New Year, New You

Here's what people do around the world for luck: on New Year's Eve, the tradition in Portugal and Spain is to eat 12 grapes from a bunch, eating one for each bell chime at midnight. This is supposed to bring luck throughout the year. According to Swiss folklore, the first day of January is a day of omens and predictions. A red sky signifies storms, fire and war. Meeting a child or man first thing on New Year's Day is lucky, while meeting a woman is considered unlucky.

New Year traditions are also hoped to bring about personal change or community connection. In Germany, New Year's Day is known as Neujahr, or a time of new beginnings. The first day of the year should be lived as you hope to live during the next 12 months. People avoid unpleasant tasks and try not to spend money, although they often jingle coins in their pockets for good fortune. Both France and Denmark celebrate New Year's Day socializing with relatives and friends. In China, where the New Year falls according to the lunar calendar, members of the family pay respects to ancestors and household deities. Tea or bird nest soup is offered to one's elders.

There's much to celebrate from our families and traditions. But there's another way to celebrate the New Year - check out books to change your life. For many of your resolutions the library is a great place to start.

Learning can take the form of an instrument, a language or even a school goal. We have resources from music scores to downloadable language audiobooks. Check out our Learning Express database, where you can practice school or career tests as often as you like. Once you've mastered the test, check out our scholarship books and guides to colleges and trade schools.

The holidays can be hard on the pocketbook, so why not start the New Year by changing your financial habits? The library has books on personal finance, reducing debt or making a savvy household budget. We even have handy online resources and classes to help small business owners.

For many people, healthy living is an important goal. Check out our yoga DVDs or weight-lifting books and find out what inspires you to move. Cookbooks that focus on vegetarian dishes or diabetic cooking are available at many branches. Don't forget that stress places an important role in health, so make time in 2008 to relax with your favorite authors and a cup or two of winter tea.

New Year, New Tax Return

The good news: Tax preparation season is upon us and volunteers from the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program will be on hand to help. Starting January 23 and continuing through April 15, the volunteers will assist persons with low incomes and senior citizens needing help with the basic 1040 and 1040EZ tax forms. Services will be provided at locations throughout the city, including select library locations. Check out the library website for more information.

The bad news: In December, Congress enacted a change to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) rules. In order to update their tax forms and processing software to comply with the new rules, the IRS is projecting a delay in refunds for some taxpayers. According to the IRS, “the only people affected are those using any of five specific forms related to AMT calculations”:

• Form 8863, Education Credits
• Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits
• Schedule 2 (Form 1040A), Child and Dependent Care Expenses for Form 1040A Filers
• Form 8396, Mortgage Interest Credit
• Form 8859, District of Columbia First-Time Homebuyer Credit

The IRS website provides a detailed explanation of the AMT changes and recommendations to minimize the delay in getting a refund. Unfortunately this delay doesn't change the April 15th deadline for submitting returns.

L33t Speak Takes Top Honor

1. w00t (interjection) – expressing joy (it could be after a triumph, or for no reason at all); similar in use to the word "yay"
Example: w00t! I won the contest!

Beating such other entries as “Pecksniffian” (unctuously hypocritical) and “sardoodledom” (mechanically contrived plot structure and stereotyped or unrealistic characterization in drama), “w00t!” was chosen by readers of the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary as 2007’s Word of the Year.

Though this doesn't guarantee its inclusion in the Merriam-Webster print edition, the online editors point out that this honor "might just improve its chances." The word does appear in Merriam-Webster's open online dictionary, a user supported dictionary in the same vein as Wiktionary.

w00t!'s exact origin is uncertain, but it is closely linked to online culture. Tracking etymology and usage – an essential criteria in choosing words for dictionaries – is made easier these days for these types of words because of Google's near-complete archive of Usenet newsgroup posts. Its earliest documented usage (using a double-o instead of the now-common double-zero) is linked to a popular song from 1993, “Whoot, There It Is” by the Florida rappers 95 South.

American lexicographer and public radio show host Grant Barrett provides an in-depth history of w00t! in his blog, The Lexicographer’s Rules.

New Librarian Award Nominations Due

John Asbell, collection development librarian at UT-Pan American and chair of the Outstanding New Librarian Award committee of the Texas Library Association, recently announced a deadline for nominations for the award. Asbell writes:

“The New Members Round Table of TLA is honoring a librarian who is new to the profession by seeking nominations for the Outstanding New Librarian Award. The nominee must be a member of NMRT/TLA and must be employed full time as a professional librarian. Any person in the library profession who is familiar with the nominee’s education, experience, and professional activities and affiliations may nominate them. Self nominations are also accepted.”

If you want to nominate yourself or someone else who fits the above criteria, fill out the online application form. The deadline for nominations is February 18, 2008.

FEATURED Staff Recommendation

The SAN ANTONIO PUBLIC LIBRARY Staff Loves To Read!

Dianna Bowen (Central Library) takes flight with a good book.

I like to be constantly reading. I read on my lunch hour, I read while I knit, I read when I'm cleaning the house, and I even read while I'm driving. Yep, I am an audiophile. My first time with an audiobook was on a road-trip, and I didn't go back for a while. But when a friend told me that she liked the Janet Evanovich books even better on audio than in print, I had to check it out. The writing is already hilarious, but the narrator just puts the icing on the cake.

Favorite audio of all time
His Dark Materials Series - This series is so cool on audio, because they cast different actors for each role. I recommend this be listened to instead of read, because it is just so good!

Currently in my car CD Player
George Tenet's At the Center of the Storm. I always wanted to be a spy, and it's so interesting to hear the ins-and-outs of the CIA from the former head. He voices the introduction, and you can hear the grit of war in his voice.

Currently in my MP3 player
Loyalty in Death by J.D. Robb. I turned to this because when I finished the previous book, this one was checked out. Thank goodness for Overdrive—instant literary gratification. Turned out the narrator is wonderful—though I still giggle when I hear steamy scenes out loud.

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