Tax Season

This tax season has brought about heightened anxiety for many tax filers that have had to wait for tax form changes. The good news is that the deadline to file tax returns has been extended to April 18, 2011. The IRS needed time to implement changes when President Obama signed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Act into law back in December. You can read more about the act here.

We finally received the following forms and booklets yesterday:

• 1040
• 1040A
• 1040EZ

Find and print other forms at http://www.irs.gov/index.html, or stop in the library and ask someone to print the forms out for you, free of charge (limit 10 copies).

Other Resources:

• A list of free tax help locations provided by AARP and VITA have been compiled by our Government Documents Departments. View them here.
• Free help with electronically filing your taxes will be available at the Main Library this Saturday, February 19 from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. You can also visit their website at www.myfreetaxes.com/ep
• Get the latest scoop by following the IRS on Twitter: @IRSnews
  

Morganville Comes to El Paso!

The El Paso Public Libraries are so excited to be able to bring another bestselling author to town! Rachel Caine is the author of several series, including The Morganville Vampires, Weather Warden, and The Outcast Season. She will be in El Paso from January 26-29, stopping at several libraries across town.

Best of all, she'll be here at Dorris Van Doren on the 28th from 5-9 p.m. for a Vampire Ball! So, make sure to come dressed as a vampire, character out of the book, or just as you are. We'll have a photo booth set up so that you can take pictures! It's free and open to all ages.

In the meantime, you can...

• Check out The Morganville Vampires books @ the library>>
• Read sample chapters from Rachel's site>>
• Visit Rachel's site>>
• Visit Morganville>>

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for the latest updates!

Morganville in El Paso 2011
The official Twitter hashtag for this event is #mvep11

Happy Holidays!

The holidays may have come a little too quickly for some of us, but it's nice to know that you can always take a moment to relax at the library. We have plenty of holiday books and programs to help get the whole family in the holiday spirit. Click here for our holiday hours.

Festival of Lights Storytime

Saturday, December 4 @ 1 p.m.

Crafts & Cocoa

Tuesdays, during Teen Hangout @ 4 p.m.

Teens are invited to make a holiday craft & drink hot cocoa.

Santa's Coming!

Saturday, December 11 @ 1 p.m.

Santa Claus will be here! Don't forget your camera & wish list!

Pajama Storytime

Thursday, December 16 @ 6 p.m.

Children can come in their comfy PJ's to hear stories.

Movie Matinee

Saturday, December 18 @ 3 p.m.

(Call 875-0700 for movie title)

Holiday Movie

Thursday, December 23 @ 3 p.m.

(Call 875-0700 for movie title)

Chalk the Walk

MCAD's third annual event, Chalk the Block is taking place this weekend! To celebrate this event, teens got to make homemade sidewalk chalk last Tuesday during Teen Hangout. Not everyone will be able to make it out to Chalk the Block, so we held our own "Chalk the Walk" event this past Tuesday. Everyone was invited to chalk up the courtyard area near the family room and enjoy popcorn. We have plenty of chalk left, so we are definitely going to do this again!

More info:

• Chalk the Block is this weekend, click here to visit their site for the schedule.
• Teen Hangout (ages 13-19) is on Tuesdays here @ DVD from 4-6 p.m.
• The next Chalk the Walk @ DVD will be announced soon.
  

Pictures from Chalk the Walk:

Happy Banned Books Week!

We're celebrating Banned Books Week from September 25 thru October 2! Libraries across the country are celebrating intellectual freedom—the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular.

Did you know that books are still banned and challenged in the United States? Many books that are now considered classics, were banned in either the U.S. or abroad at one time. Today, people still attempt to have books removed from libraries and school curriculum for various reasons. The most popular reason has been "unsuited to age group."

Come on in and check out our display and a book that has been banned/challenged!

For more information about Banned Books Week and complete lists, visit: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/index.cfm

The Top 10 Most Frequently Banned Books of 2009 were...

1. ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: drugs, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
2. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
Reasons: homosexuality
3. The Perks of Being A Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: anti-family, drugs, homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited to age group
4. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Reasons: offensive language, racism, unsuited to age group
5. Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer
Reasons: religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
6. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
7. My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult
Reasons: homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence
8. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
9. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
10. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
Reasons: nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

Get Healthy @ Your Library!

We will be hosting a free workshop next Tuesday evening that features health information. Our very own government documents librarian will show you how to find the best information on health, aging, family care, and much more!

Tuesday, September 21 @ 6 p.m.

National Library Card Sign-Up Month

The El Paso Public Library System wants to make sure that everyone in our community has the smartest card of all- a library card! Libraries enrich everyone's lives through programs, books, movies music, technology, and so much more!

This year, you can get a special limited edition card at any public library or Good Time Store while supplies last. The card features UTEP's new head basketball coach, Tim Floyd. Bring the card to your nearest branch to get it activated and start utilizing your library's resources now.