Updated Pottsville Republican Obituary Index!

For all you genealogy buffs out there, this one is for you! We have placed an updated obituary index on our genealogy page for the Pottsville Republican newspaper. How is it bigger and better than what we had before?

• Corrections to entries from previous index;
• More years covered;
• Over 100,000 names on the list!

Yes, that's right, we've gone over the 100,000 mark. In plain text format, that translates to over 1850 pages if you were to print it out.

Go to the Pottsville Library website at www.pottsvillelibrary.org and click on the link for "Genealogy and Local History Materials". There you will see a link for the Newspapers section and can view this wondrous list for yourself.

We do accept entries from genealogy researchers, so if you'd like to add to our list just let us know. We prefer to have the entries reflect the dates and pages the obituaries appeared, rather than the date of death, and we can use information for the three newspapers in our collection (Pottsville Republican, Shenandoah Evening Herald, and the Ashland Daily News).

Ways To Save At The Library!

Experts may say the recession is ending but we are all still feeling the pinch. Let the library help you! Take a look at these books and magazines for ideas to help you save your money in these difficult times.

Books:
The 21st Century Economy: A beginner’s guide, with 101 easy-to-learn tools for thriving in the new global marketplace – 330.9 Ep74

Home Energy Diet: How to save money by making your house energy-smart – 644 Sch21

Yankee Magazine’s Living Well On A Shoestring: 1,501 ingenious ways to spend less for what you need and have more for what you want – 640.41 Y169

Magazines:
Budget Travel – “Vacations for Real People” – How to find everything from great trips for less to where you can find the best food along the way.

Consumer Reports – Not just about car ratings, this old standby often has articles on topics like easy ways to cut your energy bills, which (cheaper) store brands are better than name brands, and other ways to save your hard-earned cash.

Mother Earth News – “The Original Guide to Living Wisely” – Offers tips from living simply to ways to make your home powered by alternative energy. This magazine is not just for farmers and hippies!

Workbench – Ever watch “Trading Spaces” or HGTV and wish you had someone to show you how to do those quick and easy projects? Start with this magazine, which includes lots of inexpensive craft and organization solutions, tool guides, and larger projects like furniture.

Approaching Flu Season

The H1N1 (swine) flu is in the news, and as we get closer to regular flu season things become a little more complicated. Where can you get the information you need from a source you can trust?

There are lots of web sites out there, and we’ve identified some of the best. Start with the web sites below to find out what you need to know.

Flu.gov – An official US government website, this resource gives you useful tips like how to keep your kids flu free, what vaccines are out there, and what to do if you get flu-like symptoms.

Influenza: Evidence-Based Information Portal -- This site from a respected online and reference publisher provides reliable facts for health professionals and patients. Resources are for both H1N1 flu and seasonal flu.

More local information and guidelines can be found at the Pennsylvania Dept. of Health and Schuylkill County Preparedness sites.

Popular health sites like WebMD and Mayo Clinic have excellent sections for hot topics, and flu is no exception.

Of course, there are some things that everyone should do to help prevent the spread of the flu: Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or your sleeve when you cough or sneeze. Wash your hands often with soap and water, or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer. And get vaccinated for both seasonal flu and H1N1 flu.

Writing A Blog About A Writing Blog

Yes, that title is correct: today our blog post is about a blog. Not just any blog, but a blog all about writing.

Jodi Webb brought our attention to The Muffin: Fresh News Daily from the bakers of Wow-WomenOnWriting.com. (Click here to visit the blog.) The blog has a number of contributors, and is one of the communication forums for the WOW! website.

The post for Sep. 21 features an interview with a woman who is launching her blog tour for her newest book, "The Sky Begins at Your Feet: A Memoir on Cancer, Community, and Coming Home to the Body". Author/poet Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg answers a variety of questions about her book and her writing.

Interviews aren't just with women writers, however, so men shouldn't be scared off! Comments about interviews are encouraged; in fact, they have contests for copies of the books just for those who submit a comment.

You can also find links for the WOW! eZine, contests, workshops, and classes.

So head on over to The Muffin for perspectives, news, and encouragement in the world of writing!

To Tweet or Not To Tweet, that is the question!

The Pottsville Free Public Library recently started a Twitter account. If you already tweet you can find us by searching for PottsvilleRef (capital letters are important).

Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/): It’s been called the most significant major innovation for rapid brief communications to ever come along, the newest killer app.

Here is how Twitter works: you compose your message in 140 characters or less, so it keeps you focused. You can direct this message to one specific individual or broadcast it more widely to target specific subject interest groups, but they must be already enlisted in Twitter. You can report on your breakfast, break news stories, promote your event, blow the whistle on social injustice, report your new discoveries, find your lost dog or a home for the dog that found you, respond and participate in radio and television talk shows …

Is Twitter the new anarchy that’s rapidly destroying the English language and all of civilization with it? Or do you think it’s a new kind of poetry?

If you use Twitter, please let us know: What do you tweet about? What do you want to hear from us?

Budget Struggles Continue

You've seen it on the news: local, county and state agencies face money problems if the legislators don't pass a budget soon.

So what can you do about it? Call, write, or email your representatives. Ask them to put pressure on the budget committee to come up with a fair budget and to do it soon. Urge them to support level funding for public libraries, because more people than ever need the resources only a public library can provide.

And don't forget to thank your representative for supporting public libraries in the past!

Names and addresses are below if you need them, or contact the Reference Department at potref@iu29.org and we can help you identify the right person to contact.

Public Libraries Still Need Your Help!

The budget isn't done yet, so we still need you and your voice! A small committee is in the process of deciding the budget, and we need to get our message to that group.

Please write, call, or email your senator and representative. Thank them for supporting public libraries in the past and urge them to contact the budget negotiators. Ask them to urge the budget negotiators to make libraries a priority for level funding in the final budget deal.

Any cuts in library funding will result in libraries cutting down on hours, laying off staff, and reducing services you have come to depend on.

Please help us get the word to Harrisburg that we need level funding for public libraries to preserve services for those who need them the most.

Your voice is crucial to public libraries right now and can make a difference!

29th State Senatorial District -- The Honorable David Argall
Senate Box 203029
168 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120-3029
Phone: (717) 787-2637
Web: www.senatorargall.com/

123rd State House District -- The Honorable Neal P. Goodman
House of Representatives
G-07 K. Leroy Irvis Office Bldg
PO Box 202123
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2123
Phone: (717) 787-2798
Web: www.pahouse.com/goodman/

125th State House District -- The Honorable Tim Seip
Rm 115-B East Wing
PO Box 202125
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2125
Phone: (717) 772-5771
Web: www.pahouse.com/seip/