Fresh Produce Coming to Fremont Main

One day in the not so distant future, you’ll be visiting the Fremont Main Library and leaving with a bag full of library items and another bag of fresh produce.  Fremont Main is entering into a partnership with Dig Deep Farms and Produce, a social enterprise and a project of the Alameda County Deputy Sheriffs’ Activities League.  The Dig Deep Farms website describes a weekly delivery service of fresh produce; the partnership with Fremont Main Library is a pilot project that will bring Dig Deep produce stands once a week to consumers for the first time.  That those first produce stands will be on library grounds certainly says something of Fremont Main’s role in our community.  So how about that?  With one trip to the library, you will be taking home food for the mind as well as food for the body.  It certainly is a good deal to look forward to.  You’ll know when it’s here.

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Tax Season Brings Out Scammers

Your mother warned you not to trust strangers, promising big returns. And, such advice is very timely especially where it concerns unlicensed tax preparers. Some fraudulent tax preparers promise big refunds and do deliver by lying on the tax returns they prepare. They get a payout and so does the naive taxpayer because the Internal Revenue Service pays out refunds automatically. However, the bill comes due when the return is audited. Now, the taxpayer is required to repay the IRS. And of course, the fraudulent tax preparer is nowhere to be found. For more details and sad stories, please see the San Jose Mercury News March 20, 2013 article, “Tax-Fraud Scheme Rampant.”

You can find a California licensed and registered tax-return preparer at:
California Board of Accountancy: dca.ca.gov/cba
California Society of Certified Public Accountants: calcpa.org
State Bar of California: calbar.ca.gov
California Society of Enrolled Agents: csea.org
California Tax Education Council: ctec.org
IRS: irs.gov
Source: California Franchise Tax Board, California Tax Education Council

Or, for low-income earners, you could get free tax preparation help at the Fremont Main Library, 1:00 – 4:00 PM, through April 2.

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A Book-less Library??

 

What do you think about a book-less library?  Read this link and take your stand:

http://news.yahoo.com/library-without-books-bibliotech-open-193118588–abc-news-tech.html

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Happy New Year Fireworks From Around the World!

San Francisco




Disney California Adventure




New York




London, England




Shanghai, China




Dubai, United Arab Emirates




Moscow, Russia




Taipei, Taiwan




Sydney, Australia




Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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Fremont Run for Education

Would you like to invest in our future by providing a better education for our children, and do something good for yourself at the same time?

Registration is now LIVE for the Fremont Run for Education. This run benefits the FEF (Fremont Education Foundation) Guy Emanuele Sports Fund. Last year over $25,000 was shared among every elementary school basketball team, every junior high school athletic program, and high school athletes in need.  Hope you will come and support this worthy cause in 2012 too.

The event will take place at Lake Elizabeth on Sunday, October 14 from 7:30 to 11 in the morning.  Mark your calendars.  After the whole summer’s healthy eatings, let’s add some exercise.

Online registration and more information can be found here.

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Attention!! Diary of A Wimpy Kid’s Fans!!!

Greg Heffley is coming back to you in different ways now.

The third movie, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, landed in theaters on August 3.  The movie picks up the story where 2011′s Rodrick Rules left off and incorporates plot elements from the third and fourth titles (The Last Straw and Dog Days) in the book series.  In preparation for the theatrical release of Dog Days , Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products has launched a national retail campaign, carrying a full range of Wimpy Kid products – bookmarks, book lights, and a prank kit (moldy cheese and flies in ice ~~ Yuck!!) in one of the nation-wide chain stores.   This makes it seem like Greg is everywhere around you.

The newest and seventh book, The Third Wheel, is scheduled to be published on November 13, with a first printing of more than 6.5 million copies.  It will be published nearly simultaneously in seven countries in Europe, Australia, and Asia.  If you would like to know whether Greg gets a date for the Valentine’s Day dance, you won’t want to miss this book.

The Wimpy Kid series has sold more than 75 million copies worldwide and is available in more than 41 countries so far. The two previous films based on the books have grossed nearly $150 million globally.  This is how popular Greg has become.

So now you know why you often couldn’t find him in the library.  If you want to meet him, hurry up and reserve your copy here.  Be aware that the waiting list is getting longer and longer now.  After you reserve it, just be patient and wait for your old friend to come back and meet with you.

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Mid-Year Update on the Global Economy

Are you a  long term global investor? Then the global economic update by the IMF should be of concern. Take a look at the statistics:  World Economic Update. 

If you are trying to keep up with the daily news on the world economy, there is no better way then to visit  the Fremont Main Library where we house the Financial Times at the Periodicals Desk on the 2nd Floor.

See you soon.

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Identity Theft Matters

I recently found myself in a perplexing situation. 

