Used Book Sales To Support Literacy Alliance

Did you know that 28% of the metro area's population (that's almost 900,000 adults) are living with low literacy skills? Or that children who aren't read to and don't develop basic literacy practices when they enter school are 3 to 4 times more likely to drop out? Or that businesses nation-wide estimate spending an average of $600 million per year on remedial reading, writing and math skills for their employees? Even the US military spends on average $70 million annually for basic skills remediation for new recruits. Well now you have a chance to help combat the problem of low literacy in the city of Atlanta.

The Literacy Alliance of Metro Atlanta is partnering with A Capella Books to host ongoing used book sales benefiting LAMA! Thanks to Lama's founding member, Laura Hauser, proceeds from the Used Book Sales will support LAMA and find seed grants for its members. The next book sale is on Saturday, December 14 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. These special book sales will occur on each 2nd Saturday and 4th Sunday of the month, just in time for holiday gift-giving season!

The Literary Alliance of Metropolitan Atlanta (LAMA) has a mission to achieve 100% literacy among metro Atlanta's adults and families by providing visibility for the issue of low literacy; providing visibility for its member organizations in their work to combat low literacy; developing and implementing a viable model for expansion of literacy programming; and to offer a single marketing-and-funding mechanism for the member organizations so that they are free to deliver our mission. The coalition hopes to increase public awareness about low-literacy as it is one of the root causes of poverty, un- and under-employment, homelessness, and poor health outcomes. We also provide a gateway to our member organizations as they focus to expand literacy programming in the Metropolitan Atlanta Area.

This practical and innovative coalition is comprised of nonprofits (literacy, refugee/ immigrant services, and human service providers;) governmental agencies, including county library systems, the Technical College System of Georgia, school systems that offer adult education services, higher education colleges and universities; umbrella organizations like the United Way and the Certified Literate Communities Program; and business and community leaders. Together, they strive to have a lasting impact on the Metro Atlanta community. Help support their cause and buy some books this Saturday!

Celebrate Thanksgiving At Your Library!

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is only one week away! If you're looking for some fun family activities to get you in the spirit of things, look no further than the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System! Many of our branches will continue to have Thanksgiving-themed storytimes, crafts and programs right up until we close for the holiday. And while you're here enjoying one of our programs, why not browse the cookbook aisle to get inspired with some new holiday recipes! Remember that all branches of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System will close on Wednesday, November 27 at 6:00 p.m. and will remain closed on Thursday and Friday. We will reopen on Saturday, November 30, 2013. We wish all of our patrons a very safe and happy Thanksgiving! 

Giving Thanks, Thank You Turkey Craft!Thursday, November 21. 1:00-5:00 p.m.

Youth will create a colorful feather filled turkey craft and write what they are thankful for on each feather.

Mechanicsville Branch
400 Formwalt St. SW, Atlanta 30312
For information call 404.730.4779

Saturday Storytime Celebrates Being Thankful!Saturday, November 23. 3:00 p.m.

Ms. Leah will have a fun seasonal storytime and related activities for the whole family. Sign up required, space is Limited. Come by, call or emailleah.germon@fultoncountyga.gov. Ages 3-7.

Sandy Springs Branch
395 Mt. Vernon Highway, Atlanta 30328
For information call 404.303.6130

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble Preschool Thanksgiving Storytime and CraftTuesday, November 26. 10:00 a.m.

Enjoy Thanksgiving stories, songs and crafts.

West End Branch
525 Peeples Street SW, Atlanta 30310
For information call 404.752.8740

Gobble, Gobble Turkey Surprise Storytime!Tuesday, November 26. 6:30 p.m.

Children come create a “hand” some turkey craft for the holiday.

Southwest Branch
3665 Cascade Road, Atlanta 30331
For information call 404.699.6363

Thanksgiving Craft Wednesday, November 27. 10:45 a.m.

Join us for a turkey-themed craft, appropriate for preschoolers. Ages 2-5. Reservations required for groups.

Ponce de Leon Branch
980 Ponce de Leon Ave., NE, Atlanta 30306
For information call 404.885.7820

School’s Out Turkey Making CraftWednesday, November 27. 1:00 p.m.

Make a turkey to decorate your room for the Thanksgiving.

West End Branch
525 Peeples Street SW, Atlanta 30310
For information call 404.752.8740

Community Meeting For South Fulton Library Project

Meeting Will Be Held Monday, November 18 at 7:00 p.m.

Location: South Fulton Library, 4055 Flat Shoals Rd., Union City 30291

Please join us for a presentation regarding the South Fulton Library expansion project! McAfee3 Architects was asked to study the existing site at the South Fulton Library to determine the feasibility of expanding the existing building and its on-site parking. The group will present their findings at this community meeting.

