From the Reference Desk...
Memorial Day - more than sales and picnics!
Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, is dedicated to honoring those who gave their lives in service to our country. It is held on the last Monday in May, this year falling on May 27th.
Take time out from enjoying the long weekend to observe the National Moment of Remembrance, originated in May 2000 by presidential directive, "to pause for one minute at 3:00 PM (local time) to remember and reflect on the sacrifices made by so many to provide freedom for all."
Tags: News/Announcements
Financial Aid Process: Paying for College (May 16, 2013)
Ivonne Rodiguez of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) will discuss the costs of attending college, types and sources of financial aid, and how to apply for financial aid. The program starts at 7:30 p.m. and will be held in the Auditorium. No registration required.
The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) is the college access and financial aid agency in the state of Illinois that administers scholarship, grant, prepaid tuition, and student loan repayment/forgiveness programs.
This is the first program in our new Dollars and Sense program series. The goal of this series is to provide community members with the information to help manage their personal finance issues with common sense.
Upcoming Dollars and Sense programs:
- June 20: Real World Retirement Planning
- July 18: Money Matters- Budgeting
Tags: News/Announcements
"And they're off..."
5:24 PM (Central Time) on May 4th is post time for the 139th running of the Kentucky Derby. To commemorate the start of another Triple Crown season, books about horses and horseracing are on display in the Adult Services Room. Here are a few favorites.
A Pulitzer-prize winner for her fiction, Jane Smiley writes about her life with horses. As she says, "Every horse story is a love story."
If watching "the most exciting two minutes in sports" isn't enough for you, this book has the history of horses, owners, trainers, trophies, and a DVD on the history of horse racing.
Enjoy your mint juleps, and remember - “Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. ” - W.C. Fields
Tags: News/Announcements
Money Smart Week® April 20-27, 2013
Money Smart Week will be held April 20-27, 2013. The campaign provides a week of classes and events aimed at helping consumers make informed choices when managing their personal finances. Roughly 500 free educational classes will take place in the Chicago area focusing on financial topics for people of all ages and walks of life, from budgeting to estate planning. For more information or to view a complete listing of calendar events around Chicagoland, visit www.moneysmartweek.org.
The Library will be offering three (3) programs during Money Smart Week:
April 22: Powers of Attorney: What's New and How it Affects You
What is power of attorney, a living will, and what is the difference!? Why you should have advanced directives to ensure your wishes are followed. This seminar presented by Kenneth M. Bloom, attorney, CPA, and partner of the Chicago estate planning law firm Peck Bloom, LLC. will also provide an overview of purpose of advanced directives: What is a power of attorney? What is a living will? What is the difference!? and why every person should have them to ensure their health care wishes are followed- even when they are incapacitated. Mr. Bloom will also review the precarious scenarios that can arise if powers of attorney are not drafted properly and how to guarantee that does not happen to you.
April 23: Creating Wealth
An overview of personal wealth-building strategies that includes setting financial goals, budgeting, saving and investing, managing debt, and understanding credit reports and credit scores. Presented by JVS Chicago.
April 24: Identity Theft:How to Protect Yourself
Deidre Burke, Illinois Office of the Comptroller's Consumer Affairs Division, will discuss how to protect yourself against identity theft, identify potential scams and fraud, and how to take appropriate action if you are a victim of identity theft or a scam.
All programs start at 7:30 pm and will be held in the Auditorium.
Tags: News/Announcements
News from Travel: Where's Frommer's?
The past eight months have been a long strange trip for Frommer’s Travel Guides. Last August, Google purchased the Frommers Travel brand from publisher John Wiley and Sons, vowing to continue electronic and print publication. Late last month, Skift.com reported that Google was “quietly pulling the plug” on publication of print travel guides. L
ast week, Google sold the Frommer’s travel brand back to founder Arthur Frommer, who will be co-president of Frommer Media along with his daughter, Pauline, also a travel guide author.
News reports state that approximately 40 new guides will be available this fall. Title lists are not yet available.
Here are links to some recent news articles about this story:
Tags: News/Announcements
Consolidated Election -- April 9, 2013
The Consolidated Election of 2013 will elect candidates for Highland Park City Council, Moraine Township offices, Park District of Highland Park commissioners and school board members for both North Shore School District 112 and Township High School District 113, trustees for the College of Lake County, and the Regional Board of School Trustees.
Township High School District 113 also has a Proposition to Issue $89,000,000 School Building Bonds issue.
What's on your ballot? Where do you vote? Use the Lake County Voter Power site to answer these questions.
Early voting begins March 25 and ends April 6. The early voting site for Highland Park and Moraine Township is Lake County North Shore Health Center,1840 Green Bay Rd., Highland Park, IL 847-984-5323. Voting hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
League of Women Voters of Highland Park/Highwood have produced a Voters Guide to the Consolidated General Election.