Three weeks after submitting paper enrollment forms for an employer-sponsored program, I sent an email inquiring after the status of my registration.  The response that came back was disheartening: my documents were missing. Dark thoughts immediately crossed my mind, all swirling around the personal information those papers contained–names, birth dates, social security numbers.  Anyone with intent could use the material to harm the individuals the forms required me to name.  I quickly warned my family members and advised them to request free credit reports that are available to consumers and to watch out for any suspicious credit card or bank account activity.  After I had sent in replacement forms, I received word, to my great relief, that the original packet had been found.

Identity theft is an unfortunate fact of life nowadays.  We may take all the right precautions, and carefully-guarded personal information can still fall into the wrong hands.  Then what can we do?  The library has available for lending items on identity theft and its prevention.  Also, the Federal Trade Commission has released new material on what we should know about identity theft and what we can do when it happens, including these three short videos:

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Literary Journeys on BART

If you go on a BART ride one of these days, take a look around the station and the car you’re in.  You’ll probably see any of three new posters East Bay artist Owen Smith has created for BART for a series called “Literary Journeys.”  The posters depict BART riders lost in Dashiell Hammett’s “The Maltese Falcon”, Jack London’s “Call of the Wild”, and Amy Tan’s “Joy Luck Club.”

Until I joined the Alameda County Library as a staff member almost five years ago, I commuted each work day by BART.

Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club

Now I don’t miss the late trains, crowded cars, fare increases and the occasional threats and actuality of BART employees going on strike.  I do miss the reading time that each BART ride guaranteed.  Boarding a train three stops from its Fremont starting point assured me of a seat, but the return trip was more of a game of chance since Fremont-bound trains did not come as often as passengers would have preferred.  Still, I usually had the opportunity to read and block out the mass of humanity around me.  I knew when it was time to disembark by the section of the daily newspaper I had just set aside or by the number of pages I had just read of the book that was in my tote bag.

One of the books I know I read as a BART commuter was “The Joy Luck Club”.  I remember clearly how touched I was  by the passages about the mother abandoning her young twin daughters by the road side while escaping the foreign power occupation of her town.  I remember I dared not look up, hoping no one noticed me as I pressed a tissue near each eye to stop those tears and being careful not to dislodge my contact lenses.  Looking back, I think my hormones were at play at that time since just months earlier I had given birth to my second child.

Take your own literary journeys on BART.  Check out works by Dashiell Hammett, Jack London, Amy Tan and your other favorite authors from the library’s collection.

Jack London’s The Call of the Wild

Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon

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2012 Summer Events at Centerville Library

	Tuesday, June 19, 1:00-5:30 P.M. Thursday, June 21, 10:00 A.M.-5:30 P.M. Kids Library Camp Learn  about how library works, how to find homework help, play games, and lots of fun activities.  For grades 4-7.  Registration is required and is already full. Check out how much fun we had in this 2011 camp video.
	Thursday, June 28, 2-3 P.M. Storyteller Michael Katz Animated and interactive stories for kids of all ages. This program will be held in the library’s meeting room. Seats are  limited.  A free ticket is required to attend. Tickets are available 30 minutes prior to program start time.
	Thursday, July 5, 2-4 P.M. Family Movie Time: The Adventures of Tintin Based on a series of comic books created by Belgian artist Hergé (Georges Remi).  Directed by Steven Spielberg. Rated PG.
	Thursday, July 12, 2-3 P.M. Reading Is Delicious with Singer Patricia Shih Join Patricia Shih, a multiple national award-winning singer-songwriter, for a fun-filled family concert full of laughter and joy! This program will be held in the library’s meeting room. Seats are  limited.   A free ticket is required to attend. Tickets are available 30 minutes prior to program start time
	Thursday, July 19, 2-3 P.M. Mr. SHAP Join Mr. Shap, a magician and balloon twister for his amazing ” Super Happenings Always Possible” show with us! This program will be held outdoors in the library’s patio. Some sitting areas may not have shade. Please wear a hat to shield the sun.
	Thursday, July 26, 2-3 P.M. The Corny Crow Show with Steve Chaney Don’t miss Steve Chaney’s hilarious show with Corny Crow!  It’s so funny that you can’t stop laughing. This program will be held outdoors in the library’s patio.  Some sitting areas may not have shade.  Please wear a hat to shield the sun.
	Tuesday, August 2 , 2-3 P.M. Card Making Crafts for Teens and Tweens Participants will use some simple scrapbook and stamping techniques to create their cards. All materials will be supplied you just need to bring your creativity! For kids ages 10 and up. Space will be limited and tickets will be given out 30 minutes before the program.
	Every Tuesday and Thursday, August 7 – 30, 1:30-3:30 P.M. Intro to Algebra A 4-week math preparation class for incoming 7th graders only. Classes are held every Tuesday and Thursday during the month of August. Get ready for junior high math. Learn basic algebra concepts with Jonathan Lu, a USA Junior Math Olympiad qualifier from MSJ High School.  Registration is required. Limit to 20 seats.

Centerville Library is located at 3801 Nicolet Ave., Fremont, CA 94536
For more information, please call 510-795-2629 or email cchang@aclibrary.org or egamell@aclibrary.org

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