Help for Tornado Recovery

Those of us at the Arkansas State Library extend our condolences to all the people affected by this weeks' storms in Arkansas and across the South.  If you would like to help, either with you time and talents or with a monetary donation, here are a few ways to get started:

• American Red Cross: " the nation's premier emergency response organization," the Red Cross helps survivors of small and large disasters. You can help by donating money, blood or time. Here is the website for the local Arkansas chapter.
• The Salvation Army is also accepting donations and helping survivors in Arkansas and Alabama.
• According to this notice on the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette web site, anyone interested in volunteering for the Vilonia clean-up effort can call 501-626-2093 or 

  People who want to volunteer to help, should go to the Vilonia Primary School on U.S. 64. It will be open 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Bring identification so that authorities can scan a driver's license or other identification and produce a volunteer badge to give volunteers a badge and the accompanying access needed to help.

   

Hunger in Arkansas

As the gardening season gets going here in Arkansas, it is a good time to think about those who do not have enough to eat on a regular basis.  Did you know that almost 18 % of the people in Arkansas are food insecure?  That is 505,000 people - half a million of your fellow Arkansans.  What is food insecurity?  According to the national charity Feeding America, food insecurity is the USDA's measure of the "lack of access, at times, to enough food for a healthy life for all family members [and] limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods." Check out all the facts about hunger in Arkansas and the United States at Feeding America.

If you want to help, Feeding America is a great place to start.  From their mission statement: "Feeding America is the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity. Our mission is to feed America's hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger." Their website has information about finding a food bank in your area, volunteering, and donating money.

Want to find something more local? Arkansas Rice Depot is Arkansas's largest food bank. They also have a list of ways to help in the community.  Arkansas Food Bank is another Little Rock-based food distributor that you could help by volunteering or donating time and money.

Many churches and civic organizations also support local food pantries. Some food pantries may accept home-grown produce; if your zucchini produces more than you could ever eat, why not give some of it to a food pantry?

Celebrate National Library Week!

April 10-16 is National Library Week all around the country.  Here at ASL we are celebrating by highlighting our new books in the display cases on the first floor and by giving all patrons who sign up for a new library card an "I love my library" button.  If you are interested in getting a library card, please check our policy page for the requirements.  If you have any questions about the Arkansas State Library and our policies, you can send us a reference request using the Ask a Librarian form, or you can give us a call at (501) 682-2053.

It's Tax Time Again

Your Federal and State taxes are due next week. Did you know that there was no income tax until the Civil War? or that the 16th amendment to the Constitution was passed in 1913, setting up the Internal Revenue Service? For more general history on the income tax, check out this article from InfoPlease.

In Arkansas, the Department of Finance and Administration contols the state income tax process. For more information about the history of this state agency, check out their entry in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.

Here at the Arkansas State Library, we have state forms available on paper and electronically.  While we do not have the Federal forms and we cannot help you fill them out, we can help you access them through the IRS.gov website, and provide you with resources that may help you, including Bender's Tax Return Manual.