Phase I of the Library Building Program includes 8 new libraries and 2 expanded libraries. Design has begun on several of the projects, with construction beginning in late 2013 and openings beginning late 2014 and continuing into 2015. Community engagement has been the cornerstone of our Library Building Program, and we would like you to join us!

If you are unable to attend, we’d also like to hear from you with questions or comments. You can get in touch with us in the following ways:

- Online: www.afpls.org

- Email: librarycomments@fultoncountyga.gov

- Fax: 404-335-5291

And continue to follow our progress at www.afpls.org – front page, click “Your New Libraries”

If you have questions, please call 404-730-1777. We appreciate your continued support! 

Foundation Center Resources At Your Library

Did You Know?

The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System is a Funding Information Network partner of the Foundation Center.

Funding Information Network Partners, which used to be called Cooperating Collections, serve as satellite locations, offering the key databases and book resources offered by the Foundation Center. 

The Funding Information Network is a network of libraries, community foundations, and other nonprofit resource centers that can be found across the U.S. and around the world. Network partners provide a core collection of Foundation Center publications and a variety of supplementary materials and services in areas useful to grantseekers. 

The New York-based Foundation Center has helped philanthropists and nonprofits since the 1950s and produces the voluminous Foundation Directory, the premier source of information about funding providers and their grants.

The Foundation Directory, its database version (Foundation Directory Online) and the Foundation Grants to Individuals resources are offered free of charge to patrons in the Ivan Allen, Jr. Reference Department on the 2^nd floor of Central Library during its hours of operation. In addition, the Ivan Allen, Jr. Reference Department maintains a collection of reference books that help nonprofits get started and manage themselves well.  See the Reference Department’s Grants Resources page to get an idea of what is offered.

The Foundation Center's Atlanta location can be found at:

50 Hurt Plaza, Suite 150

Atlanta, GA 30303

(404)880-0094

http://foundationcenter.org/atlanta/

Teen Flash Fiction Contest Winner!

Congratulations to Brianna Herrington, age 14, from Woodward Academy for winning the Teen Center's Flash Fiction Contest at the Central Library! As part of the annual event, Teen Read Week, the Teen Technology and Homework Center located in the Central Library hosted a writing contest with a Flash Fiction Challange! Flash Fiction is fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer in its entirety.Teens had to write an original story, 800 words or less, using the word ‘Library’ as the inspiration. Thank you to all who participated and we hope you enjoy Brianna's story below!

The three girls knelt  and clasped hands. They’d had lives plagued by sadness.  They’d been too different:; too weird.  Still, their loving parents, wanting the best for them  forced them to come to the transfer program at Woodland Academy. Where “unique ability is cultivated into exceptional skill”. True, they had grown here but today they were living a nightmare as  a fellow student burst into the library with a loaded gun.

See each girl had at one time been a prodigy of some sort, now as they kneeled clustered together in a row of the amphitheater, they feared the worst. The end of all they had worked for. Each girl had her own demons, her own struggle, her own internal battle and yet they felt alone even as they clasped hands and cried out in fear to their different G-ds.  As their lives were flashing before their eyes, they each had one thing in common. The tallest girl, dark-skinned with an afro and wide brown eyes prayed softly to the Virgin Guadalupe. She was Hispanic and all through her life she’d been taunted for it.

‘How could a dark girl be Hispanic, she’s obviously a liar?’

‘What made her think she was better then everyone else, why couldn’t she just be protestant ?’

But despite the taunting, the cruelty and her hardships Analise managed to become a piano prodigy. When her fingers flew across the keys she conveyed words yet to be created. Her feelings flowed through her music and into the minds and souls of her audience and everyone that listened to Analise left her performances a changed person.

‘But what made her think she was so special?!’

As yet another shot went off around them, and the girls grasped each others hands more tightly, Piruva as tears rolled down her cheeks cried out to Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. The Trimurti; the top three gods of her religion; Hinduism. Vocal prodigy, all Piruva had ever wished for was not wealth nor fame but enough quiet so that one day her tiny voice could be heard above the noise. When she’d been moved to her fourth foster home, the obese white girl was forced to raise her voice over her meek spirit. And when she did she brought people to tears with the beauty and sheer power of her voice. Despite the fact that her beliefs and her face did not fit together. She managed to believe in others more than she thought she would ever believe in herself.

‘Who was she to consider herself pretty?’

‘She would never be enough.’

