Washington Post Staff Writer Ed O'Keefe reported that the Internal Revenue Service plans to stop mailing instructions and paper forms for annual income tax returns, saving the agency about $10 million a year as more Americans are filing online.  About 11.5 million people who filed paper tax returns in 2009 received the tax information in the mail, IRS said. The agency normally sends the information at the beginning of the calendar year. The mailing includes the Form 1040 and instructions that totaled 44 pages last year.

 

More than 96 million individuals have filed their tax returns this year via IRS e-File (up about 6 million from 2008) and an estimated 20 million paper returns were filed through paid tax preparers, according to the agency.  The IRS plans to mail information about the decision in the coming weeks to taxpayers who filed paper forms last year. Taxpayers who want to file paper returns can still obtain the forms at IRS.gov, local IRS offices or at participating libraries and post offices.

 

The federal government continues to curtail its use of “snail mail” to save on paper, postage, and printing costs. The Treasury Department announced plans in June to start making most government benefits payments through direct deposit by 2013 as part of the Obama administration's government efficiency reforms.

 

 

 

 

Send your news or stories that you would like to share with the library community to the HH editor, Robert Upton, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Library chairs.  The Edgewood Community Library is a proud recipient of a $500 donation from the advertising group, VIA, for participating in the VIA Library Chair Contest.  In celebration of its relocation into the historic Baxter Library building in Maine, VIA asked libraries across the nation to submit their own chairs in a contest to furnish VIA’s new headquarters.  Initially, VIA was to choose multiple winners from among the many submissions and incorporate the winning chairs in their new building design.  But, according to the VIA Library Chair Contest contact, they have changed their design plans and will no longer use the chairs to decorate the space.  In spite of VIA’s change of heart, they will honor their original commitment by donating $500 to all the public libraries that submitted a chair, including Edgewood’s submission.

 

Andrea Corvin of the ECL reports, “We are super-dee-duper excited to receive this donation because we plan to use the $500 to develop a graphic novel section for our teenage patrons.  With a very limited acquisitions budget, this extremely popular genre has been on the back burner for quite some time in achieving our youth collection development goals.  Hopefully this donation will attract more young adults to our little library!”

 

A second library in NM also received a $500 donation – El Rito Library.  More about VIA on their website.

 

 

Jemez receives IMLS funding.  Seventeen tribal communities from across the nation were selected by the Institute of Museum and Library Services to receive $2,030,562 in Native American Library Services Enhancement grants, according to a press release issued by the IMLS.  The grants will help fund a wide range of projects, including the one issued to Jemez Pueblo Community Library.

 

Jemez Pueblo Community Library is undertaking a project focusing on the preservation of the Towa language and Jemez Pueblo culture, traditions, and knowledge. The new “Towa Cultural Resource Center” in the library will serve as a central place to collect, house, and make resources available to tribal members. 

 

 

Corona Library wins state drawing.  The Village of Corona Public Library was the drawing winner of Wild Animals I have Known and Ernest Thompson Seton: The Life and Legacy of an Artist and Conservationist by David L. Witt.  The drawing was part of a collaboration between the New Mexico State Library and the New Mexico History Museum at the Palace of the Governors in a project to extend beyond the walls of the Muesum.  David L. Witt, curator of the Seton Legacy Project at the Academy for the Love of Learning, said “Ernest Thompson Seton not only has lessons to teach us in caring for nature, but his focus on the natural world gives us a gentle way to entice children into a love of reading.” 

 

Witt and Beth Crist, library development director at the State Library, have designed an array of discussion topics and hands-on activities for librarians, designed to tie in with the New Mexico History Museum exhibit “Wild at Heart: Ernest Thompson Seton.”  All of the related materials are available to public and school librarians, teachers and members of the public on the New Mexico State Library website.

 

The award books were provided by the Museum of New Mexico Foundation's Spiegelberg Shop and are available for check-out at the Village of Corona Public Library.

 

 

NM Foundation grants.  The New Mexico Library Foundation is now accepting applications for grants through October 29.  Grants are a maximum of $1,000 and they are given to all types of libraries in New Mexico (public, private, school, special, academic). The grants are given to support collections, programming, activities, and equipment that enhance library programs.  For information about the grant, and to apply online, visit the Foundation's website. 

 

A book donation.  The Nancy Floyd Haworth Foundation is generously donating one copy of the just-published new edition of Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book, 5th edition (Perseus Books, 2010, paperback), to each public library and library branch in New Mexico. The mission of the Nancy Floyd Haworth Foundation is to provide breast cancer education and support to New Mexicans.

