSE OF LOOKS (A Harvard University librarian claims in a lawsuit that she has been rejected repeatedly for promotion because she is black and is perceived as just a "pretty girl" whose attire was too "sexy.")

State will auction off Elvis cards, other items (A collection of rare Elvis Presley trading cards is touring the state this week before being put up for auction on eBay early next month. The Elvis cards have been deemed "abandoned property" by the state, along with jewelry, coins, silverware and other valuables. The items will be displayed before the auction at the public libraries in Paducah, Bowling Green, Ashland, Lexington, and Louisville.)

LIBRARY HELPS TSUNAMI VICTIMS WITH DONATION (The Lexington Public Library recently collected $5,841 for tsunami relief. Most of the money was from fines collected during the period of Feb. 14-20. The fines collected during that period were 30 percent higher than the amount collected during the same period a year ago. Library employees contributed $407 to the effort. The library donation will be used to purchase books.)

4,000 BOOKS GIVEN TO CHILDREN IN NEED (Books for the Bluegrass First Book-Lexington announced that more than 4,000 new books will be distributed to five literacy programs that serve Lexington's children in need. Programs include Lansdowne Elementary School, Mayor's Training Center, Milcreek Elementary School, Open Door Church and Winburn Middle School. Each child will receive at least one book for the year. First Book-Lexington is part of First Book's national network of volunteer-led Advisory Boards who provide new books to children in need in communities across the country.)

Discover more on Lewis, Clark (Patrick Trader, acting-director of the University of Kentucky's Program for-Archaeological Research, will present "Living in the Past with Lewis and Clark" at the Paris-Bourbon County Library.)

TAX ASSISTANCE (An income tax preparation service for low-income and-elderly residents of Bourbon County is furnished by AARP volunteers at the Paris-Bourbon County Library.)

County may get uncollected taxes (A press release from the state Auditor Crit Luallen’s office said statewide as much as $3 million over five years has gone uncollected and may be available to local taxing districts across the state. Inventory-in-transit tax is a levy placed on any personal property located in a warehouse or distribution center, which will not stay at the location for more than six months, and is there for the purpose of subsequent shipment to an out-of-state destination. Prior to 1999, the tax was collected for state use only. That year the tax was also applied to county, municipal, school, and other special taxing districts. As an economic development tool the General Assembly exempted the state inventory-in-transit tax in 2000. The same bill phased out the tax for county, municipal governments and schools over a two-year period. It allowed local special taxing districts to determine on their own whether to continue to collect the tax or exempt companies in their districts from paying the tax. This tax is due only to the special local tax districts, such as the health department, the library and the extension service.)

Mid-County Happenings (Louisville Public Library programs: 1) Low Maintenance Landscaping. Shively-Newman Branch.; 2) The Runaway Bunny and Other Tales. Fairdale Branch. Hop on in for rabbit stories and crafts.; 3) Introduction to Microsoft PowerPoint:. Iroquois Branch.; 4) Seniors Computing – Intermediate Microsoft Word. Southwest Branch.; 5) Windows Basics. Iroquois.)

South End Happenings (Louisville Public Library programs: 1) A book discussion. Topic: "The Church That Forgot Christ" by Jimmy Breslin. Western Branch.; 2) Chicks and Bunnies. Highlands/Shelby Park Branch. For all ages.; 3) Getting the Most Out of the Library Web Site. Main Branch.; 4) Intermediate Microsoft Excel. Main Branch.; 5) Intermediate Microsoft Publisher. Main Branch.; 6) Internet Basics. Western Branch.; 7) Introduction to Microsoft Word. Main Branch. 8) Resume Workshop. Main Branch.; 9) Using Foundation Center Resources. Main Branch.; 10) Windows Basics. Main Branch.)