The last but not least and tiniest of the girls, Mira said nothing, the girls let go of each others hands and with one hand she wrote ‘I believe’ over and over again in a notepad that lay open on the floor. She was mute and autistic. The girl did little in school but was required to go. Her mother a short Japanese woman who couldn’t speak much English mumbled her daughter into the local public school; where she thrived. Mira, was talented in so many aspects it was obvious she had been blessed. At the age of two she could write paragraphs with the  vocabulary  resembling a high school students, when she was ten she wrote a novel as intriguing and enticing as Harry Potter. But the power of the pen was just the beginning. It was when Mira first picked up a paint brush that the world stilled. At the humble age of twelve Mira was using colors in ways indescribable.  She did self portraits and mirror images of  landscapes. Her artwork was featured in many museums in hallways where people looked at her work then at Van Gogh's. Mira was an art prodigy and at thirteen that was more then clear.

‘But why couldn’t the funny-eyed Japanese girl talk.’

Because she could paint. Analise could make music and Piruva could sing notes that flew high above mountains and lifted the saddest of spirits, just not her own. But as each girl finally dropped hands they wrote one sentence. One thing they each had in common.

Analise wrote, “Creo.”

Piruva wrote, “मेरा मानना ​​है कि” (I believe).

And Mira continued to write, “I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe.” Because she did.

As the student walked up to the girls they unashamedly cowered in the confines of the library where they’d first read about, expressed and discovered their talents. One last time Analise wrote, “Creo.” Piruva wrote, “ मेरा मानना ​​है कि.”(I believe) And  as the gunman walked up to Mira, for the first time she spoke. “I forgive you.” she said.

Information On The Affordable Care Act At Your Library

Many of us are now attempting to navigate new and unfamiliar territory within the Affordable Care Act. But did you know that the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System has many resources here to help you understand your options? Our government information librarians have put together links to all kinds of resources you may need as you start the process of selecting insurance for yourself and your family. To get started, visit our web site and follow the steps below.

From the home page, look under the Books & Materials tab and click on Government Information. From here, scroll down and click on Health - Insurance and Providers. Here you will find valuable resources and tools to answer your questions, provide you with the necessary provider information, and to help get you started in the Marketplace.

In addition to the below information about Insurance, you can also find a wealth of general health information through the library's website as well. Some other topics covered under our Government Information tab are listed below. We hope this helps all of our patrons make informed decisions about the health and safety of themselves and their families!

Health - General Health and Safety

Health - Home and Community Health - Medicines and Herbals Health - Sports Injuries, Exercise Health - Workplace and School

Health - Insurance and Providers

Use the HealthCare.gov portal to learn about changes brought about by passage of the 2010 Affordable Care Act and to access an online tool that helps find the best healthcare option for you. Also links to a tool to compare care in different facilities. Encuentre ayuda local. Federally-funded health centers. Pay what you can afford, based on your income. Fulton County residents can take advantage of the Board of Commissioners'Prescription Discount Drug Card. Cardholders can also save on pet prescriptions. Search a Georgia medical provider's license at the Composite State Board of Medical Examiners search page. Look for Facility Compliance Reports at the Georgia Office of Regulatory Services page. Make sure the facility performing your mammogram is certified. Seniors and their caregivers can find listings of services from the U.S. Administration on Aging's Eldercare Locator or the National Institute on Aging'sdirectory of organizations. Elders unsure of what benefits they are eligible to receive can use the National Council on Aging's Benefits Checkup. Medicare and You, the basic booklet on the Medicare program. Georgia's PeachCare for Kids program and Georgia Families program.

Cookbooks For Cooler Weather

Just as the official first day of Fall comes around every year, it seems that this post about fall cooking has become an annual event as well! As of September 22, Fall is here, and with that first breath of cooler air many of us start to crave those warm comfort foods that go hand-in-hand with the season. Soups, stews, chili and the like are all starting to sound pretty good now that it's no longer over 100 degrees every day! So why not get a head start on filling up your recipe box this fall by checking out some wonderful cookbooks from your local library branch? Here's a few suggestions, just to get your mouth watering:

The Big Book of Soups & Stews: 262 Recipes for Serious Comfort Food, by Maryana Vollstedt

Grandma Jo's Soup Kettle: 100 Hearty and Healthy Soups, Stews, Gumbos, and Chowders, by JoAnna M Lund

Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons, by Nava Atlas

The Ultimate Chili Cookbook: History, Geography, Fact, and Folklore of Chili, by W.C. Jameson

Soup, by Diane Rossen Worthington

Beyond Gumbo: Creole Fusion Food From the Atlantic Rim, by Jessica B. Harris

Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook: 700 Great Slow Cooker Recipes, by Phyllis Pellman Good

As always, you can check the library's catalog for these and other titles to check out or place on hold. Happy cooking!