Scott Simkins of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City will present a one day workshop on book repair. It will be held at Utah State Library, 250 North 1950 West, Salt Lake City. Register for the class on our workshops page.
Other dates for the training are March 18th at the State Library and April 9th, 2009 at the Delta City Library. These two classes are totally full.
Two “tipping points” occurred in 2008. (h/t Stephen Abram) Both will affect the way libraries deliver service.
Ray Matthews says “Newspapers are in deep trouble” and he is right. Pew Research reports that for the first time more people get their news from the internet than from newspapers. (Of course, vastly more get their news from television). A good question would be how much of that internet traffic goes to online sites of traditional newspapers – and how much life there is left in traditional reportage. The internet is filled with “news” blogs and internet “news outlets”, like Worldnet Daily and NewsMax on the right, and Huffington Post and more traditional blogs on the left. Is there still room for traditional journalistic enterprises that at least evince an aura of impartial investigation and objectivity?
And this year, for the first time, shipments of Laptop computers exceeded those of desktops. The familiar desktop computer appears to be going away.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has begun a five-star quality rating system for each of the nation’s 15,800 nursing homes that participate in Medicare or Medicaid. It’s the first-ever U.S. federal government website to help with the difficult and emotional task of choosing a nursing home.
Nursing Home Compare : Find and Compare Nursing Homes (web site):
http://www.medicare.gov/nhcompare
To search the system simply enter a Zip Code to get star ratings of nursing homes in that area.
Facilities are assigned star ratings from a low of one star to a high of five stars based on health inspection surveys, staffing information, and quality of care measures. The site will be updated monthly and indicates whether the facility is for-profit or not-for-profit.
In this first round of quality ratings, about 12% of the nation’s nursing homes received a full five-star rating while 22 % scored at the low end with one star. Many of Utah’s nursing homes score below or much below average in the new quality ratings system. Of the 93 Utah nursing homes reviewed by the government, 22 ranked below average (two stars) and 17 have an overall quality rating of one star, the lowest score possible.
Utah nursing home provider lists (without ratings) specific to counties, cities, or zip codes can be retrieved using:
Utah Cares (website): https://utahcares.utah.gov/
If you would like information regarding other Certified or Licensed provider types not listed in the above resources please contact the Utah Health Facility Licensing, Certification and Resident Assessment Bureau at (801) 538-6158 or toll free at 1-800-662-4157.
Some helpful government publications designed to help you choose a nursing home include:
National Institute on Aging. (2007). Nursing Homes: Making the Right Choice. (also available as a PDF, 6 p., and in Spanish.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Guide to Choosing a Nursing Home (PDF, 68 p. Also available in Spanish.
National Center for Assisted Living, American Health Care Association. (2003). Planning Ahead: A Consumer’s Guide to Nursing Facilities.
For additional helpful government resources and publications please visit the
MedlinePlus topic: Nursing Homes :
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/nursinghomes.html
Checklists for making a nursing home selection, along with Utah-specific facility brochures and other background information, are available at the Utah Health Care Association’s Web site, http://www.uthca.org/Programs/.
By Samantha Hastings, West Jordan Library
The Uplift Grant allowed me to take the Advanced Management of Information Agencies online course through the University of North Texas. The main focus of the course was the strategic planning process, including: library vision statements, library mission statements, conducting information audits, and creating a strategic plan. This brief article will focus on rethinking library mission statements and strategic planning strategies.
Does each member of your library staff know your library’s vision and/or mission? Joseph R. Matthews (2005) explains that “In most cases, these mission statements are too lengthy and don’t really get to the heart of the library’s mission. Too often these statements erroneously include processes that the library uses to deliver its mission” (16). A good mission statement, according to Matthews, could be printed on a T-shirt (16). A good mission statement is meaningful and memorable. According to Scott Beagrie (2005), a mission statement should inspire employees to accomplish or to work toward organizational goals.
You can customize this calculator to your community if you’d like. I think it is an intriguing way of showing your worth to your community.
The IRS has placed its comprehensive free tax guide for individuals online.
Publication 17 has been updated with important changes for 2008, including information on the new recovery rebate credit, new first-time-home buyer credit, and an additional standard deduction for real estate taxes.
As in prior years, the publication provides information on how to file an individual tax return, what to include as income, how to calculate capital gains and losses, how IRAs and other expenses can affect how much income to report, whether to take the standard deduction or itemize, and how to figure taxes and credits.
It has been published annually by the IRS for more than 65 years and has been available on the IRS Web site since 1996.
Download Publication 17: Your Federal Income Tax : For Use in Preparing 2008 Returns (PDF, 299 p.).
Please help reduce the cost to government and save trees in the process by accessing it online. The bonus to you is that the PDF version is searchable and the online version contains more than 900 interactive links.
For those who do not have access to the Internet can call 1-800-829-3676 to request a free copy from the IRS.Printed copies will be available in January 2009.
The Annual Energy Outlook presents a midterm projection and analysis of US energy supply, demand, and prices through 2030. The analysis projects virtually no growth in U.S. petroleum use through the year 2030, due to increased use of ethanol and biodiesel and a push toward greater automobile fuel efficiency, including the growing popularity of gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles. The full publication, to be released in early 2009, will include complete documentation and additional cases examining energy markets.
Title: Annual Energy Outlook 2009 Early Release
Publisher: United States. Energy Information Administration
Date issued: 2008-12
Agency website: Energy Information Administration
In the News: “Oil-shale estimates for Utah dip,”Deseret News, Dec. 17, 2008.