City Happenings (Louisville Public Library programs: 1) A book discussion. Topic: "The Third Man" by Graham Greene. Main Branch.; 2)

Fairy Tale Café. Shawnee Branch. For children in kindergarten through eighth grade and their families. Listen to fairy tale news written by other children, and learn who won the fairy tale writing contest.; 3) Teen Game Night. Highlands/Shelby Park Branch. Games, music and snacks will be available for ages 13-19.; 4) Spring Has Sprung! Highlands/Shelby Park Branch. The program, for all ages, will include stories, songs and a craft. 5) Genealogy Online Workshop. Main Branch.; 6) ntermediate Microsoft PowerPoint. Main Branch.; 7) Intermediate Microsoft Word. Main Branch.; 8) Internet Basics. Main Branch & Highlands/Shelby Park Branch.; 9) PowerPoint: Western Branch. 10) Windows Basics. Shawnee Branch.)

East County Happenings (Louisville Public Library programs: 1) Camp Bon Air. Bon Branch. For ages 3 and older. Enjoy some classic campfire fun.; 2) How Does Your Garden Grow?. Bon Air Branch. For ages 5 and older. Help with the planting in the library garden.; 3) Computer Basics. Jeffersontown Branch.; 4) Internet Basics. Middletown Branch.; 5) Library Databases. St. Matthews/Eline Branch.; 6) Westport Library Teen Group. For ages 11-16.)

East End Happenings (Louisville Public Library programs: 1) Women who Shaped Art in Louisville.. Crescent Hill Branch.; 2) Dinnie Thompson: No Ordinary Woman 1857-1939 – A Chautauqua Performance by Erma J. Bush. Crescent Hill Branch.; 3) Camp Bon Air. Bon Air Branch. For ages 3 and older. Enjoy some classic campfire fun.; 4) How Does Your Garden Grow?. Bon Air Branch. For ages 5 and older. Help with the planting in the library garden.; 5) Green Eggs and Ham. Crescent Hill Branch. For ages 4 and older.; 6) Teen Game Night. Highlands/Shelby Park Branch. Games, music and snacks will be available for ages 13-19.; 7) Spring Has Sprung! Highlands/Shelby Park Branch. The program, for all ages, will include stories, songs and a craft.; 8) Internet Basics. Highlands/Shelby Park Branch.; 9) Library Databases. St. Matthews/Eline Branch.)

More Help Wanted: Older Workers Please Apply (After years of encouraging workers to take early retirement as a way to cut jobs, a growing number of companies are hunting for older workers because they have lower turnover rates and, in many cases, better work performance. Conventional wisdom has long held that workers become more costly as they grow older, with more medical problems and more missed workdays. Overall costs are not much different based on the age of employees. Training and recruitment costs are much lower than for younger workers. It all evens out. The turnover rate for employees 50 and older is one-tenth that of workers under 30. In specialty retailing stores the annual turnover is 60%, not counting part-time help. If part-timers and temporary workers are covered, the turnover rate soars to 110 percent. The recruitment efforts for the elderly are reaching a willing audience, as more older people seek work because they need extra cash and health benefits and sometimes because they miss having a 9-to-5 routine with other workers. Recruiting successes reflect economic realities as dwindling company-subsidized health coverage for retirees and inadequate savings and pensions force many older people to stay on their jobs or look for other work. Still, as baby boomers age, many are eager to work for benefits beyond the paycheck.)

Parents call for book to be banned from middle school library (The book "Alice on the Outside" has been challenged at the Shelby County Public School’s East Middle School. Shelby County Public Schools policy states, the East Middle Book Challenge Committee had 10 days to respond to a challenge. The Committee is comprised of the principal, librarian, two seventh-grade teachers, and two parents. After an initial 4-2 vote to keep the book available, the committee compromised and will make their recommendation to Superintendent, who will make the final decision.)

Parent upset over book with 'N' word ("The Slave Dancer", a work of historical fiction depicting the slave trade of the 1840s, has been challenged by the parent of an eighth-grade girl at Shelby County’s East Middle School because its depiction of the slave trade is a too-graphic. The graphic depictions of beatings and the use of the "N" word 13 times disturbed the girl.)

