New Year, New Beginnings

Ruidoso Public Library has big plans for 2014.

We are open today and tomorrow, closed for Wednesday, January 1, and open the rest of the week.

Sharon hosts student artwork this month with an opening reception Tuesday, January 14, at  4pm.

Corey Bard, our director, hopes you are reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X.  We have 10 copies for you and the book discussion will launch his Created Equal program this February.  Visit the library calendar for specific dates and times of events.  For example, Corey's book discussion will be Saturday, February 1 at 11 am.

Then, every Thursday night in February, join Corey for about 90 mins, 6 pm to 7:30 pm, for films and discussion about turning points in America's Civil Rights history.  The movies are PBS's The American Experience's The Abolitionists, Slavery by Another Name, Freedom Riders, and The Loving Story.

February's remaining Saturdays will host a Chautauqua of Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott-King, Dr Cynthia Orozco's history of civil rights in New Mexico, and Dr Charles Martin, UTEP, on integration of college sports.

The Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle is made possible through a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, as part of its Bridging Cultures initiative, in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at: www.neh.gov.

Credits: The Loving Story: Grey Villet/HBO
The Abolitionists: ©WGBH Educational Foundation/Antony Platt

Slavery by Another Name: Jon Van Amber and Omni Studio

All Aboard the Trans-Siberian Railroad

The Ruidoso Public Library is closed today, November 11, to observe Veterans' Day, and will re-open Tuesday, November 12, at 9 am.

Join me, Jennifer Stubbs, this Friday, November 15, at 11 am for a photographic tour of Russia.  I have scanned in my photos from a trip in 2003 half-way round the world.

I winnowed the album down to about 50 photos, only half of which are about the train-travel experience on the Trans-Siberian Railroad.  I only rode from Moscow to Lake Baikal over Spring Break.  Many photos focus on the Lake itself.

Armchair Travel

Sharon Stewart has arranged another tour of presentations to take you around the world without needing to check your passport or vaccinations.  This November you are invited to explore Bolivia and Russia.
First, Bolivia.  This Friday, November 8, at 11 am, join Dr Clayton Alred of ENMU-Ruidoso.  He will share photos from a Rotary trip through this South American country.

Find a gorgeous book on not-to-miss hikes from around the world, including one in Bolivia: The Takesi Trail.

To round out your introduction to Bolivia you may like to visit the World Factbook for facts, such as the flag and statistics, or Wikipedia for additional insights.  

As a reminder, the Ruidoso Public Library will close to observe Veterans' Day next Monday, November 11.  We will re-open Tuesday, November 12 at 9 am.

Raptor Rescue Presentation, Wednesday, Oct 30, 3:30pm

Ruidoso Public Library hosts Hawks Aloft, Wednesday, October 30 at 3:30pm, for all ages.  Kids are out of school Wednesday afternoons; why not fill that time with this one-of-a-kind experience?  To help introduce your students (grades 3-8) to raptors before the talk, visit http://hawksaloft.org/education/for-educators/ for lessons and handouts on science, math, or geography topics related to the presentation.  Try a lesson before to build interest and another after Halloween to continue the connection.

Hawks Aloft is an Albuquerque non-profit focused on conservation, avian research, education, and mitigations.  What are mitigations?  When birds and businesses use the same space, the Endangered Species Act, among other laws, outlines how to protect the livelihoods of all parties.  Learn more about this, how to seek their assistance, and how to help Hawks Aloft during this presentation.  You may have seen Hawks Aloft at the Festival of the Cranes in Socorro in past years.  

Hawks Aloft recruits citizen scientists to help observe local raptor populations through HOOT (Hawks & Owls Observation Tracking Report) and raptor surveys.  Check with the experts after the presentation at Ruidoso Public Library.

The Lincoln County Bird Club generously sponsored this visit by Hawks Aloft.  HawksAloft.org lists their ambassadors online if you wish to preview them, though who will visit that day remains a surprise.  The avian ambassadors are rescued, non-releasable raptors, often rehabilitated here in New Mexico. 

