Good 2 Know

The Federal Citizen Information Center recently published the 2012 edition of The Consumer Action Handbook.

This guidebook provides consumers with information on a wide-ranging list of subjects including ATM/debit cards, buying a car, choosing a doctor, buying insurance, choosing Internet service providers, privacy protection, smart home shopping, and much more.

There are sections on filing a complaint, key information resources, and a consumer assistance directory.

The library has a copy of this handbook at the Reference Desk (Ready Ref 381.34 CON).  You may also download or order a free copy of your own!

The library has many resources to help consumers.  Check our online catalog or Ask Us!

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Want to help us celebrate? We have some ideas…

1. Name Drop:  If you enjoy the Library then why not mention us to your friends and neighbors?  We can send out newsletters and announcements, but YOUR endorsement is what really counts.

• Want to add a fun factoid?  Use the “value calculator” to determine just how much money using the Library has saved you
• “Like” us on Facebook
• Rate us Yelp!
• Follow us on Twitter

2. Go Surfing: Discover something new on our website.

• Try clicking on a page you haven’t visited before and find something fresh to explore. Check out Price It! , read our blogs, or see what we think is hot on your coffee break. We’re sure you’ll find something fun and useful!

3. Sit Down:  Attend a program! From story times to Sunday Concerts we have activities for every age on nearly every day.

• During National Library Week we are especially excited to be hosting bestselling author Alice Ozma who has written a heartwarming story about the power of parents and children reading aloud.

4. Tell Your Representative.  Funding for libraries is always precarious and we’d love it if you reminded elected officials of all the services the Library provides to the community, and the Library’s positive effect on you.

5. Take Us With You: Use your mobile access to keep in touch no matter where your day takes you!  Text a librarian, chat online, or use Shoutbomb to manage your account.  Downloadable collections of eBooks and music are available for your smart phone or other mobile device. And look for a new library app, coming soon. Put us in your pocket!

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Love them or hate them, it’s Peeps season. And even if you don’t love to eat them, it’s hard not to love what people create with them.

The Washington Post’s annual Peeps diorama contest (the Peeps Show VI) this year did not disappoint. If that’s not enough Peeps, peruse previous years’ winners and more on their site. Maybe you’ll get some ideas for your own diorama or centerpiece.

Power to the Peeple entry

Need more inspiration? The Chicago Tribune also sponsors a contest.

If you prefer your Peeps for eating, not for art, satire, or political commentary, the Peeps official website has recipes, coupons, and even a fan club.

Peep!

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A publishing milestone recently occurred with the publication of the fifth and final volume of the Dictionary of American Regional English or DARE.  The project began in 1962 and volume one was published in 1985.   Its purpose is to document “words, phrases, and pronunciations that vary from one place to another across the United States.”

Whether you say soda, pop or coke to describe a carbonated drink can offer clues into which part of the country you are from.   If you are from Wisconsin you might call a drinking fountain a bubbler, while people in other areas might not know what you are talking about.

 If you ask for a pickle in Nebraska you might get a lottery ticket.  On Cape Cod a tadpole is referred to as a pinkwink.  A devil strip in northeast Ohio is the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street.  Other regional phrases include supper on the ground  for a picnic meal and  sew buttons on lemons as a  diversionary remark made to a child.

The last entry in volume five is zydeco, which is a style of music associated with Louisiana Creole culture.

If you would like to look up other interesting terms in DARE, you will find the set in the Reference area – REF 427.973 DIC.

We have lots of other dictionaries online.

It is not too soon to begin planning your flower and vegetable gardens.  We have a wide assortment of gardening books to give you ideas and inspiration while you wait for the warmer weather.   Here are some titles that might interest you.

A title geared for seniors is The Illustrated Practical Guide to Gardening for Seniors (635.0846 CAS).  This book includes over 900 plans and photographs and shows seniors how easy it is to continue gardening in their retirement years.

Gardening with Prairie Plants (635.951 WAS)  will    show  you  how  to create beautiful native landscapes.  The author of this book is award-winning landscape designer Sally Wasowski.

For those interested in learning how to grow heirloom vegetables, take a look at The Beginner’s Guide to Growing Heirloom Vegetables (635 IAN).  This book covers the 100 easiest to grow and tastiest vegetables.

Do you want to garden, but have limited space?   All New Square Foot Gardening (635 BAR) might provide the answers you need.  This book will show you how to grow more in less space.

For other titles check our online catalog, our Hobbies and Crafts subscription database, or Ask Us!

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Remember the children’s rhyme to help you remember how many days are in each month?  Well, this is the year when February has 29 days instead of 28. 