Legislative Record available at library (Letter to the Editor. Boyle County citizens who would like to follow the proceedings of the Kentucky State Legislature can look at a copy of the Legislative Record: A Summary of Kentucky Legislative Activities at the reference desk of the Boyle County Public Library.)

Close to Home 3-24-05 (The Artist Within: Disabling the Myth III. Henderson County Public Library Rotunda Gallery. Artwork from artists at Hugh Sandefur Training Center.)

Saturday is deadline for 'Fresh Perspective'art exhibit entries (The 13th-annual "A Fresh Perspective" open art exhibit presented by Henderson Society of Art will be in the Rotunda Gallery at Henderson County Public Library.)

Author with local ties to read at White House (Shutta Crum, now a resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., is an awarding-winning writer of books for children and poetry for adults as well as a story teller and youth librarian. Crum and her family are formerly from the Martin and Johnson County area. She has been invited to read her new book, Bravest of the Brave, at the White House.)

Community calendar for Mar. 24 (Live @ your library will present a workshop with Eric Bentley on "The Need for Retirement Planning" at the Jessamine County Public Library. Participants will discuss the retirement planning process, basic investment strategies, and how to calculate a savings goal.)

Despite Growing Library Use, Budget Cuts Put Damper on National Library Week, April 10-16 (Perhaps now more than any other time since National Library Week was first celebrated in 1958, communities are fighting to keep library doors open and staff in place to serve millions of Americans. Despite growing library use and circulation, library budgets nationwide have been slashed at least $109 million in the past two years, according to the American Library Association's (ALA) library funding Web site.)

Vibrant Cities Find One Thing Missing: Children (Officials say that the very things that attract people who revitalize a city - dense vertical housing, fashionable restaurants and shops and mass transit that makes a car unnecessary - are driving out children by making the neighborhoods too expensive for young families. The problem is not just that American women are having fewer children, reflected in the lowest birth rate ever recorded in the country, or children are leaving for private schools. It is that new people attracted to the city tend to have higher incomes, having already raised a family; are retiring; or are single and unlikely to have children. Between 2003 and 2004, only six states had an increase in their elementary school population, the census bureau reported in March. The United States is following Europe and the rest of the industrial world, where birthrates now rarely exceed the rate needed to replace the population. Only immigration to the United States keeps the replacement rate above Europe’s. )

Author sees historical link between counties (James E. Hannah, Shawnee State University Professor Francis Byrne, and local archeologist Dwight Cropper, have published "A Thirst for Land: A History of Scioto County, Ohio, and Greenup County, Kentucky." The 15-chapter, soft-cover book is written chronologically and thematically, covering a wide range of topics including crime, business and industry, recreation, education and the early settlers of the area. The book began about four years ago, Hannah started compiling small historical vignettes and placing them in his South Shore Water customers’ monthly water bills. They were so popular that he asked Greenup County Public Library McKell Branch librarian Sue Allen to make copies and put them together in a small book to be sold with all of the proceeds going to the library's genealogy department. The libraries had a hard time keeping up with the demand.)

An odd coalition: Conservatives and liberals unite to seek changes in Patriot Act (Editorial. Serious and principled opposition to renewing parts of the USA Patriot Act is growing in the form of an improbable coalition that includes some of Washington's leading conservatives, the ACLU, gun rights groups, libertarians and medical privacy activists.)

FEC weighs limited Internet activity rules (The Federal Election Commission took its first step Thursday in extending campaign finance controls to political activity on the Internet, asking for public input on limited regulations for the freewheeling medium. The draft guidelines suggest applying limits that exist in other media to certain political advertising on the Web and political spam e-mail. The draft focuses on paid advertising and political spam e-mail. Under the proposal, a political ad paid for by a Web site operator and displayed on a different site would be considered a "public communication" subject to campaign finance controls. Internet material would otherwise be excluded from the definition of a public communication for regulatory purposes. News stories, commentaries, and editorials appearing on Web sites would not be considered a contribution subject to limits. The commission also proposed an exemption for individuals using their own computer or one at a public place, such as a library, for Internet activities.)

