Research Blog : addresses

Holiday Mail for Heroes

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 21:41:00 GMT

This time of year, many of us recieve e-mails, or see messages posted on Facebook and other social websites suggesting that as we prepare our Christmas cards for family and friends, we also send a card to a recovering soldier at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Sounds like a good idea, right? Don't do it. This Snopes.com article, last updated November 16, 2011, has a thorough explanation of why it doesn't work. However, as the article goes on to explain, the American Red Cross's Holiday Mail for Heroes is a valid option, if you do want to send a card to a soldier. According the the Red Cross, "Every card received will be screened for hazardous materials by Pitney Bowes and then reviewed by Red Cross volunteers working around the country."

The mailing address for the program is:

Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights MD 20791-5456

However, please visit the Holiday Mail for Heroes website and read the card guidelines. Be aware that this year's deadline is Friday, December 7th!

Happy holidays!

Be A Smarter Consumer

SuDocQueen@evpl — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:39:00 GMT

That’s what it says on the front of the 2009 Consumer Action Handbook, and that’s what this book is trying to help us all become. Created by the GSA ( U.S. General Services Administration) Federal Citizen Information Center in conjunction with several other federal agencies and corporations, the book offers a multitude of useful information and resources for the in-the-know and the wanting-to-know consumer.

The book breaks into IV sections. The first gives detailed tips for consumers on subjects that range from buying a car or TV to choosing health insurance and a doctor to how to protect oneself against identity theft and how to handle wills and funerals. The subjects are too numerous to completely list here, but each topic is addressed fully. The second section offers advice for filing a complaint, how to use Dispute Resolution Programs, and covers Small Claims Court as well as contacts for reporting fraud and safety hazards. The third part lists additional sources for consumer information, and the fourth is a long list of direct contacts for assistance from the government and corporate America.

We have two circulating copies of this little gem as well as a reference copy here at Central. Or, since those of you reading this obviously have computer access, if you prefer you can get the same information from the www.ConsumerAction.gov website. If the website’s information seems too chaotic and you’d prefer the information displayed the same way it would be in the book, you can use the PDF from the website instead. One nice little extra on the website is the Consumer News section. It’s a box situated on the right hand side of the main page and offers links to events of consumer interest like “Kolcraft Recalls 1 Million Play Yards Due to Fall Hazard” or “Five Tax Facts About Summertime Child Care Expenses.”

Let your cursor do the walking

googler@evpl — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:55:00 GMT

Central Library discontinued its collection of most out-of-state phone books last year, because the Reference USA database contains more up-to-date information than the books did (mostly because we didn't always get the most recent phonebooks in a timely manner). And we still enthusiastically use and recommend the database for its highly versatile searching.

But people do miss the browsability of the actual books -- being able to see listings in an alphabetical sequence, being able to compare yellow page ads. So we were happy when a colleague in the Library's adminstrative offices pointed out an online version of all the AT&T phonebooks that allows users to do just that.

The "RealPages" at AT&T allow you to search by keyword and browse by category. They provide seperate tabs for the business, residence, yellow page, and government sections (and the community guide section). It's fast, easy to use, and actually kind of fun to navigate. They even show the cover of the phonebook so you can verify how recent the edition is.

The phone company is not known for giving stuff away for free -- take advantage of this resource!

In the county or out?

Guatemama@evpl — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:39:00 GMT

It has long been an issue here at the public libraries to determine which addresses fall within Vanderburgh county and which do not. The school corporation, however, has offered up a solution with their District Address Handbook. Here one can find a listing of house numbers street by street, what school district it falls in, and whether or not it is within the county.