 

Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book has long been a primary source of information for those newly diagnosed with breast cancer. In this completely revised fifth edition, it also becomes a guide for those at risk of getting breast cancer, survivors interested in the consequences of their treatment, and anyone who wants to understand the new research about how the local environment influences the manifestations and treatments of many different kinds of breast cancer.

 

You’ll receive your copy(ies) of the book sometime this fall, depending on when they arrive from the publisher.  For more information contact Beth Crist, Library Development Bureau Director at the New Mexico State Library, (505) 476-9753 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . 

 

The State Library wishes to thank the Nancy Floyd Haworth Foundation  for its continued support of breast cancer education in NM and for providing books on this very important topic to the state’s public libraries. 

 

 

City of Santa Fe Literacy Bus.  The City of Santa Fe held a community celebration for the 25th anniversary of Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe and the unveiling of Santa Fe’s very own public transportation bus with a pro-literacy message of “Building a World of Readers, Artists, and Dreamers.”  On the back of the bus a dinosaur is painted holding a sign that says: “Avoid Extinction: Read.”  Led by nationally known graphic artist and cartoonist, Phil Yeh, twenty-five Santa Fe artists spent 16 hours to complete the masterpiece.

 

 

 

 

HH notes.  The Hitchhiker is about you and your libraries.  We depend on you to let us know what is going on at your libraries, and what you like or don’t like about the content of the newsletter.  Please help by reminding others to send their email addresses so we can notify them each time a new issue is available.  Send your news and announcements, and also new and corrected email addresses to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

 Send event and training announcements for the library community to the HH editor, Robert Upton, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Anton Chico Library fundraiser.  The Friends of David F. Cargo El Valle de Anton Chico is hosting an Octoberfest Carnival fundraiser including a huge book sale along with a bingo, cake walk, jumper, games, and activities on Sunday, October 3, from noon to 6 p.m.  There will also be a concession including Indian tacos, frito pies, baked goods, and more.  The book sale collection hosts a variety of books including non-fiction and fiction, a law library, multiple reference materials, numerous encyclopedia sets, children's books, records, rare and old books, Reader's Digest condensed books, videos, and more.  Anton Chico is between Las Vegas and Santa Rosa via Hwy 84. 

 

 

NM Library Commission meeting.  There will be a meeting of the New Mexico Library Commission on Friday, October 8, at 9 – 11 a.m. in the Commission Room at the New Mexico State Library in Santa Fe.  Members are: 

  

NMLA Mini-Conference.  The New Mexico Library Association will hold its Fall Mini-Conference on October 14-15, in Gallup at the Zollinger Library.  This year's theme is “Today’s Vision: Tomorrow’s Reality.”  Zollinger Library is on the UNM-Gallup campus.  Program offerings cover wide range topics providing a kaleidoscope of perspectives from which to view the rapidly changing world of libraries and information technology.  On Thursday, October 14, there will be three different activities: hike the Pyramid Trail (weather permitting) at the beautiful Red Rock State Park;  visit Gallup’s libraries with the Library Open House Tour;  or register for a tour given by a local jewelry designer of downtown jewelry stores, ending with a demonstration by an area silversmith at the Gallup Cultural Center.  The conference reception will feature noted photographer Don James who will be signing copies of his book. For dinner you will have the opportunity to a “Dine Around” hosted by members of the local arrangement committee and area library staff. 

 

A drum circle with singers will be performing during morning registration on Friday, October 15. The opening presentation will be made by Irving Nelson of the Navajo Nation and Gallup’s Mayor, Harry Mendoza, will be on hand to give all attendees a warm welcome. There will be many opportunities for you to talk with colleagues, enjoy breaks and lunch and win prizes.  Register online.

 

 

Circle of Learning grants.  Circle of Learning is designed to recruit and support American Indians and Alaskan Natives who are interested in earning a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree.  The program is a partnership between the San Jose School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) and the American Indian Library Association (AILA).  It is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) , the primary source of federal support for the nation's libraries and museums.  The three-year project ends at the close of the Spring 2013 semester, allowing support for up to seven semesters of coursework. Circle of Learning students will receive financial assistance and other support, including mentoring, career advisement, field experiences, involvement in professional conferences and workshops, and interaction with Native leaders in the profession. Circle of Learning's unique blended approach of online curriculum delivery and face-to-face and mediated social and professional interactions will help scholarship recipients receive personalized support and develop a professional network that can benefit them in the years ahead.