Haire addresses economic growth: Judge-executive cites cancer center, interstate spur (Daviess County Judge-Executive Reid Haire addressed the community’s strengths and weaknesses as part of an effort to draft an economic development strategy that will create educational and job opportunities for current and future generations. He cited plans for a downtown parking garage, an arena, a Frontier League baseball team, a new library facility, riverfront development and talks about city-county merger as positive economic steps.)

SCHOOLS ADJUSTING FOR HISPANIC STUDENTS: BUDGET STYMIES PAINTED STONE'S EFFORTS (School districts are accommodating the growth of Spanish-speakers in various ways. Some parents also take their children to tutoring sessions such as those offered at the Lexington Public Library's Cardinal Valley branch.)

Tift Merritt arrives, not a month too soon (Singer will appear at the Lexington Public Library as part of the Kentucky Women Writers Conference.)

Censors can do the silliest, darndest things (Examples of recent censorship efforts involving libraries)

Innovator of the Month (Tutor.com has presented its Live Homework Help Innovator Award to Pike County Public Library District, Pikeville, KY.)

Boyd library to name contractor (The Boyd County Public Library Board will interview and possibly select a contractor for its reading garden project. The reading garden is to be built on the east side of the library on land adjacent to Central Park. The garden includes a walled garden room encircling a colored concrete patio, with benches and swings, a water wall and sculpture. There also will be a children's area for outdoor storytelling and activities. Plans call for construction to begin in April and be completed in June.)

Y'All Come Celebrate 175 Years of Florence (Government offices are working with the Boone County Public Library and with Matt Becker, who is the rural/open space planner for the Boone County Historic Preservation Review Board, to organize displays and activities for the celebration.)

Community Calendar: Week of March 27 (Kenton County Public library programs: 1) Free Tax Assistance. Mary Ann Mongan Library.; 2) Weird Wednesdays: Duct Tape II. Independence Branch.; 3) Mountain Dulcimer & Storytelling Workshop. Mary Ann Mongan Library.; 4) Read & Tell Book Club. Mary Ann Mongan Library.; 5) Spring Break Fun: Mexican Fiesta!. Erlanger Branch. Join us for a fiesta that will include nachos, games and fun stories. You will also make your very own piñata! For children in grades one through six.; 6) Get Creative. Mary Ann Mongan Library. Join us for buggy stories and create your own rainbow-colored, smiling centipede with many dancing legs. For children in kindergarten through fifth grade.; 7) Homespun: Celebrate Opening Day. Mary Ann Mongan Library. Join us as we celebrate the joy of America's favorite pastime. Hit a home run with this special story and craft hour. For homeschoolers in kindergarten through sixth grade.; 8) We READ: So Much Silliness! Erlanger Branch. Celebrate National Humor Day as we read silly poems and stories. Explore, Accomplish and Do silly new things. Silly crafts and silly fun included! For grades one through six.)

Community Calendar: Week of March 27 (Campbell County Public Library programs: 1) Storytimes For Children. Carrico/Fort Thomas Branch, Cold Spring Branch, Newport Branch; 2) Adventure Club. Carrico/Fort Thomas Branch, Cold Spring Branch, Newport Branch

Campbell County is offering themed reading programs full of fun and surprises for children in first through fifth grade. The adventure club will be held at the three Campbell County branches. Themes for the event include a Super Hero Party and Dr. Seuss on the Loose, among other popular topics.)