Under the Gregorian calendar, a leap day is added to the calendar once every four years, except for century years that are not exactly divisible by 400.

During any year that is not a leap year a year is 52 weeks plus one day.  So, if your birthday was on a Monday one year, the next year your birthday would be on a Tuesday.  However, a leap year is 52 weeks plus two days.  If  your birthday fell on a Monday last year, this year it would be on a Wednesday.  It has “leaped over” a day of the week.

Leap year will begin March 1, 2012 and end February 28, 2013. 

Here is some leap year trivia:  Astrologers claim that  those born  on February 29 have unusual talents and personalities reflecting their special status.  American Presidential elections and the Summer Olympic Games are both held every four years and occur in the Leap Year.  Greeks believe it is bad luck to get married in a leap year. On the other hand,  women can propose to a man in Ireland.  Walt Disney World and Disneyland are staying open for 24 hours on February 29 to celebrate Leap Year. 

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Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor became Queen Elizabeth II upon the death of her father, King George VI, on February 6, 1952.  Queen Elizabeth was 25 years old when the King died.  The British are preparing to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee, only the second Diamond Jubilee in Britain’s long history.   Queen Victoria was the first monarch to achieve this distinction. 

If you would like to learn more about Queen Elizabeth we have several new books now available.

The Real Elizabeth: an Intimate Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Andrew Marr (B Elizabeth II)

Elizabeth the Queen: the Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith  (B Elizabeth II)   

Queen Elizabeth II: Portraits by Cecil Beaton by Susanna Brown  (941.085 BRO)

Prince Philip: the Turbulent Early Life of the Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II by Philip Eade (B Philip)

For more info on the Diamond Jubilee check out this official website. 

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If you enjoying reading about animals, especially dogs, here are some new titles that you might enjoy.

Rin Tin Tin: the Life and the Legend by Susan Orlean tells the story of the famous dog’s journey from an orphan puppy to a movie star.   A young American soldier found the German shepherd puppy on a WW1 battlefield in France and brought the pup back with him to California.  Rin Tin Tin went on to star in many movies and he became the most famous dog in the world.  This is his story.   636.7376 ORL

Scent of the Missing: Love and Partnership with a Search-and-Rescue Dog by Susannah Charleson tells the story of Puzzle, a   golden retriever, and her search pilot owner as they search for the missing, including a lost teen and an Alzheimer’s patient.   636.70886 CHA  

No Buddy Left Behind: Bringing U.S. Troops’ Dogs and Cats Safely Home from the Combat Zone is about American troops serving in the Middle East and the stray dogs and cats they rescued.  Author Terri Crisp makes it her mission to save these animals and bring them back to the states and back to the soldiers who love them.  636.08 CRI

Sergeant Rex by Mike Dowling tells the story of a bomb-sniffing   German shepherd in Iraq and his handler.  They were part of the first military working dog team sent to the front lines since Vietnam.  This is a tale of courage and devotion set against the backdrop of war.  956.70443 DOW

For other titles, check our online catalog or Ask Us!

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A new state law adds 13 electronic devices to the list of items than cannot be disposed of with your regular trash collection.

Banned items include computers, TVs, fax machines, scanners, stereos, microwaves, printers and other similar devices.   It is now illegal for Illinois residents to place these items in their trash and it is likewise illegal for the landfills to accept these items.

The purpose of the law is to encourage recycling and the reclaiming of the valuable resources these items contain, such as gold, lead, silver, and cadmium.

Kane County is continuing to offer a drop-off service for electronics on the second Saturday of each month from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Kane County Circuit Clerk’s Office, which is located at 540 Randall Road, St. Charles. 

For more information, visit the Kane County Recycles website. 

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The Stop Online Piracy Act seems like a good idea – protect copyright owners from digital piracy. Who wouldn’t agree with that? Turns out quite a few people, including free speech activists and technology companies and sites like Wikipedia, Facebook, Google, Reddit, and others who fear that the language of the bill would make it easy to shut them down on just an accusation of piracy. How worried are they? Some major sites, including Wikipedia, are planning to “go black” on January 18th as a protest. Are they overreacting?

Check out these overviews and opinions: 

PC World Pro and Con                                             

 New York Times

Fox News

CNET

SOPA is not the only Internet anti-piracy bill making its way through Congress. PIPA (PROTECT IP Act) is more narrowly focused on similar issues. If you want to learn more, check out Congressional Digest’s overview and scroll down for the Pro/Con arguments. Outside of the library, you’ll need your library card and PIN to access this copyright-protected content.

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