Here is an opportunity you won’t want to pass up if you are a patron of DeKalb County Public Library. This spring, the Library is offering patrons a chance to help needy people in the community and reduce their overdue library fines at the same time. Working in partnership with the Atlanta Community Food Bank, the Library will deduct $1.00 in overdue fines for each item of food a patron donates, to a maximum of $20.00 in fines.

Food for Fines will run from April 5 through April 17. Library Director Darro Willey said patrons will be able donate food at all of the Library’s 20 branches which are currently open for service. He hopes everyone will participate.

To "go green" and save money, the Library will move to paperless notices for holds and overdues on March 1, 2010.  Please check with staff or look at your account to see if your information is correct.

At DCPL branches:

• Chamblee Library
  Mondays, 12:30 – 4:30 pm and Fridays, 10:30 am – 2:00 pm, beginning February 1
• Clarkston Library
  Mondays and Tuesdays, Noon – 4:00 pm, beginning February 1
  VITA Tax Assistance, Saturdays, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm, beginning February 6
• Dunwoody Library
  Mondays and Wednesdays, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, beginning February 3
• Northlake Library
  Mondays and Thursdays, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm, beginning February 1
• Scott Candler Library
  VITA Tax Assistance, Saturdays, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm, February 27 – April 10
• Stone Mountain-Sue Kellogg Library
  Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm, beginning February 2
• Toco Hill-Avis G. Williams Library
  Fridays, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, beginning February 5

No appointments are necessary. For more detailed information on who qualifies for assistance and what documents to bring, click here.

For additional VITA tax preparation sites click here.

Other Locations:

• Decatur Recreation Center, 231 Sycamore Street, Decatur GA 30030
  • Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., starting February 2

On an unusually snowy March night I ventured out to take Laurie Foley’s free workshop called “Blogging- Who, What, Where & How?” at the brand new Toco Hill-Avis G. Williams library. The audience was small due to the weather and mostly women. (Two-thirds of bloggers are men.) We all wanted to know the same thing — ...