Ask a librarian for assistance finding more information about raptors in the online Grzimek’s Animal Encyclopedia or bird identification books on the shelves.

Opportunity to learn your iPad or earn your GED at ENMU

Coda Omness of ENMU-Ruidoso will teach a class, "Navigating the iPad" from 5:30 to 7:30 pm on October 22.  You must bring your iPad and sign up in advance.  Call ENMU-Ruidoso at 575-257-2120 or visit them (the same parking lot as Lawrence Bros. Supermarket) to reserve your seat.  Many visitors at the library ask for this type of instruction, so I am happy to let you know this class has arrived!  Learn the basic settings, some apps, and how to explore your device.  There is a $35 fee, though it is only $29 for Lifetime Learning Academy (students over 55 years).

To learn about other pending community or continuing education classes, visit their online Fall Schedule at http://issuu.com/enmuruidoso/docs/fall_2013 .

FinishTheGED.com

The GED® Test is modernizing.  As of January 2014, the exams will be computer-only.  Cera (at New Mexico Workforce Connections, 575-258-1730) organizes the classes to prepare you for these exams.  The GED® training occurs at different times of day, depending on what works for your schedule or how well you can discipline yourself to work independently.  During the next few months you may still prepare for some of the topics with printed materials available at Ruidoso Public Library, or online, including a tutorial on what computer skills you may wish to practice before the test day.  FinishtheGED.com explains many details.  The Prepare tab on this page includes the computer skills tutorial and sample questions.  This video below (also available here) explains how the calculator has been built into the computer test.

If you need a little more convincing (or more information to share with someone looking into GED® credentials, the following are straight from the horse's mouth.

Attention GED® test-takers: Increase your chance of success. Adults who take the GED® test on computer are finishing faster and scoring higher. People say that testing on computer is “easier,” “less stressful,” and “simple.” Try the GED® test on computer risk free—we’re so confident you’ll like it that if you don’t pass your first test, you’ll get a free voucher for the next one.

Visit GEDtestingservice.com/riskfreeGED to see if you qualify.

 Learn More:

• • Free Test on Computer Tutorial: Preview how the GED® test on computer works right now. You can click through questions and practice using the system.
  • Locate Nearest Test on Computer Site: Like the GED® test on computer? Find the site nearest you by selecting the “Test on Computer” box and entering your zip code in our online locator tool.
  • Register and Schedule Online: With testing on computer, you can get your GED®test scheduled today with our easy-to-use online system. Get started today!

Your future is calling. With the GED® test, you can answer the call!

If you’ve already started the GED® test, you’re almost there. The current version of the GED® test is expiring at the end of 2013 and your scores will expire too if you don’t finish and pass the test by then. If you act soon, you won’t have to re-take the parts of the test you’ve already passed.

Don’t feel prepared to finish the GED® test? Don’t worry—we can help! Even with your busy schedule, you can prepare, plan, and succeed.  The GED®  test and preparation materials are also available in Spanish.

Passing the GED® test is a key to opening doors to college, a better job, and the respect you deserve. Don’t miss this chance to turn one small step into your next big opportunity! Finish your GED® test by the end of 2013 and earn your high school credential.

Chautauqua visit: The Foot Runners of the Sierra Madre

Photo Credit: Diana Molina

Foot Runners of the Sierra Madre at Ruidoso Public Library

Thursday, October 10, at 4 pm, Ruidoso Public Library hosts Diana Molina presenting a Chautauqua of Raramuri culture.  Raramuri is their own name for themselves; you have have heard them called Tarahumara.  If long-distance running, barefoot, or minimalist running appeal to you, check out this program.  Ms Molina will explore several topics: ethnography, anthropology, scientific research, running, modernity impacting culture, and the specific Sierra Madre Occidental canyon environment of northern Mexico.  Molina will share her stunning photographs taken while living among the tribe for extended periods of time.

