Arbor Day

 Apple Blossom, picture taken at Queen Wilhelmena State Park, March 2009

Arbor Day is tomorrow, April 30th.  Did you know it was first celebrated in 1872?  It is not a major holiday, there are no chocolate trees or special Peeps commemorating the day, but that doesn't mean you can't have some fun with it.  Here are a few ideas for you from the Arbor Day website:

• Plant a tree in your yard
• Take a hike in the woods and enjoy being in the trees.  Arkansas has many fine state parks with hiking trails for all abilities.  If the weather isn't good this weekend, plan to go hiking next weekend.
• Learn to identify the trees in your neighborhood.  The website has a great interactive page to help you with that.

State Library Services Will Come To You!

Are you interested in how the Arkansas State Library could help your department or agency? Confused about how to make use of Interlibrary Loan or Ask a Librarian? If you are a State Agency, let the State Library Services staff come to you! We have a presentation that is ready to take on the road that will cover all our services, including:

• Circulation
• Interlibrary Loan
• Ask a Librarian and other reference resources
• Databases
• Patents and Trademarks

In less than an hour, we cover these topics and show what we can do for you. If you are interested, contact the State Library Services supervisor, Michael Strickland, through Ask a Librarian or by calling (501) 682-2053.

Are you registered to vote?

April 19th is the deadline for Arkansans to register to vote before the May 18 Preferential Primary.  Are you registered to vote? If you are, do you know where your polling place is? The Secretary of State's office has several ways for you to find out.

• The Vote Naturally web page. This is your one-stop shopping place for all election information. You can search the voter database by your name and birth date; if you are registered, you will see the address where you are registered, as well as your various congressional, judicial, school and state congressional districts.  Your polling place location and address will also be listed.  Vote Naturally also has information about when and how to vote, candidates, the machines you will be using to vote, and past elections.

• Prefer to check via your smart phone?  The Secretary of State has just introduced a new mobile application for you. Check it out on the SOS website: www.sos.ar.gov/m 

Plan to vote and make your voice heard. 

April Showers (of information)

These days, every month (and every week) has a plethora of celebrations, awareness-raising causes, and anniversaries associated with it.  April is not only Tax Month and Census Month, it is also National Kite Month, Alcohol Awareness Month, and National Pecan Month.  Here are a few more April Celebrations and Causes:

• Child Abuse Prevention Month : Sponsored by the National Exchange Club Foundation. Their website has lists of resources about child abuse prevention. For information about reporting child abuse here in Arkansas, go to the Arkansas Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting page of Arkansas.gov.

• Jazz Appreciation Month:  The Smithsonian Museum launched JAM in 2001 as an annual event that pays tribute to jazz both as a historic and living American art form. It has since grown to include celebrations in all 50 states and 40 countries.

• National Donate Life Month:  "Every day in April, people across the U.S. make a special effort to celebrate the tremendous generosity of those who have saved lives by becoming organ, tissue, marrow, and blood donors and to encourage more Americans to follow their fine example." At the website you can find information about how to become a donor and read President Obama's proclamation declaring April National Donate Life Month.

These Month designations and many more have been taken from Chase's Calendar of Events 2010, which we have available here at the Arkansas State Library. Now, go out and celebrate April!