Vol.6, No.3

October 1999

MEET YOUR LIBRARY STAFF

Here’s a picture of your library staff! Marilyn Stevenson is the Talking Book Librarian. Barbara LaPointe is the Assistant Librarian. She assists the Reader Advisors, recruits and supervises the volunteers, and is our computer wizard.Logan Allen and Marianne Morawetz are your Reader Advisors. Logan takes care of patrons with last names A-L, and Marianne serves patrons M-Z. Rick Griffing is the Office Manager and Donna Wiggins is the Receptionist.

IT’S TIME TO BE COUNTED!

Every ten years, the US Bureau of the Census conducts a nationwide count of its residents and their characteristics (such as income level, housing and employment status). The next census will begin on April 1, 2000.

Every year over $100 billion in federal funding is awarded to localities based upon their census numbers. The federal General Accounting Office reported that the estimated 1990 census undercount in Florida cost its residents $226 million in federal money for those following 10 years. It is estimated that for every undercounted individual in Pinellas County, approximately $1,500 per year in state and federal funds are lost.

Such federal fiscal shortfalls directly impact Pinellas County community organizations in obtaining needed funding. Federal, state and local governments require accurate information to plan, fund and implement effective programs and policies for people with disabilities. Funding for Medicare, Medicaid and Vocational Rehabilitation are directly influenced by your county’s census response rate. Without these monies, there can be a heavier burden on citizens to come up with funding. In some cases this takes the form of taxes. Census information is used to implement the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Older Americans Act, Job Training and Partnership Act and more.

What can you do? Complete and return your census survey when you receive it next April 1^st. It’s the most important thing you can do! Be assured that your answers to the survey are held in confidentiality as mandated by federal law. No one will use this information for any other purpose. By law, the census bureau cannot share your answers with others, including welfare agencies, the Internal Revenue Service, courts, police and the military.

If you know of individuals who need special surveys because of visual impairment or language barriers, please contact the Pinellas County Planning Department at 464-4751 to arrange for assistance.

(Submitted by David Schleg, Program Planner Pinellas County Planning Department)

NEWS YOU CAN USE

The City of St. Petersburg Therapeutic Recreation Programs coordinates programs for challenged individuals. A variety of classes are offered to provide a well-rounded opportunity for leisure participation for those with specific disabilities. There is usually a charge for each class. Activities include wheelchair basketball, sailing, bowling, bingo, balloon volleyball for nursing home residents, and more. For more information, please contact the City of St. Petersburg Therapeutic Recreation at 893-7899.

FRIENDS OF STRAYS Services for Stray Animals

Loving, permanent new homes needed! Friends of Strays have many cats and dogs available for adoption. The supply by far exceeds the demand. Help place healthy stray animals in suitable homes. For more information, call the Adoption Center at 527-9699.

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS

The Pinellas Talking Book Library will be closed the following days for holidays:

Thursday, November 11 (Veteran’s Day)

Thursday, November 25 and Friday, November 26 (Thanksgiving)

Friday, December 24 (Christmas)

Please send in book orders early and, if you would like additional books for the long weekends, just give us a call.

Speaking of holidays, below are just a few of the books available you may be interested in reading.

Veteran’s Day – these are all adult non-fiction books

RC 47379 War in the Air by Stephen Coonts

RC 40068 In Pharaoh’s Army by Tobias Wolff (VIETNAM)

RC 40283 Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose (WWII)

RC 40464 The First World War by Martin Gilbert (WWI)

RC 41346 Crusade by Rick Atkinson (GULF WAR)

RC 42130 Fighter Wing by Tom Clancy

RC 42300 Thunder Below! By Eugene Fluckey (WWII)

RC 41347 My War by Andy Rooney (WWII)

RC 42423 Pay Any Price by Lloyd Gardner (VIETNAM)

RC 41549 My American Journey by Colin Powell

RC 41856 Return With Honor by Scott O’Grady (BOSNIA)

RC 27447 The Korean War by Max Hastings (KOREA)

Thanksgiving and Christmas – reading levels other than adult are indicated at the end of the entry

RC 42591 Beatrice Ojakangas’ Great Holiday Baking

RC 43421 Politically Correct Holiday Stories by James Finn Garner

RC 09773 An Old-fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott (grades 6-9 and older readers)

RC 44006 Where Did Christmas Come From? by Al Remson

RC 43546 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

RC 43548 The Christmas Tree by Julie Salamon

RC 47384 A Magical Christmas by Heather Graham

RC 43556 The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans

RC 45381 The Cricket on the Hearth and Other Christmas Stories by Charles Dickens

RC 44446 Journey Into Christmas and Other Stories by Bess Streeter Aldrich

RC 41554 The Snow Speaks by Nancy White Carlstrom (grades preschool-2)

RC 42654 Grandfather’s Christmas Camp by Marc McCutcheon (grades K-3)

RC 43114 Mr. Putter and Tabby Bake the Cake by Cynthia Rylant (grades 2-4)

RC 45539 Lassie a Christmas Story by Earl Hamner & Don Sipes (grades 3-6)

RC 43470 Red Ranger Came Calling by Berke Breathed (grades 4-7)

RC 36284 Young Santa by Dan Greenburg (grades 5-8)

Hanukkah

RC 40298 The Family Treasury of Jewish Holidays by Malka Drucker (grades 5-8)

RC 45540 Inside Out Grandma by Joan Rothenberg (grades preschool-2)

OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS

Here is a list of the books available through our library which have been Oprah Book Club selections:

RC 46272 Paradise by Toni Morrison

RC 45717 Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman

RC 45715 Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen

RC 46001 Breath, Eyes, and Memory by Edwidge Danticat (also available in Braille BR 9784)

RC 46124 I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb

RC 46770 What Looks Like Crazy On an Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage

RC 47250 Midwives by Chris Bohjalian

RC 47380 Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts

RC 34438 Jewel by Bret Lott

RC 46772 The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

RC 47832 The Pilot’s Wife by Anita Shreve

RC 38330 Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

RC 44846 Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons

RC 44845 A Virtuous Woman by Kaye Gibbons

RC 36694 A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines

RC 44955 Songs in Ordinary Time by Mary M. Morris

RC 17325 The Heart of a Woman by Maya Angelou

RC 44391 The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds

RC 38888 Stones From the River by Ursula Hegi

RC 36063 She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb

RC 42874 The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard

RC 29464 The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton

Also three children’s books (grades K-3) by Bill Cosby: Best

Way to Play (RC 45511), Treasure Hunt (RC 45513), and

Meanest Things to Say (RC 45512)

RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE DESCRIPTIVE VIDEO COLLECTION:

Antz DV 10180

Stand and Deliver DV 10168

Amistad DV 10177

The Fugitive DV 10176

Twins DV 10181

Singin’ in the Rain DV 10166

Scream DV 10167

The Miracle Worker DV 10175

Hope Floats DV 10179

Driving Miss Daisy DV 10174

The Full Monty DV 10163

Unforgiven DV 10169

Casablanca DV 10165

Good Will Hunting DV 10178

Dante’s Peak DV 19183

Independence Day DV 10161

Dirty Dancing DV 10173

Sophie’s Choice DV 10172

 This is only a partial list of the descriptive videos offered. For a complete listing of the videos available, or if you would like to order any of the books or descriptive videos listed in the newsletter, please give us a call.