The Soloist is the remarkable story of the bond between a journalist and a mentally ill, homeless, classically trained musician in Los Angeles. “The Soloist is a great read,” says Porchlight executive director Steve Schooler. “More importantly, the main characters - Nathaniel and Steve - help us understand the intertwined issues of homelessness and mental health and inspire us to care more about the people who live in our midst.”

The Soloist is available both as a book and as a major motion picture starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx. Community members can get involved by either reading or viewing The Soloist. Porchlight and Madison Public Library have developed an online Community Read Tool Kit that is available to all book clubs and individuals, and prepared book club kits with multiple copies of the book which are available for checkout from the library. Members of the community are invited to read the book, see the movie, and join a discussion—either at home with friends or at the library.

We will be holding seven book discussions at libraries around the city. Please join us for a conversation about this “unique yet universal” story.

• Saturday, April 17, 1:30 p.m. at the South Madison Branch
• Film screening with Porchlight-led discussion to follow on Friday, May 14, 6:30 p.m. at the Alicia Ashman Branch - Register online or call 824-1780
• Tuesday, May 25, 7:00 p.m. at the Pinney Branch
• Wednesday, June 2, 6:30 p.m. at the Meadowridge Branch
• Wednesday, June 16, 7 p.m. at the Sequoya Branch
• Wednesday, July 14, 7 p.m. at the Central Library
• Wednesday, July 21, 6 p.m. at the Hawthorne Branch

Porchlight provides emergency shelter, food, employment services, counseling, and affordable transitional and permanent housing to homeless people in the Dane County area. Porchlight’s services are designed to foster independence and the transition into permanent housing and employment. For more information, visit their website.

• Record, playback and compare
• Conversation practice
• Interactive games
• Over 15,000 words of vocabulary
• Full-motion video
• Testing and scoring
• and much more

Just download the program on to your computer, and as long as you have any of the USB drives in your computer, your work will be saved and available to you.

Languages available are Arabic, Chinese, English for Spanish Speakers, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.  Look for Transparent Language in LINKcat.

The Urban League of Greater Madison and Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation are sponsoring a free hands-on workshop where you can receive help as you complete the online Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). No matter where you go to college, the FAFSA is the key to unlocking money for college-including federal grants (FREE money!) and low interest federal student loans. Don’t miss out!!

To fill out your FAFSA, you’ll need to bring your:

* Social Security number (or alien registration card)
* Driver’s license or equivalent
* 2009 federal tax returns (yours or your parents)
* 2008 federal tax returns if 2009 returns are not complete (yours or your parents)
* 2009 untaxed income record (yours or your parents)
* 2009 bank statements (yours or your parents)
* 2009 business and investment records (yours or your parents)

If you don’t have everything, bring what you can

Hosted by: Urban League of Greater Madison and Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation.
Seating is limited–please RSVP to Erin Broome at the contact information below.

When:

Wednesday, February 17
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Where:
Urban League of Greater Madison
2222 South Park Street, Madison
2nd Floor, Madison Community Foundation Training Room

For more information contact Erin Broome, 608-729-1214, ebroome@ulgm.org

If you go, peek into the South Madison Branch Library’s new home on the first floor of the Urban League building, coming Fall 2010!

• Monday, March 8, 4 - 6 p.m. at the Pinney Branch - Register online or call 224-7100
• Tuesday, March 9, 4 - 6 p.m. at the Sequoya Branch - Register online or call 266-6385
• Wednesday, March 10, 3:30 - 6 p.m. at the Lakeview Branch - Register online or call 246-4547
• Thursday, March 11, 6 - 8 p.m. at the Alicia Ashman Branch - Register online or call 824-1780
• Saturday, March 13, 1 - 3 p.m. at the South Madison Branch - Register online or call 266-6395

If you’d like to make your movie on your own, upload it to YouTube and send us the link at MadisonTeens@Gmail.com

At this time, the schedule is as follows. But check back–more dates will be added soon.