Tags: News/Announcements
Tax Forms are now available!
We received the IRS 1040 Booklets. (3/4/13)
We have a limited supply of the Illinois 1040 instruction booklets and are asking people to take one (1) booklet per person. Due to state budget cuts, the Illinois Department of Revenue printed 100,000 booklets rather than the 500,000 of previous years. There are no plans to reprint the instruction booklets after the initial 100,000 copies are distributed. (2/20/13)
Most of the IRS and Illinois Department of Revenue forms and instruction booklets are available in the Adult Services Department near the Reference Desk. We supply forms for individuals.
We have not received all forms or instruction booklets yet. Additional forms may be received throughtout the tax season.
For additional income tax information, please visit the IRS or the Illinois Department of Revenue. Need forms for other states? Try the Department of Labor's State Tax Forms site.
The Illinois 1040 ES (Estimated) forms are only available online.
Businesses, who need business and employer forms, should order directly from the IRS. Click here for the order form.
Seniors and low-income tax filers can obtain free tax preparation help. The State of Illinois listing of Illinois sites.
Local IRS Offices (open 8:30am-4:30pm Mon-Fri)
- 5100 River Road, Schiller Park IL, (847) 671-7541
- 230 S. Dearborn, 17th Floor, Chicago IL, (312) 292-4912
Local Illinois Department of Revenue Offices:
- Maine North Regional Building, 9511 W. Harrison Ave., Des Plaines IL, (847) 294-4200
- James R. Thompson Center, 100 W. Randolph St., Concourse Level, Chicago IL., (800) 732-8866
Tags: News/Announcements
Where are the income tax forms?
Our federal and state tax forms have not arrived. The delay is due to changes in the tax law that Congress passed earlier this month. We'll put the forms out as soon as we receive them.
If you need forms before we can supply them, please check the IRS (http://www.irs.gov/) and Illinois Department of Revenue (http://www.revenue.state.il.us/) web sites. While some forms, instructions, and publications may have been updated for the 2012 tax year others have not, so check the publication date.
Before making the trip to the Library, call the Reference Desk (847/681-7031) to see if our forms have arrived.
Tags: News/Announcements
Who was born in 1913?
Let’s light one hundred candles and celebrate the centennial birthdays of these famous people who were born in 1913. Read about their fascinating lives in a book or one of our online resources.
Richard M. Nixon (b January 9, 1913, d April 22, 1994.) The 37th president of the United States was a complicated man whose accomplishments are overshadowed by his astounding fall from power.
Rosa Parks (b February 14, 1913, d October 24, 2005.) Physically a tiny woman, her refusal to surrender her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Al. to a white man had a huge effect – it precipitated the Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped spark the nationwide civil rights movement.
Robert Capa (b October 22, 1914, d May 25, 1954) The photographer of iconic images from the midst of the D-Day invasion and the Spanish Civil War.
Hedy Lamarr (b November 9, 1913, d January 19, 2000) Best known for her beauty, she was also a lifelong inventor. In 1942 she co-patented a frequency hopping device that is now used in satellite and wirelss technology.
Harrison Vernon Chase (b August 17, 1913, d February 6, 2000) Cofounder of Chase’s Annual Events, where you can find many amazing and important events for each day of the year.
Tags: News/Announcements
Online Resource of the Week: Mango Languages
Why not learn or re-learn a foreign language in 2013? Mango Languages offers lessons in 45 foreign languages, as well as English lessons for speakers of 15 foreign languages. Create a free account and Mango will track your progress as you start and stop at your convenience, or log in anonymously and try a new language a day.
Mango focuses on practical speaking skills; lessons combine everyday conversation skills, memory building strategies and interactivity. Here is a list of foreign languages offered:
- Arabic
- Chinese (Cantonese)
- Chinese (Mandarin)
- Croatian
- Czech
- Danish
- Dari
- Dutch
- Farsi (Persian)
- Finnish
- French
- French (Canadian)
- German
- Greek
- Greek (Ancient)
- Greek (Koine)
- Haitian Creole
- Hawaiian
- Hebrew
- Biblical Hebrew
- Hindi
- Icelandic
- Indonesian
- Irish
- Italian
- Japanese
- Korean
- Latin
- Norwegian
- Pashto
- Pirate
- Polish
- Portuguese (Brazil)
- Russian
- Slovak
- Spanish (Latin America)
- Spanish (Spain)
- Swedish
- Tagalog
- Tamil
- Thai
- Turkish
- Ukrainian
- Urdu
- Vietnamese
Questions about using Mango Languages or any of our online resources? Call the Reference Desk at 847-681-7031, or email us at hppla@hplibrary.org
Tags: Online Resources