This Week's Facts:
-
GPO Celebrates 150th Year as
Federal Publisher
-
State Library to Host
American FactFinder Program for Librarians
-
Online Resources, eFiling
Help Take Stress out of Tax Time
-
Hoosiers Encouraged to
Prepare for Severe Weather
DST is Back:
Spring Forward this Weekend
Daylight Savings Time starts this weekend! While this concept is
still fairly new to many Hoosiers, the idea has been around
since Benjamin Franklin first proposed it. Most states around
the country acknowledge it, but there are still two states that
do not: Hawaii and Arizona. As the name implies, the purpose of
Daylight Savings Time is to shift the clock in order to make the
best possible use of daylight, therefore “saving” it. As of
2007, the United States has started DST on the second Sunday of
March and ended it on the first Sunday of November. Other
countries around the world observe DST, although not always on
the same days. While most of Canada turns its clocks the same
time we do, Europe’s DST – called “Summer Time” there – starts
later and ends earlier. For more information on DST, check out
this
site from NASA. For more
detailed rules, see the
Physical Measurement Laboratory
from the
National Institute of Standards and
Technology. This site gets into more of the
specifics of the time zones and other time-related issues.
-------------------------------
Friday Facts Editorial Team:
Katharine Springer
State Data
Center Coordinator
Elisabeth
O’Donnell
Federal Documents Librarian
&
Kim Brown-Harden
State
Documents Coordinator
 
-------------------------------------
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GPO Celebrates
150th Year as Federal Publisher
 March
4th marked the 150th anniversary of the
Government Printing Office. GPO opened its doors on the same day
that President Lincoln took his first oath of office: March 4
1861. From the start, GPO has been responsible for producing,
cataloging and publishing government information. In the
beginning, this was printed word. As technologies have evolved,
GPO has done the same – many federal documents are published
online or in other electronic forms. For a history of GPO, check
out
100 GPO years 1861-1961
(also available in print). You also may be interested in GPO’s
historical photo collection; you can view images of past
Public Printers or pictures
of the
bindery. Click
here to see the press
release announcing the anniversary.
State
Library to Host American FactFinder Program for Librarians
 The
Indiana State Library is hosting a free hands-on workshop, “America
is changing: Accessing 2010 Census Data” on
Thursday, March 31st just for Indiana librarians.
This workshop will address key changes in Census data products,
formats, and content, as well as how to access information
through the Census Bureau’s
American Factfinder.
Ways to analyze, understand, and use Census information within
libraries and in serving the public will be discussed. Topics
included in the workshop will be: Importance of Census data,
Demographic products: When and how to use them, Data access
basics, Census geography, Data formats and availability, Data
search techniques, and time for Questions & Discussion.
The trainer and special guest is Steve Laue, Information
Specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau’s Regional Office in
Chicago. He has worked for the Census Bureau for over 20 years
and has supervised over 25 special censuses. Prior to joining
the Bureau, he was a research associate with the Chicago
regional planning agency (NE Illinois Planning Commission) -
developing estimates of housing needs for low and moderate
income households.
The workshop will be held in Room 428, the training room, on the
fourth floor of the library with two identical sessions from
9:30 AM to 12:30 PM and 1:30 PM to 4:3 PM to accommodate the
maximum number of people. Three Library Education Units will be
offered for this program. Space is limited, so attendees must
register. Please email
kspringer@library.in.gov with your preferred
session time. Visit
http://www.in.gov/library/4296.htm
for more information.
Online Tax
Resources, eFiling Help Take Stress out of Tax Time
 There
are two things that are certain in life: death and taxes! While
we can’t control or predict the former, we can take steps to
make the latter easier and less stressful.
The Indiana Department of Revenue has a fast,
user-friendly online filing tool to help make filing your taxes
less painful.
I-File is a secure website
that keeps your information private as well as a
question-and-answer format that chooses the correct tax form and
walks you through each step of completing your taxes; and there
are many other
features to help navigate
the tax preparation process.
The Frequently Asked Questions page
also provides guidance and answers to most of your basic
tax questions. If you need assistance with filing your federal
taxes,
freefile can help guide you
through the federal tax filing process. Also remember there are
various programs throughout the State that will provide
one-on-one tax assistance and preparation for those who meet
certain income levels; please call 2-1-1 for more assistance.
Hoosiers
Encouraged to Prepare for Severe Weather
 Springtime
in Indiana can bring great things like warmer weather, more
sunshine and basketball; however springtime can also bring
severe weather which can lead to death, devastation and
hardship. The
Indiana Department of Homeland Security
wants to remind Indiana citizens of Severe Weather Preparedness
Week, which takes place March 13-19. Severe Weather
Preparedness Week was
proclaimed by Gov Daniels
to acknowledge the anniversary of the 1990 tornado outbreak –
the worst such outbreak in Indiana history. It is also in memory
of the Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1965. There will be a
statewide tornado drill on Wednesday, March 16; the backup day
is March 17th. Severe weather can happen anytime of
the year and occurs most from April to July. There are
printable
fact sheets to help
educate families, neighbors and patrons on how to prepare for
severe weather outbreaks. The Department of Homeland Security
has facts and resources to help with various dangerous weather
events such as
flooding,
lightning,
thunderstorms and
tornadoes . Being prepared and creating a
family preparedness plan will help reduce the amount of death
and devastation severe weather can cause. Please remember to
share information with your family, friends and neighbors and
have a safe, enjoyable spring season!
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