Tax help just clicks away!

For a list of libraries and other sites in Marin County where free tax help will be available, check our "Tax Help in Marin" link under "Hot Topics" on our "Recommended Web Resources" page. AARP tax advisors are coming to Corte Madera, Fairfax and Novato soon to offer basic tax assistance on a first come, first served basis. For more details on this terrific service along with helpful links to both Federal, California and out-of-state tax forms, just visit our "Recommended Web Resources" page.

Printable Legal Forms online--and free to you!

The Library has just purchased a new online collection of e-books: Baker & Taylor Consumer Law e-Books. And better yet, you can access it from home with a library card from any Marin public library.

This collection contains e-books, in PDF format, of around 200 of the most popular consumer law e-books. And, all the printable forms are included. Some of the titles you can find are:

• Legal Guide for Starting & Running a Small Business
• Fight Your Ticket in California
• Renter’s Rights
• Teen Rights
• How to Buy Your First Home
• How to File for Divorce in California
• Gay & Lesbian Rights
• Power of Attorney Handbook
• The Complete Legal Guide to Senior Care

Check it out!

Listen to the Library on the Radio

Come listen to us on the radio! The Library's own Dan Carr (Community Library Specialist at the San Geronimo Library) is now doing a monthly radio program about the library! You can listen to Dan on the last Wednesday of each month, from 10:00-11:00 am on KWMR, 90.5 FM Point Reyes, 89.3 FM Bolinas. February's show will air on Wednesday, February 23rd.

Does the library have....?

Curious about what the library has on DVD? or video? How about large type books, or music CDs? There is a shortcut to searching in the library catalog that makes it very easy to browse lists of what is available in a particular format, whether you are interested in a particular branch, or the whole MARINet system. Take a look at the Quick Searches page on our web site. There are many options to view what the library has in a particular format or location, just click on one of the links. There is also a link for Quick Searches from any of the branch library pages--just look for the Quick Search bunny! If you'd like to learn more about how to create searches like these, our reference librarians are available to help. You can ask us a question at your local branch, on the phone, or virtually via e-mail, Instant Messaging, or web-based live chat.

These books are made for talking

Marin County Free Library branches offer not one but two opportunities to hear authors talking about their books tonight. Former Marin City resident and author Frankie Holtz-Davis will discuss her book "Mahrynie Red: The Journey" beginning at 7pm at the Marin City Library. Stinson Beach Library will host two authors, Joanne Kyger and Donald Guravich, tonight at 7:30pm. Kyger's most recent poetry book is "As Ever: selected poems" and Guravich has a new fiction book "Blue Chips." For more details on these events, classes and other programs at Marin County Free Library branches, just visit our Events & Classes webpage!

Brown Bag Book Club at the Civic Center Library

Join the Civic Center Library’s Brown Bag Book Club on Feb. 23, 12-1, for a discussion of A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry. Remember - it is ok to bring your lunch! For more information, call Becky or Livia at 499-6058, or email mailto:ldimare@co.marin.ca.us

Computer Tutoring at the Civic Center Library

The Civic Center Library offers free, one-on-one tutoring on using the library catalog, library databases, Microsoft Word, Excel, searching the Internet, and email. We also offer classes for computer beginners – no experience necessary! Sessions last for one hour. For more information, call Tom at (415) 507-4049.

The Book Place

Visit the Book Place, a used bookstore operated by the Friends of the Marin County Library. All proceeds are used for funding programs, materials, and other needs of the Marin County Free Libraries. The Book Place is located at 1608 Grant Avenue in Novato, and is open the following hours:

Tues, Thurs, Sat: 10-4
Wed: 12-4, Fri: 10-8
Sundays: 1-4 (Bargain Sunday is 12-4, the first Sunday of the month)

The Book Place accepts donations of books, media, and software. (Please no magazines, textbooks, Reader's Digest Condensed Books, or records.) Donations may be delivered to the shop during regular business hours. For more information, call (415) 878-0212.

Let NoveList choose a book for you!

The Library gives you access to all sorts of great subscription-based online resources, which are free to you because the Library pays for them!

One of these wonderful resources is NoveList. This very cool database helps you find new fiction books and authors based on your old favorites. And it works for both adults' and children's books!

You can look up a favorite author or title, and find books that are similar. You can describe a plot (either of an "imaginary" book you'd like to read, or of a book you read already and forgot the title of) and NoveList will find it for you!