For some, homework distracts from TV: Kids’ time loaded with electronic offerings, even during studying (A national study by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows nearly a third of American kids ages 8 to 18 don’t just concentrate on their homework after school each day. They often watch television, talk on the phone, play on the computer, or listen to music at the same time. Kaiser surveyed more than 2,000 kids between October 2003 and March 2004 about their non-school use of outside media. On average, kids devoted six hours and 21 minutes a day to recreational media use. That’s more than 44 hours a week.)

Library work is near (Most of the public parking lot on Wapping Street will be closing soon to make way for construction of the new Paul Sawyier Public Library. Architects and builders of the new library will have a pre-construction conference in the board room of Whitaker Bank, and a chain-link fence will be erected around much of the Wapping Street parking lot probably by April 12.)

THE KID ZONE: Fun stuff for the family (Lexington Public Library programs: 1) Young Reader's Club. Beaumont Branch. Grumblebunny by Bob Hartman. For ages 6-8.; 2) Little Hands, Big Ideas: March Craft. Tates Creek Branch. For ages 3 and older.; 3) Spring Into Beauty: Body Powder and Body Lotion. Tates Creek Branch. For teens.; 4) Paws to Read. Central Library and Northside Branch. For ages 8-14.; 5) American Folktales and a craft. Central Library.)

Surf's Up in South Shore (DSL, or a Digital Subscriber Line is high-speed Internet access through a standard phone line. The always-connected service can be four to 27 times faster than a dial-up computer modem, depending on the package ordered, which means quicker connections to graphic intensive Web sites and faster downloading or uploading of data and files. Tonya Pullin, 98th district state representative, has long championed expanding such "broadband" services to Kentucky's most rural areas. She sponsored legislation last year asking that more resources be used in establishing high-speed Internet access across Kentucky. That's because in today's global economy high-speed communications and the Internet is more a norm than a luxury. Small businesses can use it to offer products in a worldwide "virtual" showroom. Big companies not only need it, but also often dismiss communities as plant locations if it's not available. And, more and more people are working from home, via a high-speed Internet connection. ConnectKentucky officials and Alltel leaders gathered at Pullin's home Monday to announce the company's expanded coverage - one of many expansions planned - and talk about broadband advantages. By the end of September, they will be launching 40 more locations. 70 percent of the company's phone lines are qualified for DSL; and 75 percent of access lines are equipped in Boyd, Greenup and Carter counties. That 2004 initiative - in the hands of ConnectKentucky - calls for the state to be completely wired for high-speed Internet access, in other words all Kentuckians can subscribe to such a service, by 2007. It mirrors a federal initiative. Estimates indicate that full-scale broadband deployment could create 14,000 jobs in Kentucky and add $5 billion to the gross state product, the governor's office has said. ConnectKentucky is an alliance of technology-minded businesses, government agencies, universities and economic organizations that provides tech consulting, promotes residents' understanding of broadband and does tech business recruitment.)

Event with 'Hotel Rwanda'central character moved (A presentation by Paul Rusesabagina, the central character in the movie "Hotel Rwanda," has been moved to the Kentucky Center's Whitney Hall. Rusesabagina sheltered 1,200 people during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The overwhelming response prompted the library to move the site -- for the second time. The program was first scheduled for the main library but was moved to the 1,400-seat Brown Theatre after all the tickets were claimed. Whitney Hall holds 2,406 people.)

UNIQUE SCHOOL'S COUNSELOR TO SPEAK (Stephanie Beard, career and education counselor at the New Opportunity School for Women in Berea, will speak about the school and-invite applications for-scholarships at the Paris- Bourbon County Library.)