Diana Molina

These photographs were the focus of an exhibit in 2012 at the University of Texas-El Paso’s Centennial Museum, called Rarámuri, The Foot Runners of the Sierra Madre. The images range from Matachines and Semana Santa to agriculture and the racing tradition.  Molina hopes to raise awareness of balancing lifestyle and habitat as much as appreciate the “unique and exceptional Raramuri tribe.”

Diana Molina is a photographer and writer, and director of Juntos Art Association, which focuses on youth outreach and art collaboration.  Her photographs have graced the halls of The World Museum of Art in Rotterdam, The Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, DC, and the Houston Museum of Natural Science. 

If you are a marathoner, swap training plans with our library director, Corey Bard.  Ruidoso Public Library has several books on distance running, training, and Native American cultures.  Please ask a librarian for assistance finding these and other, newer, online materials.  

Money Smart Week (R) 2013

This year, Ruidoso Public Library hosts Money Smart Week (R) April 2nd through 5th.  The slate of presenters has some of last year's most popular events and a few new faces, too.

Tuesday, April 2, from 10-11 am, Vera from First National Bank will speak on How to Apply for a Mortgage.  If that time does not work for you, or you have more questions, try a different perspective on Wednesday, April 3 at 4pm.

Later on Tuesday, April 2, from 11 am to noon, Debra Hendricks, of New Mexico’s Aging and Long Term Services Department, will present "Extra Help," a program to reduce your Medicare expenses. 

Wednesday, April 3, 10 am, begins with Credit Scores: what they are, what affects them, and how to improve them with Billy Jones of Ruidoso Credit Union. I saw this presentation last year and thought it could be useful for most anyone.  Then at 4pm Wednesday is the second mortgage application explanation by Lorri McKnight of City Bank New Mexico who will present a different perspective.

On Thursday, April 4, at noon, Rachel Weber of New Mexico’s Workforce Solutions offers Frugal Living Tips to Save Money.  Then at 4:30 pm, also on Thursday, April 4, Rutalee Todd-Jernigan of the Farm Bureau Financial Services will help you increase your financial smarts.  Come with any questions you have.

We wrap up Friday at noon with Ismael Camacho one of the state’s Assistant Attorneys General.  Mr Camacho presents “Don’t Get Burned” to help you explore the risks of identity theft and scams, including how to protect yourself.  

If you'd like to see the calendar, it's here.  For more information about Money Smart Week and the Federal Reserve, try this link.

Money Smart Week is an registered service mark of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

We hope to see you!  If your schedule does not allow a visit, comment below or email us ahead of time.  We can check into saving you a set of the handouts to pick up later.  If you think of a friend or acquaintance who might like a class, feel free to share this post's URL with them on Facebook, Twitter, or by email, too.

A visit from the past: Toulouse-Lautrec

In case you missed Tuesday's chautauqua, here are some highlights:

Thanks to Sharon Stewart for organizing this event.  And thanks to the Friends of the Library for funding the visit!

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, presented by  Petr Jandacek (of Los Alamos).

The library was packed for this popular presentation.

 Mr Jandacek lives for his art

Jandacek wouldn't travel without Toulouse-Lautrec

The history of Toulouse-Lautrec's life and illnesses 

Jandacek donned artificial orthodontics, wigs, and two canes for part of the talk

Toulouse-Lautrec presented many props to round out the character

#7 Be loud at the library; meet a new book

One of a library's better known activities might be book discussion groups.  Ruidoso Public Library hosts one on the first Wednesday of each month (except in July, when the federal holiday pushes it to the second), at noon.  You are welcome to bring a brown bag lunch (one of the few exceptions to the no eating or drinking in the library rule).  Our library director, Corey Bard, and librarian, Sharon Stewart, join Sherry York and anyone interested in sharing a book or learning about novel novels (pun intended).