You can also explore the "Author Read-alikes" section, which offers librarian-selected lists of authors that are similar to other authors. For example, do you really like Tom Clancy? Well, NoveList suggests then that you would also enjoy books by Stephen Coonts, Joe Weber, Dale Brown, and more!

Try NoveList today!

Happy Birthday, Edgar!

Edgar Allan Poe was born on this day in 1809. Check our catalog for writings by the American poet and short story writer, including film adaptations and audio books. Enjoy!

Civic Center Library Closed This Saturday

The Civic Center Library will be closed this Saturday (January 22nd). The entire Civic Center building will be without power that day for a planned electrical outage. But that's okay! Our other libraries are still open! For a list of all of our branches and their open hours, see our Hours Page.

Corte Madera Community Foundation

The featured display this month at the Corte Madera Library comes from the Corte Madera Community Foundation. The Foundation is an entirely volunteer organization that was established in 1994, to "preserve, protect and enhance the qualities that make Corte Madera such a special place to live." Some of the many ways the Foundation supports the community are pictured in the current display at the library. For more information about the Foundation and what it does, send e-mail to CMCFoundation@aol.com, or write to P. O. Box 7109, Corte Madera, CA 94976.

Newspaper & Magazine Articles at home--for free!

Do you enjoy Time, Newsweek, People, the San Francisco Chronicle, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal? Want to read these magazines & newspapers (as well as hundreds of others) online--for free? The Library subscribes to the online versions of these publications so you don't have to!

Check out two of the Library's online subscription databases:

• EBSCO Masterfile Select: Full-text articles for 750 popular magazines plus abstracts and indexing for more than 2,650 magazines, many dating back to 1984. A great one-stop shop for magazine articles.
  
• ProQuest Newsstand: Full-text articles of over 600 national and international newspapers.

Both of these are accessible from home with a Marin County Free Library card. Click here for information about accessing these resources from home.

You can also link to both from the Marin County Free Library's Databases Page, where you will find links to 20 other subscription online databases, all free to you of course, courtesy of your Library!

Events @ Your Library

Did you know that the Library has an online events calendar? We do! The Marin County Free Library holds between 20 and 30 events each week at our various branches. We have storytimes, internet classes, book clubs, puppet shows, author readings, and more!

You can also sort by type of event or by branch at our Events & Classes page. We hope to see you at some of our events soon!

Tsunami Relief

A list of U.S. charities providing Tsunami relief assistance from the American Institute of Philanthropy and the Better Business Bureau can be found under "Hot Topics" on our Recommended Web Resources page. This list provides links and contact information to more than 30 relief organizations that are extending help to Tsunami victims.

Protect Yourself from Identity Theft & Fraud

Protect yourself from identity theft and fraud! Learn ways to detect fraudulent e-mails and websites with the following two sites:

• The Anti-Phishing Working Group--an industry association focused on eliminating identity theft and fraud on the Internet
• The Federal Trade Commission--"How Not to Get Hooked By a Phishing Scam"

Find these links and more on the Marin County Free Library's helpful Recommended Web Resources--your portal to the best of the web!

The Library is on TV

Want to see your friendly local librarians on television? Watch "Book Talk" every Monday, 2:30 and 8:00 pm on Novato Cable Channel 27. The show is repeated each Monday, with a new show every month! January's program features a conversation with writer and filmmaker Mark Bittner, author of The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill: A Love Story... with Wings. The program includes a clip from the upcoming film based on his book, which will premiere at the Rafael Theater in February.

Instant Messaging Service

The Marin County Free Library now offers reference service via Instant Messaging. If you have a homework question or are looking for information, you can now IM a reference librarian Monday-Friday between 3 and 5 pm. (The librarian may also be available at other times.)

For AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), our screen name is MarinLibrary
For Yahoo! Messenger, our screen name is MarinLibrary
For MSN Messenger, our screen name is MarinLibrary@hotmail.com


If you prefer other modes of communication, you can ask us a question in a variety of ways:

Call or visit your local branch to ask your question.(available during libraries' open hours)

Ask us a question via e-mail.(e-mail us anytime--responses usually given within two working days)

Ask us a question via web-based live chat.(available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)

Need answers to frequently asked questions about the Library?(available on our website anytime)

Looking for an obituary or local newspaper article?(fill out and mail in the form anytime).

Calendar alert!

Now that you've unwrapped that brand new 2005 calendar, it's time to fill it up with the exciting and free programs happening at your Marin County Free Library branches! We offer a variety of informative computer classes, entertaining storytimes and interesting adult programs every month! You can find out about our latest workshops and programs by visiting our "Events and Classes" webpage.