LIBRARY EVENTS (The Jessamine County-Public Library: 1) "Family Night @ the Library": The presentation will be "Stone Carving" with Penny and Al Nelson. Participants will help to carve a limestone sculpture that will be on-permanent display in the-library. Each will make a-keepsake necklace from a piece of limestone chipped from the sculpture. This program is for children 6-18 and their-parents.; 2) "LIVE! @ Your Library" and Kentucky Chatauqua present "Grandpa Jones, Country-Musician and Comic." Louis Marshall Jones, better known as Grandpa, was the son of Henderson County sharecroppers, but his destiny was the road, not the land. A singer, banjo picker, songwriter, and late in life, television star (on Hee Haw), Jones was constantly on the move during a-musical career of more than 60 years. Grandpa Jones is-portrayed by David Hurt.; 3) "Tatting & Chatting": Learn the art of making hand lace with a shuttle.; 4) “Photography from a Different Angle" with Brent Michael. Michael's work is on display in galleries in Lexington.)

Iroquois branch of the library to display new Spanish books (The Iroquois branch of the Louisville Free Public Library will display 850 new books in Spanish from noon to 8 p.m. Thursday . The books, purchased in Guadalajara, Mexico, for branches throughout the library system, will be at the Iroquois branch only one day. They will be available for checkout.)

City Happenings (Louisville Free Public Library programs: 1) Bid Whist Shawnee Branch. An adult card game of wit and skill.; 2) Familiar Scenes and New Initiatives: An Update on Our Olmsted Parks. Highlands/Shelby Park Branch.; 3) Maria's Bilingual Stories. Main branch. Bilingual stories and fun times for children of all ages. It does not matter if you speak Spanish or not, listen and learn.; 4) Teen Job Fair. Shawnee Branch. For ages 16-18.; 5) Saddle Up and Read!.Main branch. This program will be a western storytime and Speed Art Museum project.; 6) School Age Spring Crafts. Portland Branch. For ages 6 and older.; 7) Spring Break activities. Main branch. Schedule: Turn your favorite children's songs into rap songs a day-long reading of the Newbery Award Honor Book "Al Capone Does My Shirts", dramatic interpretations of favorite children's books.; 8) Spring Break Beach Party. Highlands/Shelby Park Branch. Games, music and crafts will be available for ages 12-19.; 9) Dungeons and Dragons. Highlands/Shelby Park Branch. For ages 13-19.; 10) Down on the Farm. Highlands/ Shelby Park. Stories, activities and a craft will be offered for all ages.; 11) Spring Break Movie Time. Western Branch.; 12) Career and Job Searching Workshop. Main branch.; 12) Computer Basics. Main branch.; 13) Internet Basics. Highlands/Shelby Park Branch.; 14) Intermediate Internet Searching. Main branch.; 15) Intermediate Microsoft Word. Western Branch.; 16) Introduction to Microsoft Access. Main branch.; 17) Introduction to Microsoft Publisher. Main branch.; 18) Introduction to Microsoft Word. Main branch.; 19) Windows Basics. Main branch.)

Grasping the language: Students broadening horizons by learning new languages (The Bowling Green Public Library has been offering language classes for kids and their parents, in which children learn basic numbers, colors and objects. German and Spanish classes have already ended. French classes begin April 7. Each three-week course involves using games and activities to help kids to learn the language.)

Heirloom seed workshop set (A free workshop on "Appalseeds: Appalachian Heirloom Seed-Starting" will be at the Boyle County Public Library. Julie Maruskin, director of the Clark County Public Library, will be the presenter. Participants will receive a free seed-starting kit to take home, and learn the best methods for starting seeds indoors with low-cost equipment. Instructions, hands-on experience and information about the best books, videos and Web sites for gardeners also are part of the program. Participants will be have the choice of six varieties of seed from more than 200 varieties of open-pollinated tomatoes, peppers and eggplant from organic/heirloom seed companies. They also will receive six heirloom pepper or tomato seedlings to transplant and take home.)

New EM director named in Martin (Martin County Judge-Executive Kelly Callaham appointed Anna Stepp was named to replace Carol Moore on the Martin County Public Library board for the remainder of her unexpired term, which will last through August. Christy Grayson was appointed to replace Judy Clark for the remainder of her unexpired term through August 2006, and Robbie Fletcher was appointed to fill the position formerly held by Tim Preece. Fletcher's term will last through 2007.)

