Reference@TBML

FRIENDS OF BRANIGAN LIBRARY FUNDS DOWNLOADABLE AUDIO AND MUCH MORE!

Sometimes community members believe that library support comes from either grants or tax-based funding alone.  We want people to know that a vital organism exists beyond tax funding. The staff wants to sincerely thank Friends of the Branigan Library for their ongoing commitment to the library.  Friends was started in 1976.  From the year 1998 through December 2009, a sum of $256,630. 00 has been raised through book sales, cookbook sales and various other fundraisers.  In thirty-four years they have been able to sponsor many library events directly through their own networking and financing as well as indirectly supporting the library’s many staff programs financially. 

 

Moreover, since the inception of the Summer Reading Program, Friends has generously supported many aspects of Summer Reading Club with children’s, young adult and adult funding.  The staff relies heavily on the Friends for contemporary equipment needs such as the display end panels on the shelving.  Friends has secured many kinds of equipment and materials over the years and most recently has paid for the prestigious Downloadable Audio through Netlibrary’s Database.  This new format medium has been a highly successful boon and moved us forward with severely needed contemporary technology, plentiful access and ease of use. 

 

Thanks for your considerate, fair, open-handed and thoughtful support of the library and its services.  Our staff looks forward to working with you in the future.

 

mln

LAS CRUCES BANS CELL PHONES WHILE DRIVING

Today marks the beginning of the City’s ban on cell phone use while driving. Las Cruces isn’t the only city in New Mexico to enact such a ban. Both Albuquerque and Santa Fe have made it illegal. Outside New Mexico, other cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago and Detroit also ban cell phone use while driving. But such bans don’t stop at the municipal level.

 

Currently, six states: California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington ban hand-held cell phones while driving, as does the District of Columbia. Other states, such as Illinois, Idaho and Texas have laws that either ban cell phone use while driving in certain areas, such as school zones, or have bans on distracted driving that include cell phone use. And if you’re caught texting while driving in Rhode Island, Tennessee, Oregon or sixteen other states and the District of Columbia, you’re going to get a ticket or worse.

 

Lawmakers are clearly concerned about the effect of cell phone use and texting while driving. The United States Department of Transportation even has a website devoted to information about distracted driving, which has some interesting facts about the dangers of cell phone use while driving. Some of the highlights:

* Using a cell phone use while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of zero eight percent. (Source: University of Utah)

* Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by thirty-seven percent. (Source: Carnegie Mellon)

* The worst offenders are the youngest and least-experienced drivers: men and women under twenty years of age. (NHTSA)

* Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. (Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)

As for Las Cruces, the new ordinance bans talking on the cell phone and driving while the vehicle in is motion on any road or highway. The ordinance, which also bans texting while driving, goes into effect February 5, 2010.

 

City of Las Cruces Ordinance 2548 prohibits:

* Sending or receiving calls

* Sending or reading a text message

* Reading, selecting or entering a number or name

* Sending or receiving e-mails

Exceptions include:

* Communication with certain offices or departments in an emergency

* Use by law enforcement and emergency personnel while performing their duties during an emergency

* Hands-free use

Fines for talking or texting on a cell phone while driving can be up to $500 and/or ninety days in jail.

-Margaret Neill

 

Sources:

 

Las Cruces Cell Phone Ban

http://www.lccellphoneban.com

 

Governors Highway Safety Association

http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/cellphone_laws.html#1

 

United States Department of Transportation: Driving Distracted

http://www.distraction.gov/

 

City of Las Cruces

http://www.las-cruces.org/NEWS/news_item.asp?NewsID=2195

 

Driving Laws

http://www.drivinglaws.org/states.php

BONDS FOR LIBRARIES: 2010 Library Go Bond New Mexico

Google the news for “library budget cuts” and you at once see that libraries have been hit hard in the last eighteen months.  Libraries everywhere are grappling with budget shortfalls, lay-offs and closings. Enter “2010 Libraries GO Bond New Mexico” which will authorize a $20,250,000 bond package to fund the purchase of books and other resources. 

 

On Thursday, January 28, 2010, New Mexico Library Association will hold its annual Library Legislative Day in Santa Fe at the Round House.  Supporters will convene at the main library at 8:30 AM for a general orientation.  They will then visit with their individual legislators to advocate for collection and services.  You can view a copy of the preliminary draft of the Library Bond Bill here and more information about the General Obligation Bond. 

 

You can also show your support by asking your local representative to co-sponsor this bill with Representative Ed Sandoval, Chairman of the House Taxation and Revenue Committee.  Find your representative here.

 

mln/mn

TAX PREPARATION

 

It’s tax time again and your library is here to provide access to forms and instructions.  If you need assistance preparing your tax return, the Southwest Tax Coalition is available.  They will be preparing taxes from February 1 thru April 14^th. Southwest Tax Coalition is located at 120 Wyatt Dr, a short distance from Wienerschnitzel on Wyatt and El Paseo.  Hours are as follows:

 

Monday-Thursday    8:30-2:30pm

Friday 8:30-12:00pm

 

Forms available at the library include 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ, some supplemental forms and the New Mexico PIT form packet. If you would like to print forms online, federal forms are available at http://www.irs.gov/ and New Mexico State Tax Forms are available at  http://www.tax.state.nm.us . 

 

Lincoln Penny Design Contest @ Branigan Library

Come and join us in celebrating the bicentennial year of Abraham Lincoln’s Birth!  Thomas Branigan Memorial Library is hosting a Lincoln penny redesign contest for students in Grades 6-12.  So harness those creative juices and redesign the penny with symbols and facts that represent our 16th President of the United States.

In order to compete, all contestants must pick up a template and entry form at the Young Adult Department.

