@ your library (R) ......by Paige Turner October 7, 2004

Library to Offer Basic Computer Class

Mammoth Lakes Library is offering a basic computer class on Wednesday, October 13, from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. This class is intended to help the beginner learn basic computer skills. Learn the difference between a mouse and a monitor, how to navigate your way around a Windows (R) machine, search the Internet and use webmail. If you've always wanted to learn how to use a computer, now's your chance! The Mammoth Lakes Library has 10 new computers with high-speed Internet connections to help get you started. Please come by the Library to reserve your spot for this class. For more information, contact Peter Hodges, Librarian Assistant, 934-4777.

Good news -- libraries are helping voters make sense of those long ballots! Between now and Election Day, California's libraries are poised to be a key point of information for California voters. Starting September 27, voters preparing for the November 2, 2004, General Election can visit the Mammoth Lakes Library and pick up a free "Easy Voter Guide" in English or Spanish. For the November 2 election, the nonpartisan 16-page guide will feature: statements and photos from all the U.S. Presidential and Senate candidates, concise summaries of all statewide ballot measures in an easy-to-follow layout, and easy voting tips.

There will be 16 statewide propositions this fall, a record for a presidential election which attracts less experienced voters. "The 'Easy Voter Guide' has been demonstrated to increase turnout among new voters and is also popular among experienced voters who want a quick way to familiarize themselves with what will be on the ballot," explains Diane Hurlburt, County Librarian. "We are pleased to provide this service to help as many people in our community as possible feel prepared to participate in this election."

The guide's straightforward language and user-friendly feel are the result of a community-driven design and editing process. The guide's contents were also reviewed by an expert panel including the Legislative Analyst's Office to ensure the distilled descriptions of the ballot measures are still accurate.

Downloadable versions of the "Easy Voter Guide" and a wide range of nonpartisan education tools are available at www.easyvoter.org in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean. The "Easy Voter Guides" and www.easyvoter.org website are sponsored by the California State Library, in partnership with the California Secretary of State's Office, the James Irvine Foundation, and the California League of Women Voters' Education Fund.
LIBRARY TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK: During World War I this composer wrote a musical stage show called "Yip, Yip, Yaphank" to entertain the soldiers. At the last minute he deleted one song from the script and tucked it away in a trunk for 22 years. What is the name of the song (sometimes called America's "second national anthem," who is the composer and who sang it on Armistice Day in 1939?

ANSWER TO LAST WEEK'S QUESTION: After he graduated from the University of Michigan, President Gerald Ford received offers for professional football contracts from the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers. In 1939, he worked as a male model and appeared in "Look" magazine advertisements, modeling winter sports clothing at a ski resort in Vermont.