U.S. Citizenship Help

Thanks to Mary Engels at the Middletown Library Service Center for the information about this website: It’s an amazing resource for immigrants and people and organizations serving the immigrant population. If you have immigrants in your community who are looking for you to help them find information about life in the United States you need to take a look at it.

You can find out about:

Immigration and Citizenship

Education and Childcare

Healthcare and Families

Government Benefits

Employment

Finance

Where to learn English

http://www.welcometousa.gov/

Tax Time Looms

Tax season is in full swing. Here are a few links to the IRS you might find useful if you prepare your own taxes or help others with theirs:

2007 Tax Table— The important numbers are here; how much you owe is here in black and white.

The IRS website–the mother of all government websites; all the forms and help you need can be found here.

Tax Information For Individuals–Answers to Frequently Asked Questions for the individual filer.

Cancer Facts & Figures 2008

Take a look at the American Cancer Society’s 2008 report on cancer in the United States. The good news regarding cancer prevention: “All cancers caused by cigarette smoking and heavy use of alcohol could be prevented completely. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2008 about 170,000 cancer deaths are expected to be caused by tobacco use. Scientific evidence suggests that about one-third of the 565,650 cancer deaths expected to occur in 2008 will be related to overweight or obesity, physical inactivity, and nutrition and thus could also be prevented. Certain cancers are related to infectious agents, such as hepatitis B virus (HBV), human papillomavirus (HPV), human mmunodeficiency virus (HIV), Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), and others, and could be prevented through behavioral changes, vaccines, or antibiotics. In addition, many of the more than 1 million skin cancers that are expected to be diagnosed in 2008 could have been prevented by protection from the sun’s rays and avoiding indoor tanning.”

http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/2008CAFFfinalsecured.pdf

Got Cabin Fever?

If you’re eager to get outside and breathe some fresh air, check out The Connecticut Explorer’s Guide. The site is a free “comprehensive outdoor adventure resource” with links to online maps and trail guides for hikers, bikers, kayakers and paddlers, skiers, skaters, rock climbers and more.

http://www.ctxguide.com/index.html

GalaxyZoo.org

For astronomy buffs from Johns Hopkins University: this website gives amateur astronomers access to images of the cosmos taken through the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and enlists volunteers to identify and classify nearly 1 million galaxies from their home computers. There are more than 110,000 registered volunteers who have helped to categorize some 30 million images already.

http://galaxyzoo.org/Default.aspx

25 Awesome Beta Research Tools from Libraries Around the World

And you thought librarians just sit around cataloging books all day…here’s a site from CollegeDegree.com that provides lists of research tools developed, many by librarians, to help researchers find and organize information. There are also lists of social networking tools, open courseware classes and research tools to mine the invisible web.

http://www.collegedegree.com/library/college-life/25-awesome-beta

Lunar Eclipse Tonight!

According to LiveScience: “A total eclipse of the moon tonight is expected to delight skywatchers across the United States and much of the world. It will be the last total lunar eclipse until 2010.” For more information on this and other interesting science information on animals, astronomy, health, technology, the environment, and history, check out LiveScience.

http://www.livescience.com/space/scienceastronomy/080220-eclipse-news.html

All About Music

This blog states “You know your music, so do we.” Anything you want to know about rock, jazz, R&B, country, rap, blues, world, electronica, classical and more.

http://www.allmusic.com/

The Essex Library Blogs Win Award!

The Connecticut Library Association has selected the Essex Library’s two blogs, The Short List and The In-Site Bank, for their 2008 Publicity Award.The Essex Library will be presented with the award during the Connecticut Library Association’s Annual Conference scheduled for April 29, 2008. The winning blogs will be showcased at the Conference during a presentation led by Essex Librarian Ann Thompson.

“Ann developed the concept for the blogs,” said Essex Library Director Bridget Quinn-Carey, “she also designed, implemented and continues to update the spots on an almost daily basis. We are so proud of her creative work and for putting our Library on the cutting edge of interactive Web services.”

The CLA Publicity Awards accepts nominations annually from member libraries for materials designed by their library to promote a library concept or event. A panel of two or more designers/artists and a representative from the library field selects the winning entries. Entries are judged for content, originality and design.

Seuss Games

Just in time for a long winter’s school vacation…take a trip to Seussville! There are lots of fun games and activities worthy of hours of play on this website.

http://origin-www.seussville.com/games/