HEART& SOUL: Agencies' requests for money increase (The Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library is among city agencies seeking funding. Several city agencies and non-profit groups that depend on Hopkinsville City Council for funding are presenting budget requests this week totaling about $2.39 million. The requests for the 2005-06 budget year are up about $174,000 from last year. The Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library is asking for $165,000, up from $160,000 this year.)

Watercolor workshop (The Laurel County Public Library is offering a one-day workshop to be taught by area artist Diana Kilburn. Cost: $50, not including most supplies. Registration required.)

THE FLIP SIDE OF DIGITAL MUSIC (Old vinyl records have a certain allure, and you can get them for a song (Shortly after I moved to Lexington, I discovered the Friends of the Library used-book store in the basement of the Lexington Public Library on Main Street. It was a revelation. There were at least a dozen bins of vinyl, including Herbert von Karajan's recordings of Ludwig van Beethoven's symphonies, for a buck each. That's one of the great things about classical vinyl. Benchmark recordings of most of the masterworks were laid down 40, 50 years ago.)

Record shopping (There are many little places to find old vinyl, including flea markets and used-book stores. Friends Book Cellar, Lexington Public Library-basement. There are about a dozen bins of vinyl in the lobby, from Karla Bonoff to Beethoven. You need to check for scratches and other defects, but it's not hard to find something good. Most records are 50 cents to $2.)

Diet-food glut benefits Appalachia: Charities distribute excess to the needy (A surplus of diet food for the overweight has been a boon for the hungry in Appalachia. Unsold crates of low-carbohydrate energy bars, shakes and breakfast mixes have been pouring into the Christian Appalachian Project to be distributed in mountain communities. Since September, the charity has received 14 truckloads of food from Atkins Nutritionals, the New York company famous for the low-carb diet. Slone said each truck contained about 1,300 cases of energy bars, shakes and breakfast mixes.)

Community calendar for Mar. 31 (Live @ your library will present a workshop with Eric Bentley on "The Need for Retirement Planning" at the Jessamine County Public Library.)

Smoking cessation class begins April 13 (The Cooper-Clayton Smoking Cessation Class will meet at the Jessamine County Public Library.)

Kentucky Chautauqua presents Grandpa Jones at public library (Country music legend Grandpa Jones will be portrayed by David Hurt in a Kentucky Chautauqua performance at the Jessamine County Public Library.)

Radcliff library hosting special events: Hardin County Public Library – North (The Hardin County Public Library-North Branch in Radcliff will offer a special week-long program for 3-6-year-old children following the theme, " Everybody's Different, Nobody's Perfect & We are ALL Special." This fun program is part of the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Hop-A-Thon, and is designed to teach young children acceptance and understanding of differences due to muscular dystrophy. Each child participating in the "Hop" will receive many colorful items, including the Flip Flop Hop activity book, a blue ribbon sticker, a participation certificate, a postcard containing the number of times the child hopped, as well as other fun prizes.)

Crime in the Library (This blog tracks articles about crimes committed in libraries. Includes references to stories about vandalism, patron problems, bomb threats, thefts, indecent exposure, and more. Archive goes back to September 2004. Also includes links to related information. From a librarian in Arizona.)

Guys Read ("A literacy initiative for boys" started by Jon Scieszka (author of "The Stinky Cheese Man," among other fun titles) to encourage reading among boys all of ages. The site includes tips on promoting reading for parents, librarians, booksellers, and educators; reading lists for boys; and an area for site users to add recommendations of "favorite books for guys.")

Impact of Youth's Use of the Internet on Youth's Use of the Public Library (Summary of findings from a 2002 "survey of 4,237 youths in both public and private schools (grades 5 through 12) in the Buffalo-Niagara region of Western New York State." Topics addressed include internet access from home, race and sex differences in Internet access, and Internet access and library visits. From the Urban Libraries Council (ULC).