Spring is Around the Corner!

Though it may not feel like it today, Spring is just around the corner. March 20th marks the first day of Spring, and with the last frost of the  year hopefully passed, many of you may be planning to get your spring gardens planted. Titles from Overdrive are a great resource for helping you decide what and when to plant so you don't miss that vital time frame. 

 Are you new to gardening? Then Gardening Basics for Dummies is an excellent choice. This book breaks down everything you need to know about starting and maintaining your first garden. Even if you've been gardening for some time, this title is worth a read. You never know what you don't know!





Are you tight on space? Try Gardening in Miniature by Janit Calvo. Just reading the book's description on OverDrive has made me want to pick up this adorable new hobby: 

 "The next garden trend combines the joy of gardening with the magic of miniatures. Gardening in Miniature is a complete guide to creating lush, living, small-scale gardens. It has everything you need to pick up this new hobby, including scaled down garden designs, techniques for creating tiny hardscapes, miniature garden care and maintenance, tips on choosing containers, how to buy the right plants, and where to find life-like accessories. Inspiring step-by-step projects feature basic skills that can be recreated in any number of designs, like a tiny patio, a trellis, a pond, and a secret garden."

If you're like me and you can't for the life of you (and your plants) keep anything green alive, try cacti and succulents! These hardy plants are beautiful and require much less watering and care than other types of plants.

 Plus, as a bonus, succulents are not too difficult to propagate for sharing with your fellow succulent enthusiasts! 

Black History @ Your Library

February is Black History Month, and Terrebonne Parish Library has a multitude of high quality, reliable resources to help you learn something new about African American history. A great place to start is with the Salem History title, Great Lives from History: African Americans. From Aaliyah to Whitney Young, this digital version of a five volume set includes short biographies of 844 notable African Americans achievers. This resource is fantastic for those who are looking for someone to research outside of well known leaders such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. and provides a broader look at Black contributions to history, science, government and culture in America. 

In addition to Great Lives From History, Salem Press also publishes the Defining Documents in American History series.  Two titles in the library's digital collection which would be especially helpful to those interested in Black history are Defining Documents in American History: Civil War and Defining Documents in American History: The 1960s. These pivotal times for African Americans are explored in depth through primary source documents and are ideal for use in the classroom. 

In addition to text resources, the Terrebonne Parish Library is featuring books by African Americans on its Facebook page daily throughout the month of February, and libraries will have their own displays of titles chosen by staff at most locations. If you have any questions about your research, don't hesitate to call the Reference desk at the Main Library at (985) 876-5861, option (2).

Just an Old Fashioned Love Song

Looking to make your Valentine's Day a little sweeter, but you don't want to drop a lot of cash? As always, your library is here for you! Serenade your sweetheart with some free tunes from Freegal, With five free MP3 downloads per week, you can make a mini playlist to set the mood (and keep the songs forever!). Try some of these suggestions to get you started: 

Five songs not enough? You can borrow whole albums from Hoopla by using one of your five free downloads per month! Albums will stay checked out to you for one week - long enough to romance your way to Mardi Gras time!

Bayou Book Challenge

The Bayou Book Challenge has begun! Challenge yourself and your loved ones to read more this year by registering at the Bayou Book Challenge page of our website. If you meet your goal in 2019, you will be invited to the EXCLUSIVE Bayou Book Celebration in January 2020! Details for the Bayou Book Celebration are still being worked out, but it's sure to be a fun time! The ONLY way to be invited is to read! 

The goals are set as follows: 

Picture Book Readers: 250 books
Chapter Book Readers: 12, 26, or 52 books (you decide)

More information and registration can be found at
 http://mytpl.org/bayoubookchallenge

2019 Tax Information

*UPDATE: VITA has not received the necessary equipment from the IRS to begin taxes, due to delays caused by the government shutdown. Please call the day prior to your planned visit to confirm the VITA representatives will be available to assist you.


It's officially that time of year! Check to see if you are eligible for this fantastic free service from VITA.

Free tax filing assistance through VITA:

VITA is the only organization that Terrebonne Parish Library is partnering with this year for free tax preparation services. Assistance is available if you earned less than $60,000 overall.

Volunteers for VITA will be at the Main Library (no other branches) on Tuesdays from February 6 - April 9. While volunteers will be doing taxes from 9 AM - 3 PM, a wait list will be started at 8:30 AM by a VITA volunteer. Only the VITA volunteer’s list will be used; no “unofficial” lists will be recognized. You are advised to come at 8:30 AM and remain in line, as sign ups/assistance are first come, first served, and VITA has fewer volunteers working this year. Information from VITA regarding their services is posted below.