• Central Library–Every Monday through February, 12-4pm; Wednesdays, February 10 and 24, 10am-2pm.
• Hawthorne Library–Tuesday, January 26, 2-6pm
• Lakeview Library–Saturday, January 23, 12-4pm.
• Meadowridge Library–Wednesday, January 20, 12-3pm
• Sequoya Library–Wednesday, January 27, 3-7pm
• South Madison Library–Friday, January 29, 4-7pm

Bringing the following documents will help you complete the application and get benefits sooner:

• Identification for every member in the household, including driver’s license, SSN card, and birth certificate.
• Proof of income (pay stubs, unemployment stubs, social security or SSI letter, etc.)
• Housing expenses (rent, mortgage, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, etc.)
• Utility bills
• Medical bills that you pay (if you are 60 or older or disabled)

This latest project titled “Lines in the Sand” features poems that reach across territorial, cultural and interpersonal boundaries.  Paired with the abstract art of Sarah Spencer and produced on postcards, they made their debut at the first Lorine Niedecker Poetry Festival in Fort Atkinson and at the Harambee-South Madison Health & Family Center in October.

Join others in celebration of the life of Dr. King at the 25th Annual Madison-Dane County King Holiday Observance at the Overture Center Capital Theater at 6 p.m. on Monday, January 18. Former SCLC Education Director, Dorothy Cotton, who served under Dr. King’s direct supervision, will bring her message of hope on her first visit to Madison. Sponsored by the King Coalition and the Urban League of Greater Madison; see more information on Cotton and other ULGM sponsored events.

Madison Public Library has acquired an online subscription to the Value Line Investment Survey.  Formerly available in paper at six of our nine libraries, the new online service is available at all nine Madison public libraries, as well as to city of Madison residents with valid library cards.

Value Line is best known for the Investment Survey, one of the most widely read investment services in the world.  Value Line online offers the same one-sheet summary as the Investment Summary, but also includes more up to date information on the stocks covered, as well as stock screening, custom reports, industry information, historical data, and email alerts.  Madison Public Library’s subscription also includes the Value Line Special Situations Service.

Madison Public Library chose to switch from paper to online access to Value Line after much public input from individual investors and local investment clubs.  Paper access will continue for at least six months at most locations that currently subscribe, and you can call the Central Reference Desk to schedule a demo of the new service for yourself or your investment group.

Want to learn more?  Visit our online tutorial web site, watch our YouTube video tutorial below, or just log on and get started!  (Online help and investment advice is always available in the Education Section tab.

Sequoya Friends Book Sale
Saturday, December 5, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the Westgate Mall
At our new location–Westgate Mall next to TJ Maxx.

Bag sale on selected books at 2 p.m.

Art, gift quality books, CDs, science fiction, new fiction, collectibles, classics, cookbooks, mysteries, German, discount books, history, public policy, travel, and much more.

Can’t make it on the 5th? We’re holding an extra special additional sale this month on Saturday, December 19!

Friends of the South Madison Branch Library Holiday Book, AV and Bake Sale
Friday, December 4 and Saturday, December 5 at the South Madison Library
Friday 9 am - 7 pm, Saturday 9 am - 2 pm

Support your branch library AND do your holiday shopping at the same time! Loads of new and good-as-new books, DVDs, CDs, videos, cassettes and more. Books for kids, teens and adults! Many books in Spanish, too. All at affordable prices. Plus delicious cookies, candy, cakes and pies for your holiday table.

Blustery Days Book Sale
Thursday, December 10 - Monday, December 14 at the Pinney Library (No Sale Sunday, December 13)
Thursday: 6 - 8 p.m. Members Only Presale. Join at the door! Friday: 9 a.m. - 8:30 p.m. Saturday: 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday: 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.: All day $5 Bag Sale.

Friends of the Lakeview Branch Library Used Book Sale
Saturday, December 12, 9-5 p.m. at the Lakeview Branch
Hundreds of books, bargain prices. Bag sale 3-5 p.m

Madison Public Libraries also accept donations of materials. Contact your local library for more information about donating your used books or assisting with future sales.

Become a fan of the Library on Facebook and have our posts appear alongside your friends’ status updates. Follow @MadisonLibrary and @SequoyaLibrary on Twitter for real time news and info. Share our bookmarked resources on Delicious. See photos from events and libraries on Flickr - Sequoya Branch and all other Madison Libraries. Check out videos and tutorials on our YouTube channel. Keep track of the library through your favorite blog reader or RSS service with all of our RSS feeds.

We want your feedback: how do you want to use the internet to connect with us? Please take a minute to complete our quick Social Media survey. We’re looking forward to putting your ideas into practice!

Not sure what a “tweet” is? Perplexed about “tagging”? Check out our quick introduction to social media, with short descriptions of all of the sites we use to connect with you.