 

Circle of Learning students can live anywhere while earning their MLIS degree from SLIS's fully online program.  Program expectations/requirements are that participants complete their MLIS coursework with a B average or better, attend Circle of Learning opening meetings and subsequent one-day annual meetings, meet and interact with mentors on an ongoing basis, participate in online Circle of Learning workshops, and maintain contact with Circle of Learning for at least five years following the program for evaluation purposes.

 

Learn more at the Circle of Learning website .

 

 

 

Send announcements of new personnel, changes, achievements, and retirements in your library to the HH editor, Robert Upton, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Carol Brey-Casiano, former director at the Thomas Branigan Public Library in Las Cruces and president of the New Mexico Library Association, is leaving her current position as El Paso Public Library director to join with the U.S. State Department as an information resource officer.  In an article by David Burge of the El Paso Times, Brey-Casiano announced that she's retiring from the city of El Paso and is taking a job with the State Department to travel the world and help improve literacy and other nations' libraries.

 

Her last day with the city will be October 20, and then she'll go to Washington, D.C., for three to six months of training. From there, she will be assigned to an embassy overseas and will work with libraries and librarians wherever she goes.  “I thought that I'd do something new by age 55,” she told the El Paso Times.  “It's come a little earlier, but jobs like these don't come around very often.” 

 

Brey-Casiano has been El Paso's top librarian for more than 10 years. The Evanston, Illinois, native was the director of the Thomas Branigan Library in Las Cruces during 1996-2000 and the Oak Park library in Illinois during 1991-1995. She got her start as a bookmobile librarian in southern Missouri three decades ago.  Brey-Casiano served as president of the American Library Association in 2004-2005 when she had the opportunity to travel overseas and see libraries in other countries first hand. 

 

Brey-Casiano oversaw a big expansion of El Paso’s library system that was funded with bond money approved by the voters in 2000, Mayor John Cook said. Four new branch libraries were built under her administration, and five others were expanded. The main library was expanded and renovated in 2004-2006. “She has a very broad base of experience and will represent the United States very well,” Deputy City Manager Debbie Hamlyn said.  A successor has not been named, and the city will conduct a nationwide search for a permanent replacement.

 

 

 

Send job announcements to the HH editor, Robert Upton, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . There is no charge for this service to the library community.

 

 

Librarian. The City of Santa Fe has an opening for Librarian (Recruitment Announcement # 2011-013A) with a salary range at $19.32-$34.04.  This is a full-time position at the Southside Library providing assistance to library patrons in various sections of the library.  Provides library services to all patrons to assist them in their recreational, informational, research, and education needs;  may assist in the development and implementation of special library section programs including selection of materials, publicity, scheduling, events, etc.;  and may supervise a small staff of Library Technicians or Assistants.  This position is under the general guidance and direction of Library Service Director or Library Section Manager;  provides close to general supervision to staff as directed.  Responsible for the supervision of children and young adult services; schedules and presents library tours and story times for school groups; establishes polices and procedures for children and young adult services; prepares yearly budget requests and monitors budget.  Researches and generates various reports;  supervises library staff; trains, assigns, reviews work of staff; handles personnel related issues including performance evaluations and disciplinary actions; interviews and makes recommendations for hire of new employees;  and communicates with Division and City of Santa Fe rules, relations, and policies.  Responsible for planning of special programs for children and young adults including reading assistance program, summer reading program, storytelling, puppet and craft shows, movies, etc.;  schedules programs and secures performers; develops and secures contracts for performers; ensures that fees are paid to performer and that the event receives appropriate advertisement;  selects and orders appropriate materials for children and young adult collection in accordance to national standards and selection policies;  supervises the discarding of materials from collection;  provides services to patrons; assists children and young adults in selecting materials; conducts information searches for children and young adults; uses reference tools to locate information; etc.;  and oversees volunteers.  Minimum qualification include a high school diploma; and five years of experience in library functions and operations such as cataloging, reference, interlibrary loan, media and children’s services.  MLS preferred.  Relevant education may be substituted for experience on a year for year basis.  Considerable knowledge of types of materials in collections.   Knowledge of the tools and practical applications of acquisitions, including the City of Santa Fe purchasing policies and the State of New Mexico purchasing agreements expected.  Considerable skill in demonstrating good interpersonal communication skills when dealing with coworkers and library patrons, including adults, children and young adults, skill in the use of library reference tools, and must possess general office and computer skills.  Must have ability to use good judgment in decision-making and be able to work with little supervision.  Must be able to work accurately with detail, present information clearly and concisely both orally and in writing. Must be able to learn the operation of specialized equipment in the area of assignment.  Schedule is Tuesday through Saturday.  May be required to work evenings and weekends.  Submit a completed City of Santa Fe application to the Human Resources Department, City of Santa Fe, 200 Lincoln, or mail to P.O. Box 909, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504-0909.  Apply online .   Applications become public record upon receipt and may be made available for public inspection upon request.  Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of the city application form.  When required of the position, attach a copy of high school/GED, college education, certification(s) or license(s).  Pre-placement physical exams are required.  Closing date is October 8 at 5 p.m.  Incomplete applications may delay or exclude consideration of your application.  ADA/EEO