 

Tax Forms:

The library has received federal tax forms from the IRS (Louisiana does not send out state tax forms to libraries). All branches have received free 2018 tax forms.

The IRS has updated its tax forms for last year, and sent out the following email to tax form distribution partners last year: 

Changes to Forms 1040 and 1040 A, U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns, and Form 1040 EZ, Income Tax Return for Single and Joint Filers with No Dependents

Following the most expansive tax law changes in 30 years, the IRS created a shorter, simpler Form 1040 for the 2019 tax season. The new Form 1040 will replace the current Form 1040 as well as the Form 1040A and the Form 1040EZ.

The new Form 1040 uses a "building block" approach, in which the tax return is reduced to a simple form. That form can be supplemented with additional schedules if needed. Taxpayers with straightforward tax situations would only need to file this new 1040 with no additional schedules.

We will distribute the Form 1040 and Schedules 1-6 as Package 1040. The Package 1040 will include one copy of the new Form 1040 along with one copy of the schedules. The Instructions for Form 1040 will be a separate product.

Package 1040 Contents

•        Form 1040 — U.S. Individual Income Tax Return •        Schedule 1 — Additional Income & Adjustments to Income •        Schedule 2 — Tax (Additional Taxes) •        Schedule 3 — Non-Refundable Credits

•        Schedule 4 — Other Taxes •        Schedule 5 — Other Payments and Refundable Credits •        Schedule 6 — Foreign Address and Third-Party Designee

The following forms will be available at the Terrebonne Parish Libraries, in limited numbers, while supplies last:

• Form 1040
• Package 1040

Requesting Forms and E-filing

Printing Forms Online:

You can print federal and state tax forms at home for free, or at the library for 10 cents per page.

Federal: https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions

State: http://www.rev.state.la.us/Forms

Requesting Forms by Phone and Online:

You may request to have forms mailed to your home for free.

Federal: Call 1-800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676) Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time to order current or prior year forms and instructions or IRS publications. Hours of service in Alaska and Hawaii follow Pacific Time. You will receive your order by mail, usually within 7 to 10 days

State: 1-855-307-3893

State, online request to have booklet mailed: https://esweb.revenue.louisiana.gov/OnlineBookletRequest/RequestBooklet.aspx

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E-Filing

You may file your own federal taxes free online at https://www.irs.gov/uac/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free

For Louisiana, see  http://revenue.louisiana.gov/EServices/LouisianaFileOnline

Getting into the Holiday Groove!

If you're like me, you'll be doing all of your holiday shopping online this year. But how to replicate that once a year experience of hearing nothing but Christmas music everywhere you go?

The library has you covered with Freegal and Hoopla!


Freegal allows each card holder five downloads a week of DRM free MP3s. Classics as well as new popular hits are available here. From the solemn to the outright raunchy, you will find something for everyone. My personal favorite for an adults only party is A Very Big Freedia Christmazz, but if you want to go a more "traditional" route, Freegal also has jazz (Christmas Dream by Aaron Bing is lovely), country (White Christmas Blue by Loretta Lynn), and even children's music. The best part about Freegal is that you get to keep these MP3s for as long as you'd like. There are no "check outs," just your 5 weekly credits!

New for patrons this year is Hoopla, with its massive collection of Christmas music and movies. While you don't get to keep the movies and music you borrow from Hoopla, you also never have to worry about late fees. Just check out and download the music to your device, and it's yours for 7 days. If you love an album so much, you want to hear it all season long, you can check it out again with another one of your free monthly credits. With Hoopla, you will never have to wait for an item to become available and you will never have a late fee!

Finding Your Veteran Ancestors with Fold3

100 years ago today, World War I officially ended. Since 1926, the United States has celebrated this day as Veterans Day, a day to honor those who served in the United States military. Service in the military has touched the lives of millions of families and has left a significant paper trail extremely useful to those researching their ancestors. 



Fold3 Library Edition by Ancestry provides convenient access to US military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served. This continually-growing collection contains millions of records from world-class archives.




Click here to watch the video Finding Your Military Veterans on Fold3 to learn more about searching Fold3's archive, including looking for enlistment records, casualty records, and draft cards. This video explores not only how to find these resources in Fold3, but also how to use them to further your genealogical research.