Book club meeting aboard GTMO Queen, by By Army Staff Sgt. Blair Heusdens [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

I have heard of book clubs that meet at pubs, private homes, and through church groups.  If you are interested in creating a group, or need any help finding discussion guides or title suggestions, please ask us.  Book clubs have gone online, too.  Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ hangouts can bring together people who cannot leave their homes or have crazy schedules that only let you socialize asynchronously (i.e. 2 o'clock in the morning).  If you have not read a book in a while, maybe because you felt the stories were all the same, a book club can help you jump out of that rut.

The books discussed at the June meeting follow (click on the links to check local availability):
Seasons of grief and grace: A sister story of AIDS, triumph, and family by Susan Ford Wiltshire
Same sweet girls by Cassandra King
The tooth of time by Sue Henry
Images of America: Ruidoso and Ruidoso Downs by Lyn Kidder
Delay, deny, hope they die by Bill Dement
My life as a Cambodian refugee: Escape to America by Tony M SaVaun
Erotic resolution: a Flint Rock novel by Glenn Smith
Texas Tango, same author
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
El Sicario by Molly Molloy, Charles Bowden, and El Sicario
The Rope by Nevada Barr
Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly
Dead end in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
Hole in my life, same author
One second after by William R Fortschen

Ruidoso Public Library is closed Wednesday, July 4, for the federal holiday.  We are open Tuesday and Thursday, regular hours.

#2: What to read....what to read next....what to try while waiting

Possibly earliest photograph of a tornado

Libraries are a great resource for something called "Readers Advisory."  That's not a warning about looming dangers in a book, as in Tornado Advisory.  It is a spectrum of answers for the dreaded question, "What to read now?"  On one hand, this can be a rhetorical question, not expecting a real answer; on the other hand, it can become a great conversation over days or years of careful give-and-take between a patron's reactions to books read and a librarian's careful research into similar (or different) books to attempt.

To help librarians help you there are a few things to add after asking, "What shall I read next?"  These include:
1. several books you have read and liked (and maybe want more of),
2. a few books you did not like (and why),
3. what sort of book, story, character, or feeling you are in the mood for next.

Please don't think of it as homework, though the more thought placed in the answers, the more reliable a librarian's research into what titles to suggest may become.  If you want to delve into the analysis of books, this is where plot, character, setting, and pacing come into play.  As every person reads a book through a different life-lens, these analyses are not set in stone.  Each book may have several different "appeal factors" (genre, setting, pacing) and you see the one that interests (or disgusts) you at that time.

Sometimes I prefer a book that emphasizes pacing.  This may be Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  Other times I can appreciate a book that explores, without any hurry, the internal monologue (see: Atonement by Ian McEwan).

Whether the sense of place, frenetic pacing, complex and dynamic characterization, or just what everyone else is reading is your cup of tea, ask a librarian--but be prepared for a conversation rather than a Google-fast result.

If you prefer the DIY (do-it-yourself) approach, there are many websites that can help as well.  For mystery fans, Stop, You're Killing Me! can help you recall your favorite character's author, or authors who write similarly to your favorite author.  If you prefer to know beforehand whether a book has mature language (or just how much), various aspects of romance (or how much from hand-holding to well beyond kissing), violence (implied or explicit and how much), and many more aspects look to All Readers.  With either site, look up books you have already read to see what volunteers have posted about them.  That way you will know what terms to look for (or avoid!) in searching for new possibilities.

Ruidoso Public Library hosts the World Premier of Camp Capitan, a local playwright's introduction to a CCC camp in the county and life during the Great Depression.  Two shows, Thursday, May 31, 10:30 am and 7 pm.

A Week full of Money Smarts and a chance to meet a Hidden Child of the Holocauust

Money Smart Week has finally arrived!  Join us for any or all of this week's presentations.

Wednesday, 4-5pm, Marsha Palmer, of Lincoln County's Extension Office, shares the "Power of Prevention".  Learn how diet and exercise really do make a difference in preventing chronic diseases.  What better way to save money than staying healthy?

