Habitat ReStores are outlets that accept donated goods for resale. While every ReStore is a little different, most focus on home improvement goods—furniture, home accessories, building materials and appliances. These donated goods are sold to the general public at a fraction of the retail price to help local affiliates fund the construction of Habitat homes within their communities. http://www.habitat.org/env/restores.aspx

Find a ReStore in your state: http://www.habitat.org/cd/env/restore.aspx

Celebrate National Library Week: "Communities Thrive @ Your Library"
Nancy Pearl (born January 12, 1945) is an American librarian, best-selling author, literary critic and was, until August 2004, the Executive Director of the Washington Center for the Book at Seattle Public Library. Her prolific reading and her knowledge of books and literature first made her locally famous in Seattle, Washington, where she regularly appears on public radio recommending books. She achieved broader fame with Book Lust, her 2003 guide to good reading. Pearl's approach to enjoying reading is the Rule of 50 which states "If you still don't like a book after slogging through the first 50 pages, set it aside. If you're more than 50 years old, subtract your age from 100 and only grant it that many pages." In her books, Pearl recommends 3,400 titles, grouped in chapters such as "Horror for Sissies" and "Good Reading from the Government (Really!)." In 2003 she received an unusual honor when the Seattle-based company Accoutrements created a librarian action figure in her likeness to be sold in their Seattle store, Archie McPhee. Featuring Pearl with a stack of books and a finger to her lips, the doll's "push to shush" action was popular with some librarians and dismaying to others who felt that the doll reinforced librarian stereotypes. Pearl herself said that the shushing aspect of the action figure would determine "which librarians have a sense of humor."
A tribute band called 'The Nancy Pearls' gave their debut bluegrass performance on the Mitchell Library rooftop (Sydney, Australia) on 17 December 2004.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Pearl
Librarian action figures based on Nancy Pearl, over 3500 of them
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=%22librarian%20action%20figure%22&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
A great library provides. It is enmeshed in the life of a community in a way that makes it indispensable. A great library is one nobody notices because it is always there, and it always has what people need.
Dewey by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter Grand Central Publishing, 2008
Excerpt from This Book Is Overdue: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson. HarperCollins Publisher, 2010. See at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124316231&sc=nl&cc=
Some libraries check out cake pans. Find interesting stories here: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22cake+pans%22+library&aq=f&aql=&aqi=&oq=

Holocaust Days of Remembrance, April 11–18, 2010
"The United States Congress established the Days of Remembrance as our nation’s annual commemoration of the Holocaust and created the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as a permanent living memorial to the victims. The Museum designated Stories of Freedom: What You Do Matters as the theme for the 2010 observance. In accordance with its Congressional mandate, the Museum is responsible for leading the nation in commemorating the Days of Remembrance, and for encouraging and sponsoring appropriate observances throughout the United States. Observances and remembrance activities can occur during the week of Remembrance that runs from the Sunday before Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah) through the following Sunday (view the Remembrance Day Calendar).

Broad Street is a major arterial street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is Pennsylvania Route 611 almost its entire length. The north–south street lies between 13th Street and 15th Street, in lieu of 14th Street. It is interrupted at the block containing Philadelphia City Hall, which sits where Broad and Market Street would intersect in the center of Center City; Broad meets Market as a pedestrian path at the center of the City Hall block. Broad is also called: "Avenue of the Arts" (from Locust Street to Washington Avenue). This section of Broad Street includes many prominent theater and concert halls, including the Academy of Music, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Merriam Theater, Wilma Theater, University of the Arts Gershman Hall, and Suzanne Roberts Theater. Avenue of the States: from Washington Avenue to Oregon Avenue. This section of Broad Street has flags of all 50 states in the US. C. A. Tindley Boulevard: from South Street to Washington Avenue. This was dedicated to the late Charles A. Tindley, the father of gospel music. Tindley Temple United Methodist Church was his home, at the corner of Broad and Fitzwater Streets. Georgie Woods Boulevard: from Norris Street to approximately Cumberland Street.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad_Street_(Philadelphia)

forte (FOR-tay) from Italian, meaning loud
forte (FORT) from French, meaning strong point
Note: So many people pronounce forte meaning strong point as two syllables that the original pronunciation is losing the battle.

Q : Does Ohio really have its own "pledge"?
A: Yes. It is: "I salute the flag of the state of Ohio and pledge to the Buckeye State respect and loyalty." The 2002 Legislature said Ohioans should recite it after completing the better-known "Pledge of Allegiance." -- Ohio Historical Society.
Q: When we went to a baseball game with our 5- and 7-year-old sons last season, a man behind us kept shouting obscenities, and our kids got an earful. I know it's a free country, but I also want to go to games this season, and protect my children.
A: There's at least one loudmouth in every crowd. Unfortunately, beyond glancing over or making a polite request ("Could you please tone it down for the kids' sake?"), there's not much you can do to change a stranger's ways. In fact, there's a chance it could spark an unpleasant confrontation, so your best bet is to move to other seats. None available? Then turn the incident into a learning experience for your children, telling them that foul language is a foul ball in your family and that this man's attitude stinks in terms of bad sportsmanship. -- Emily Post's Etiquette Daily http://www.thecourier.com/Opinion/columns/2010/Apr/JU/ar_JU_041210.asp?d=041210,2010,Apr,12&c=c_13