Additionally, there will also be a “Guess How Many Pennies in the Bowl ” guessing game during the design contest.   The Guessing Game is also only for students in Grades 6-12.

The deadline for penny designs entries and the guessing game entries is Tuesday, December 1 at 6 pm.

There will be both a First Place and Runner Up prize in both the middle school and high school categories.  First Place is a $75 Savings Bond and Runner Up is a $50 Savings Bond. The winner of the “Guess How Many Pennies in the Bowl” will receive 2 movie passes.
 
Winners for the Design Contest and the Guess How Many Pennies will be announced Tuesday, December 15.

This contest is sponsored by The Friends of Thomas Branigan Memorial Library.

Questions?  Call the Young Adult Department at 528-4102

Download the flyer here.  Download Penny112009

Foundation Directory Online @ Branigan Library

Are you a representative of a non-profit organization?  Come learn how to search the Foundation Directory Online.  This database has over 80,000 grant-makers listed and is a great source for nonprofits seeking funds.  This training will be held in the Library's Computer Training Lab.

This program is offered free of charge, but seating is limited.  You can register online here.  Call Catherine Christmann at 528-4085 with questions or for help registering.

Download the flyer here.  Download Grants

In These Trying Times: Resources for Homeowners

 

Lately the news has been full of stories about homeowners being scammed by companies promising to fix their mortgage woes. Scared homeowners go to these people looking for relief and end up in worse financial condition than before. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have teamed up to prevent foreclosure rescue scams from ruining lives.

Being informed can help consumers avoid being ripped off. The FTC and HUD have a wealth of resources available for worried homeowners. For more information on foreclosures and scams, check out the websites below:

The Federal Trade Commission Consumer Information, Mortgages and Real Estate

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Avoiding Foreclosure

MN

Get the facts about H1N1 Flu-redux

H1N1, courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control

Back in April, this blog featured an entry on the H1N1 flu. Check it out here. The featured links are still excellent sources for information and should help dispel fears regarding the flu, immunization and local response.

The Centers for Disease Control have embraced web 2.0 to provide up-to-the-minute information on the flu outbreak, including adding widget applications to their website. To help spread the word, this blog will now feature a CDC widget with information, tips and news all about H1N1. Stay informed and stay healthy!

MMN

Grant-Seeking Basics @ Branigan Library

Are you a representative of a nonprofit organization? 

This introductory course provides an overview of the funding research process for those seeking grants from foundations, corporations, and grant making public charities.  Come join us on Wednesday, October 7th at 9 AM for this introductory course and let us help you untangle the grant-seeking process!  This training will be held in the Library’s Computer Training Lab.

This program is offered free of charge, but space is limited.  You can register online here.  Just fill out the registration form.  It’s that easy.  Call Catherine Christmann at 528-4085 with questions or for help registering.

Anyone who will require accommodation for a disability to attend this event, please notify the library 48 hours in advance at 528-4005 or 528-4008 TTY. 

The Hollywood Blacklist

With the death of Bud Schulberg earlier this month and his illuminating obituary in the New York Times, we've been revisiting the darker years in Hollywood and the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC). 

The Hollywood Blacklist had its roots in the perceived threat of real and imagined links between the U.S. entertainment industry and Communism.  In 1938, HUAC chairman Martin Dies released a report on the pervasiveness of Communism in Hollywood.  The panic gradually began to escalate until 1947 when the first group of identified Hollywood Communist sympathizers were called to give testimony in front of HUAC.  Of the 43 called, 19 refused to give testimony as they felt it a violation of their First Amendment rights.  Ten of the nineteen, now known as the Hollywood 10, were found in contempt of Congress and given citations by the House of Representatives.  Immediately following, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) voted to make all members swear to a non-communist pledge and the MPAA chairman declared that theten would be suspended without pay until cleared of all charges.  More actors were called before congress; some named names (like Bud Schulberg and Elia Kazan) and others refused to testify and were blacklisted.  The Hollywood reached its height from 1952-1956 and finally began to break around 1960.

Those interested in reading more online might consider visiting the PBS page on Elia Kazan (in conjunction with their "Miller, Kazan, and the Blacklist: None Without Sin") which features: essays, timelines, and video commentary.  The Mesa County Library District (in Grand Junction, CO) has a very nice website dedicated to blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo and the Hollywood Blacklist.  The Media Resource Library at UC-Berkley has a comprehensive website dedicated to the Hollywood Ten and provides mini-biographies of the ten members.  And of course, Wikipedia provides a good background (but by no means 100% authoritative) on the topic as well as a comprehensive list of all blacklisted industry members.

Here at our own library, we have a few memoirs regarding the Hollywood blacklisting.  Consider checking out:

The Red and the Blacklistby Norma Barzman

Hollywood Exile, or, How I Learned to Love The Blacklist by Bernard Gordon

Touch and Go by Studs Terkel

Anything Your LIttle Heart Desires by Patricia Bosworth

Also, Stuart Woods gives the Hollywood Blacklist the fiction treatment in Beverly Hills Dead.

And, since this is Hollywood we are talking about, there are bound to be films made on the subject:

Sydney Pollack's The Way We Were uses the HUAC hunt for communists as a backdrop for this love story.

Blacklisted screenwriter Walter Bernstein wrote the Woody Allen vehicle The Front which explores the atmosphere during the blacklist.

Scandalize My Name, a documentary narrated by Morgan Freeman takes a unique perspective on the blacklist and how it affected African American members of the entertainment industry as well as the Civil Rights Movement.

And of course, George Clooney's more recent Good Night, and Good Luck chronicles newsman Edward R. Murrow's conflicts with HUAC. 

BES