Thursday, 4-5pm, Rachel Weber and Stephanie Gillespie, of the local Workforce Solutions Office, have two mini-presentations: 1. look at your budget and 2. how you can get a better job to improve your finances.

Friday, 10-11am, Rob Turner leads a team from First National Bank.  How can a bank help you reach your financial goals?

International Holocaust Remembrance Day,  April 18

Saturday, Andy Holden, speaks from 11 am to noon.  Mr. Holden shares his first-hand experience of World War II, when his Jewish family hid him with a Christian family in Amsterdam to evade seizure by the Nazis.  If you have read about Anne Frank, here's a chance to meet living history.

Tax Time and more Money Smarts and booktalks at the library

The IRS wants your tax return by April 17.

by Images_of_Money at Flickr

If you are unable to make that deadline, you have options.  Here's a bit of explanation about what is due today, and here's some information on how to get an extension on the deadline.  Remember, you can file the extension online, right now.

In preparation for the rest of this year, why not stop by Ruidoso Public Library Thursday for our Money Smart presentation?  From 4-5pm on April 19, Aimee Bennet of Lincoln County's Health Office will explore how your health choices today affect your money needs in the future.

Friday and Saturday mornings have author presentations.  April 20, Jerry Welch shares his book again, Corporacracy, and April 21 sees Gary Cozzens latest book on Capitan.

Budgeting for end of life choices, anorexia discussion, & Rainwater Harvesting @your Library

This week, the Money Smart presentation is by Danny Sisson of La Grone Funeral Chapel.  On Thursday from 4-5 pm he will explore the costs involved in funerals and memorials.  The US Federal Trade Commission and the library being a public/government building puts Mr Sisson in a bit of a tight spot.  The FTC requires any funeral director to provide a list of costs upon request; at the same time, the library cannot look like it is supporting any one company or providing advertising space.  So, this is a great session to learn the general issues of what to ask about and how to plan, but if you have specific questions about La Grone's specific prices, we ask that you contact Danny at a later time and place.  Thank you for understanding.

Another possibility to consider, that may be planet wise as well as financially smart, is Green Funerals. I talked with my mom about several variations and she remains open to (as she puts it) "whatever is easiest for you" (since I'll be there).  I know funerals and death are very difficult topics of conversation, but as a daughter, I am grateful my parents bit the bullet and let me know a few of their feelings.  Sometimes the discussions happened while driving to or from a memorial service, other times just when driving past a cemetery.  Just don't let it get you down for too long.

Friday at 10 am, local author Carol Keys will discuss her books, "Sharing Moments Over Tea" & "Behind Her Smile: A Mother's Walk Through Her Daughter's Anorexia."  


Saturday morning, Jim Miller will share his presentation on Rainwater Harvesting.  This information is often part of a course he teaches at ENMU-Ruidoso, so if you haven't made that yet, this is a great introduction.  Calculate how much rainwater your roof collects. Decide how many gallons your showers or landscape could use in a year.  Bring your questions.

On a lighter note, Spring has sprung at the library!

Resume Workshops,Talk to the folks at One Click Digital on March 27 and wrap up Building Common Ground

If you need help with a re'sume' this is your week.  Workforce Solutions (located between White Mountain Elementary and Sierra Vista Primary) offers a session from noon-2pm March 27 and the last Tues of each month.

Ruidoso Public Library invites you to watch a webinar on One Click Digital, the current provider of downloadable audiobooks.  This is a 45 min webinar to walk you through the sign up and download processes.

Tue, Mar 27, 2012 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EDT


I encourage you to attend if you have questions with the current service, too.


This Saturday is the final installment in the Building Common Ground program.  Join Andrea Reed for a dance celebration.

Image at Jillee's One Good Thing

The Childrens Department is looking for very specific pop-up bottle tops (not the flip-caps, but the slide open/closed types).  We hope to make a craft/science project for the summer reading program.

