Income Tax Forms to be Available January 3rd

The Library has been receiving some shipments of tax forms for the past few weeks. Not all forms have arrived, but what we do have will be placed on carrels just inside the library as you walk in the door. If we do not have the form or publication you need, please try downloading the information from the IRS web site at http://www.irs.gov, or you may call toll-free 1-800-829-3676 to request forms be mailed to you. Please remember that library staff cannot answer tax questions as we are not trained income tax preparers. If in doubt, consult with a trained tax professional, or call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 for tax advice. The library staff will do their best to help you find the forms you need, either on the tables, or to download from the IRS web site. You are free to prepare and file your taxes online using the library's public internet computers, but you must use programs that are web-based and approved on the IRS web site.

Children's Winter Programs

Stories of the Week - Hear new stories each week on your phone!
Pajama Story Time - Each Thursday at 7:00 p.m., starting January 17 to February 14, and March 6 to April 10. Children are invited to put on their pajamas, bring along a favorite pillow or stuffed animal, and listen to bedtime stories! NO registration is required, just drop by the Library!
LapSit - Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. starting January 19 to February 23, and March 15 to April 26. Registration is required. You may sign up for SPRING 2008!
Winter Storytime - Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. starting January 8 to March 18, for fun & stories geared toward pre-school age children. Come join in! No registration, just come by the library!

Public Internet Access is Back Up!

Bill Gates came by, ate cookies, and left 10 new computers to add to our existing 10 for public Internet access! Plus we now have a new catalog computer in the Children's Area, and new monitors for the email machine and additional catalog computers! Thanks to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for their gift to us. And we also thank the State Regional Tech Support Team, and Mr. Grady Williams for working so hard today!

New Computers Arriving on Thursday, Dec. 13th

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is playing Santa again this year! The Library is to receive fifteen new public Internet computers. Installation is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 13th. Although there will be no public Internet access for patrons on that day, library materials can still be checked out and the library catalog can be searched. The Library Staff looks forward to serving you on Friday, Dec. 14th when we will be able to offer twenty public Internet workstations. The additional five computers from the Gates Foundation will be used to replace older equipment. Thanks to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for this wonderful donation -- Christmas comes just a bit early this year due to their generosity! We will leave the cookies out, Bill......

Thursday, Dec. 13th, NO public Internet access!

Due to equipment installation there will be NO public internet access at E.G. Fisher Public Library on Thursday, Dec. 13th. Patrons may still search the library catalog, and check out materials. The library expects public internet access to be up and running on Friday, Dec. 14th.

Improvements to Health and Wellness Resource Center

TEL's Health and Wellness Resource Center has a new look! See how this database has changed to make searching for health information easier. The release of a new search interface plus a range of new features make Health and Wellness Resource Center even better! Available to all current Health and Wellness Resource Center users, the enhancements are designed to:

1. Make the database easier to use by offering more opportunities to browse through the database and by enhancing your search options
2. Add new pathways to information by adding two new tabs "Videos" and "News" now have their own 'homes' in your search results
3. Lead users to current and reliable health information by exposing more of the rich content and then labeling it so that it's easier to find a resource. "Reference" is now "eBooks and Fact Sheets" and "Other Sites" is now "Trusted Sites" See for yourself! Look for these new features in your Health and Wellness Resource Center this week:

1. A new, updated interface
2. Additional browsing opportunities, with a streamlined design that offers more graphics and highlights current news headlines
3. Video results under a new "Videos" tab
4. Newspapers, newsletters and news feeds populating a just-added "News" tab
5. Improvements to the printing, e-mailing and viewing options available at the document level
6. Access to PDFs for many periodicals, reference, and pamphlets
7. Many content updates

Remember, to get to TEL, visit http://www.fisherlibrary.org/ and click on "TEL - Tennessee Electronic Library" in the left-hand menu. You will see a secondary page, click on the link there and type in the password. (if you have forgotten the password, please contact the library at 423-745-7782.

Points Of View Reference Center now Available!

We have more great news for TEL libraries! EBSCO's Points of View Reference Center is now available to all citizens of Tennessee.

To get to EBSCO's Points of View Reference Center, go to http://search.ebscohost.com . You should be able to go into the entry page directly. For both the username and password, type in the TEL password in each field. Soon this link will be uploaded to a TEL Web portal page, which is now under development.

Points of View Reference Center is a full-text database designed toprovide students with a series of essays that present multiple sides of a current issue. The database provides 200 topics, each with an overview (objective background/description), point (argument) and counterpoint(opposing argument).

Topics covered include: affirmative action, cloning, DNA profiling, HIV/AIDS status disclosure, immigration, Iraq, Israel & the Palestinians, Katrina and FEMA response, nuclear proliferation, separation of church and state, standardized testing, stem cell research, tax cuts, voting machines, and many more. Points of View Reference Center contains a balance of materials from all viewpoints, including 800 main essays, leading political magazines from both sides of the aisle, newspapers, radio & TV news transcripts, primary source documents and reference books.

The database also offers guides to debate, developing arguments and writing position papers. Additionally, this database contains the Video Encyclopedia of the 20th Century, providing students with a searchable collection of some of the most important social, political, and cultural moments of the 20th century. Points of View Reference Center provides the basis from which students can realize and develop persuasive arguments and essays, better understand controversial issues and develop analytical thinking skills. Critical Thinking Guides for every topic covered helps the student judge Fact vs. Opinion and enhances the student's ability to read and think critically.

Library Closed Wed., Dec. 5th

Remember that the Library will be closed for an in-house work day on the first Wednesday of the month, December 5th. The book drop will be open for those of you who wish to return materials. You may go online to renew your library materials by using your library card number and your PIN! If you haven't gotten your PIN yet, please come by or call us and give us your library card number--we will be happy to give you your PIN!