Library News

You can pick up many tax forms at Oboler Library. There is a binder of reproducible tax forms at the reference desk. If you need help with the forms, Here are two services that might be able to help you.

Free income tax return preparation for low income taxpayers will be offered by VITA, a volunteer arm of the Internal Revenue Service, every Thursday from Feb. 10 to March 17 from 5 to 9 p.m. in Room 111 of Turner Hall.

Members of Beta Alpha Psi, Idaho State University’s accounting fraternity, are providing these services on a first-come, first-served basis on Feb. 10, Feb. 17, Feb. 24, March 3, March 10 and March 17.

Taxpayers will need to bring their own Social Security cards, as well as the cards of anyone else listed on the return.

Documents such as W-2s, Forms 1099, and Form 1098-T will also be required as well as any other relevant document. If taxpayers prefer to have their refund direct deposited, they will also need to bring a voided check.

No appointment is necessary. For more information contact Peter Frischmann at 282-3501 or frispete@isu.edu.

There have also been articles in the Idaho State Journal about the AARP Tax Aid Program. For more information call the District 6 Coordinator, John Saint-Vincent at 478-2240.

This year Oboler Library had three staff members who received awards at the Employee Recognition Awards Luncheon.

Terry Savage started working at the Idaho Falls Center Library in 1995 as a records clerk, then was a part time Library Assistant, and finally a full time Library Assistant in Sept. 2001.

Teresa Warren works in Interlibrary Loan, received her MLS degree in 2008, and previously worked in Circulation. When she was a student, she worked in Periodicals and Technical Services. She received her 15 year award.

Loretta Zuber previously worked in Interlibrary Loan and Circulation, and currently works in the Idaho Health Science Library. She received her 20 year award.

If you have already completed the survey, you have the library’s most profound thanks. If you have not yet taken the survey, we are happy to announce that we have extended the survey period for one week until Friday April 8. Please visit the Eli M. Oboler Library’s webpage www.isu.edu/library or go directly to the survey https://www.libqual.org/survey/RWSRJA226UL53VCY and take the short (approximately 5 minute) survey. It is really important that we hear from everyone who uses the library, all faculty, students, and staff.

We are conducting this survey to measure library service quality and identify best practices through the Association of Research Libraries’ LIBQUAL+ ® program. Please let us know how our services, collections, and building meet your needs. Please tell us how and where we can improve. We are committed to improving your library services. Better understanding your expectations will help us tailor those services to your needs.

During the month of March, the Eli M. Oboler Library will be running the LIBQUAL+ Survey, so we can find out how we are serving the Idaho State University community. We invite you to visit the ISU Library’s webpage www.isu.edu/library and take the short (approximately 5 minute) survey. (Look for the LIBQUAL box, lower right)

We are conducting this survey to measure library service quality and identify best practices through the Association of Research Libraries’ LIBQUAL+ ® program. Please let us know how our services, collections, and building meet your needs. Please tell us how and where we can improve. We are committed to improving your library services. Better understanding your expectations will help us tailor those services to your needs. It is important that we hear from all of the ISU community during this month.

Women’s History Month, Rocky Mountain Writers’ Festival, The ISU Reading Project (Temple Grandin and Autism), Dr. Seuss, Open Access Journals, Pocatello’s Historic Architecture, African American Poetry, and Health and Nutrition at Your Library are the new or continuing displays currently up in the library.

Bob Beason is in the Current Display Art Area: drawings, pictures, and part of his graphic novel, Mascot, featuring a Bengal tiger character, Captain Bengal. The library roof is mentioned in one of the ISU campus scenes. Read the article about his art show here.

First Floor:

Dr. Suess (Theodor Seuss Geisel) was born March 2, 1904, and this display in case 3 commemorates his writing life. It contains a selection of his books, characters, and posters honoring his work. There is a shelf of his books that are available nearby. This is a display kids of all ages will enjoy. Be sure to visit the fish in the nearby aquarium on your visit. The library has 25 books by Dr. Seuss in the Juvenile Literature section on the second floor. If you haven’t been up there before, it is located in the southwest corner, behind the computer labs. If you have children, they would probably find some good books if they have to entertain themselves while you are studying.

Display case 2A on the first floor is filled with ISU Reading Project-related information, and books by or about Temple Grandin, plus books about autism. The display is titled: “Autism Current Research.” A wide assortment of books about autism fill the case.

Women’s History Month is in March, so we have a display on it in the Main Display Case 1. There are posters highlighting various achievements and notable women during most of the past century. Also there are some related books. ISU has many programs going on for Women’s History Month. Find more information on the Janet C. Anderson Gender Resource Center page and calendar of Women’s History Month activities.

Display case 2B is filled with information about the Rocky Mountain Writers’ Festival, which occurs March 9-12, here in Pocatello. This year is the 21st annual festival of local, regional and occasionally national writers coming together to share poetry, fiction, and prose. The Keynote this year is Karen Joy Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club. Find out more information here, including links to the web page, blog, and Facebook page.

Second Floor:

Display case 4 has a display on Open Access Journals. Open access (OA) literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. This display will give you a lot of information about Open Access, and refers the viewer to Peter Suber’s website “Open Access Overview“. Check out this display and learn a lot about this new trend, and how it relates to library research. If you wind up with questions, check with Spencer Jardine, our Coordinator of Instruction and Reference Librarian who created this display. You can read his article on this topic on his Information Literacy at ISU blog.

Display case 5 has a display on Pocatello’s Historic Architecture. Learn more about Frank Paradice who designed our Administration Building, and many other important Pocatello buildings. He designed many Pocatello buildings and homes from 1913 to 1952. Learn the history of some of our downtown historic buildings and the old East Side downtown. Find out more about the historic homes in the college neighborhood. You can get to online walking tour brochures of some of Pocatello’s historic buildings and homes on the City of Pocatello’s Planning and Development Department page. They include downloadable brochures of self-guided walking tours of the Old Town Residential Historic District, Pocatello Downtown Historic District, Eastside Downtown Historic District, and Westside Residential Historic District. As springtime comes to Pocatello, it will be fun to explore our local architecture!

Third Floor:

Display Case 6 covers African American poets. This is our celebration of February as Black History Month. This display contains books, photographs, biographies and poetry. There is a shelf below of books available for check out. If you enjoy poetry, expect to linger with this abundant display. It includes The Oxford Anthology of African American Poetry, On the Bus With Rosa Parks by Rita Dove, Alice Walker, Vice by Ai, Langston Hughes, and much, much more.

The IHSL (Idaho Health Science Library) display case is on Health and Nutrition at Your Library. It includes information on My Pyramid, the food groups, books, online books, DVD’s, eat right guidelines, and 10 Worst and Best Foods–a very interesting chart of nutritional food choices. Find a link to Heart Healthy Recipes, which include Latino recipes, healthy dinners, healthy family meals, and African American cooking.