Image at This Next

Art by Jan Habraken

It's the 3rd Blogoversary! Movies all week and Compassionate Communications Saturday

image by Felix42 contra la censura on Flickr

The Ruidoso Public Library's blog is three years old this week.  Thank you for reading and helping us improve with your comments and suggestions (still welcome, too!).


With the local schools on Spring Break, the library can be a great place to interact with your (grand)kids!  Stop in for movies during the week or discover an interest you share.  Many books have been remade as movies, perhaps start with comparing two formats of the same story.  Here are a few for this year:  Hugo Cabret, The Great Gatsby, The Woman in Black,  John Carter, Hunger Games, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunger, The Bourne series, The Hobbit, Life of Pi, World War Z, or Great Expectations.


This Friday is a great evening to visit Alamogordo.  Alamogordo's Friends of the Library (with NMSU-A, A Daily News, and Tularosa Basin Historical Society) host Enchantment: the 1st 100 years by Richard Melzer (we have the book).  This will be held at the Flickinger Center for Performing Arts.  Mr Melzer is a historian and author; see the images from this book and learned lots of history.


This Saturday, the Building Common Ground events continue with Jack Lehman, who will explore compassionate communication.  If you missed the meditation event on March 3, you can watch the webinar recording anytime.

Building Common Ground: Engagement: Compassion & Peace Studies, and Adopt-a-Cat Friday

Friday, March 2nd, from 2-4pm, Lincoln County Humane Society will have cats available for adoption.  This event has a special adoption fee of only $10 to cover vaccinations, fixing, microchips, and other costs. 

Saturday, March 3rd, from 11 am to noon, Ruidoso Public Library begins our Building Common Ground, Civility, & Compassion program for all of March.  These programs, films, workshops, and guests are made possible through grants from the American Library Association, the Fetzer Institute, and support from Ruidoso's Friends of the Library.  Les Field, Professor of Anthropology at UNM and Director of the Peace Studies Program, will lead a discussion on social issues with a goal of identifying solutions.

Saturday, March 10th, from 11 am to noon, John Cianciosi, author of The Meditative Path, joins us from the National Headquarters of the Theosophical Society in America.  Explore mindfulness, breathing, and awareness cultivation through a guided meditation followed by discussion.

Coming up Saturday, March 17 at 11 am, join our director, Corey Bard, in a discussion of Karen Armstrong's book, Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life.

We have eleven copies available, so drop in to read one before the discussion.  If reading (or the time for 222 pages) is not your thing, you are still welcome to participate.  Karen Armstrong has a talk at TED.com about her book, a webpage about the Charter for Compassion, and NPR interviewed her (listen to the 30 minute recording here).  The publisher offers a discussion guide with some questions to ponder before, during, after, or instead of reading, too.

Here are the Twelve Steps:

1.    1. Learn about compassion

2.     2. Look at your own world

3.     3. Compassion for yourself

4.     4. Empathy

5.     5. Mindfulness

6.     6. Action

7.    7.  How little we know

8.     8. How we should speak to one another

9.     9. Concern for everybody

10.  10. Knowledge

11.   11. Recognition

12.   12. Love your Enemies

Ruidoso Public Library also offers seven other books by Karen Armstrong (if not on the shelf, request it at the front desk):

The Spiral Staircase  200.92 ARM

Holy War: The Crusades and Their Impact on Today’s World  909.07 ARM

A Short History of Myth 398.2 ARM

Islam: A Short History  297.09 ARM

A History of God: The 4000 year Quest of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam  291.211 ARM

The Case for God  211.22 ARM

Game Wardens and a 9/11 responder this week (also an update on One Click Digital for Apple)

Thursday, 4pm, meet two of New Mexico's Game Wardens at the library.  They will explore some of the local wildlife and answer your questions.  Children welcome, too.

Image at NM Dept of Game and Fish

Do you have a nuisance animal?  What is a safe practice around squirrels?  Come found out!