 

 

Library director.  New Mexico State University - Alamogordo has a position availability for Director, Library Services (Requisition # 2010009532).  This is a 12-month, regular, full-time post.  Qualifications require a Master’s degree from an ALA accredited school of library and information science (in hand by hire date);  a minimum of three years of full-time related professional experience;  must possess high degree of people, problem solving, and interactive skills;  ability to supervise personnel and function effectively in a highly energetic multi-cultural environment;  experience providing original and copy cataloging of library acquisitions using appropriate cataloging utilities and providing reference services;  evidence of effective fiscal resource management;  knowledge of principles and practices of organization and administration, community college mission, academic library philosophies and procedures; collection development and acquisitions; use of a variety of digital information systems including online databases;  and ability to communicate effectively in written and oral form.  Preferred qualifications include previous administrative experience in a community college or university library;  experience providing information literacy instruction;  strong background in the use of tools in web development and information management tools;  experience working within a university system;  and willingness to live in service area (Otero County).  Benefits include group medical and hospital insurance, group life insurance, long-term disability insurance, state educational retirement, workers' compensation, sick leave, annual leave, and unemployment compensation. Opportunity for educational advancement.  Initial review of applications will begin October 11 and will continue until filled.  A complete application consists of: (1) signed letter of interest addressing qualifications for the positions; (2) detailed resume/CV; (3) one set of post-secondary transcripts from each degree-granting institution (a photocopy of transcripts is sufficient for application; however, offer of employment is contingent upon verification of eligibility for employment in the United States, upon available funding, and upon presentation of two official transcripts of all post-secondary education. Each United States institution must be regionally accredited. Foreign transcripts must obtain a complete official evaluation for degree equivalency in the U.S.); and (4) a list of three references who may be contacted via telephone or email, and a list of all recent former employers familiar with the candidate’s abilities. Incomplete or faxed applications will not be considered.  Send to: NMSU-A H.R., Director, Library Services Search (2010009532), 2400 N. Scenic Drive, Alamogordo, NM  88310 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .  Special Conditions:  All offers of employment, oral and written, are contingent on the university’s verification of credentials and other information required by federal law, state law, and NMSU policies/procedures, and may include the completion of a criminal history check.  NMSU is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.  All offers of employment, oral and written, are contingent on the university’s verification of credentials and other information required by federal law, state law, and NMSU policies/procedures, and may include the completion of a criminal history check. 

 

 

Bookmobile.  The New Mexico State Library has an opening in the Bookmobile West (Los Lunas) office for Library Technician-O (00004849).  The vacant position has been posted as Job Number 24202 on the NM State Personnel website and will close October 13.  The salary range for this position is $9.79 min to $17.41 max  hourly (Pay Band 45).  Offered salary is determined based on education and experience qualifications.  This position provides library services to rural and under served communities and patrons via the Bookmobile West Program.  Requirements are an Associate's degree in any field;  three years library and/or related experience (examples include: public or technical services, i.e., shelving, cataloging, reference, circulation, clerical, or data entry duties).  Must possess and maintain a valid New Mexico Driver's License. Overnight travel is required. Work is performed in a bookmobile and in a library office setting. Bookmobile usually travels three out of four weeks per month. Required to sit for extended periods of time during mobile trips;  must have the ability to lift and carry luggage, laptops, and books; and perform manual labor including lifting up to 40 lbs.;  bending, kneeling, and stretching is required to shelve books and to assist patrons with book selection;  ability to climb stairs to enter and exit the vehicle;  walking and standing for extended periods of time may be required;  requires driving bookmobile/state vehicle on narrow NM roads, sometimes in adverse weather conditions, in emergencies and at night, but usually between the hours of 6:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. year round;  performing preventative and routine maintenance of the bookmobile/state vehicle may be required (i.e., washing windshields, pumping gas, checking oil, etc).  To apply for this job: 

Agency contact for this position is: Angela Soliz (505) 476-9783 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .  This is a STRM position that is FLSA Non-Exempt and is covered under the AFSCME Bargaining Agreement.  If you do not receive an e-mail confirmation stating that you have applied successfully, please call the contact for this posting or the SPO Recruitment Bureau at (505) 476-7777, before the closing date of the position.