Image at Amazon

Friday morning at 10 am, local Bill Dement will discuss his book, Delay, Deny, Hope They Die. This is the story of a disabled 9/11 first responder, a former police Lieutenant, N.Y.P.D., who describes himself as an Ordinary Joe.  Learn about the man, two days shy of completing the retirement home he was building in New Mexico, who responded to the World Trade Center disaster. It vividly depicts his months at Ground Zero and more.  


If you have an Apple computer or product, this may be the update you've been waiting for.  One Click Digital has a new release of the Download Manager and the directions for MacIntosh/Apple users to work around within their own systems. 

Birds, animals, dancers, Valentines, and workplace etiquette

Tonight, NM-OATH has a Valentine's Blue Heart Ball to support their mission educating the public about trafficking in humans.

Image at UWP

This week, Up with People, is still looking for dozens of homes to host a performer for the March 4 show at the Convention Center.  Please call if you can share dinners, breakfasts, and a bed from February 27 to March 7.  Mariquit Palabyab, Promotion Representative and Host Family Contact mpalabyab@upwithpeople.org Phone: 303-681.1295 or Linda Chen, Promotion Representative lchen@upwithpeople.org Phone: 303.681.1471.

Thanks to Joe Maierhauser for sharing Ray Pawley's early career picture

Thursday at 4pm, Ruidoso Public Library hosts Ray Pawley, former collections curator of Chicago zoos.  Learn about the Wildlife of the Wild West. Children welcome!

And this weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count.  Check out the site now to learn to identify which birds you see.  Then anytime Friday through Monday, spend 15 minutes counting the birds you see at home or wherever you are.  Submit your count online or print out the form to mail in.  If you have great hearing, you can participate by recording which birds you hear instead!


Ruidoso's Workforce Solutions presents Workplace Etiquette Thursday, February 16, 2-4 pm.  They are located in the White Mountain schools complex between Hull and Mechem.  Call 630-8181 for more information.

Online security ideas and Thursday watch A Murder of Crows

This Thursday at 4pm, please join Sharon for PBS Nature's A Murder of Crows.  BYOP (bring your own popcorn) and children welcome!

While the title sounds violent, murder is the technical term for a flock when describing crows.  For a quick taste of how intelligent crows are, below is a youtube video of a crow sledding genius!


At the library, I get a lot of questions about passwords and online security.  I wanted to share two sites that describe a few ways to increase your odds of having a strong password; though as one blogger said, "The only strong password is one you can't remember either."  First, The Daring Librarian created this poster explaining some of the how's and why's of online/password security.  Second, LifeHacker pulled together their top seven posts and a poster explaining password security.  

We have two books at the library covering this security, For Seniors and for parents.  Please email me if you are looking for additional materials or self-teaching sites for students or yourself.

Library Day at New Mexico's Legistature; Resume Reviews at Workforce Solutions; and birds @your library

Libraries need you!
Thursday, February 2nd, is Library Day at New Mexico's Roundhouse in Santa Fe.



If you happen to be in Santa Fe, please, stop by the Roundhouse and stand up for libraries in New Mexico.

If that drive is not on your list, can you spare a phone call? Please visit the NM Legislature website to look up your representative's and senator's phone number.

I was an intern in an legislative office, back in college, and learned that legislators notice when the phones are all ringing.  You don't have to say anything witty or long, just let the staff know why you are calling.  Emails count, too, though they may hide in an e-mail inbox.  Every call, letter, and email supports libraries.

If you are looking for help with your resume', Workforce Solutions offers a workshop, today from noon-2 pm and the last Tuesday of each month.   Call  (575) 257-9296 for more information.  Workforce Solutions is now located on White Mountain Drive, in the complex with Sierra Vista Primary and White Mountain Elementary Schools.


Thursday at 4pm, Ruidoso Public Library hosts the Lincoln County Bird Club.  Join us (kids welcome, too!) to learn how to identify our local feathered friends.