March 2021 eNews you can use!
@ FUMO FAMILY LIBRARY
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Meet your new Fumo Family Library Branch Manager |
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Join me in welcoming Link Ross, former children's librarian at the South Philly Branch, who will serve as your new branch manager.
They are excited for the opportunity to work at such a lively branch and has many fun and educational ideas for the library going forward. Please introduce yourself to Link when you seem them.
Link also shares a passion for participating in community events with the book bike. In fact, they were one of a few librarians to secure a grant for the bike!
Meanwhile, Abbe Klebanoff, is headed out West for new adventures and leaves with many fond memories of the library and wishes all Fumo Library patrons a fond farewell. Her parting words: Stay safe and read a lot!
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In the meantime, we still do not know when the public will be allowed into the building for browsing and computer use. However, we are happy to make an appointment for you to pick up your library material holds.
Appointments are made every 15 minutes from 10:00 a.m. to noon and again from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Please call 215-685-1758 to make an appointment. Our drop box is open Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for your returns. Please note that we quarantine your books for a week. So, don't panic if they are not off your record.
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You can now sign up to get your vaccine in South Philly!! |
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Starting on 3/15 the EOM Athletic Association on 144 Moore St will provide vaccines by appointment only. You must fill out the vaccine interest form here to be eligible for an appointment.
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- The Poet X virtual Book Discussion
- Tuesday, April 20 @ 4:00 p.m.
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Join us online on Tuesday, April 20, 20214:00 P.M. for a facilitated public book discussion of the 2021 One Book, One Philadelphia Young Adult companion selection, The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo.
Wide-ranging conversation will be prompted by the themes in this novel in verse. Reading the book beforehand is not required to participate.
This event is geared for readers between the ages of 12 and 16 and will take place virtually.
A limited number of paperback giveaway copies of The Poet X are available to discussion participants on a first-registered basis. Registrants for this discussion will be contacted to pick up their books from Philadelphia City Institute.
Presented by South Philadelphia Libraries.
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This is a powerful Philadelphia Inquirer Opinion Piece written by a library employee and a member of the Friends of the Philadelphia City Institute.
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The Free Library of Philadelphia has fallen into an appalling state. Our system of 54 libraries is understaffed, inadequately maintained and undervalued. Library workers have offered invaluable digital and in-person services and programs to Philadelphians throughout the pandemic. We’ve connected with children and families virtually through storytimes and other activities, and physically through meal, book, and activity kit giveaways. We’ve connected small business owners, job seekers, unhoused Philadelphians, and returning citizens with information and resources critical to their survival. We’ve kept hope alive by providing books and other library materials through curbside material pickup at libraries throughout the city. And we’ve done it all in a time of great stress and anxiety.
Between 2009 and 2018, the Free Library of Philadelphia lost 22% of its workforce, and staffing numbers dropped drastically again in 2020. Free Library staff members have become magicians who make programs and services available with even the barest of resources. But burnout and scarcity hide just below the surface. Our city deserves a proactive library system that values its workers as its greatest asset. The effects of the coronavirus pandemic have only highlighted systemic problems that have existed for years.
Years of austerity budgets mean that our staffing levels were desperately low before the pandemic and now our numbers are decimated. In his book Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea, Mark Blyth calls austerity “dangerous” because “it doesn’t work in practice, [and] it relies on the poor paying for the mistakes of the rich.” There’s no money, officials lament. We can’t create money out of nothing, they cry! Yet major corporations and institutions like Comcast and the University of Pennsylvania are allowed to profit off the backs of the poor, while library workers, like other underfunded and undervalued public service workers, are asked to save humanity.
We don’t have to accept, as Mayor Kenney recently proposed, public services of lesser quantity and quality. If we re-envision our city’s tax structures, get rid of the 10-year tax abatement, and institute PILOTs, we can do what’s truly best for Philadelphians — prioritize the educational and cultural public services that embrace our shared humanity.
The coronavirus pandemic forced us to change the way we serve and connect with our communities, and inspired creativity and energy in library workers to re envision our future. We’ve learned to articulate that our value lies in the relationships we build, the connections we make, the information we provide, and the futures we inspire. What if we had a fully staffed and funded Free Library system? What if workers system-wide had the time to proactively plan innovative programming, without neglecting core services and programs? What if every neighborhood library had full-time workers dedicated to afterschool programming? What if all neighborhood libraries had enough staff on their rosters that they wouldn’t have to close when one person was sick? What if a restored materials budget allowed shorter than six months (or longer) wait times for popular books? What if computer labs were able to be used because there were actually enough staff to open them?
Public libraries are known as welcoming, reliable places with friendly, professional workers, ideal for an elderly person who needs help resetting their passwords or just someone to chat with, or a desperate student who needs a reference librarian and a computer to succeed at school. Full-time library workers are an essential part of this picture. Libraries are the heart of a neighborhood, central hubs of activity that keep young people safe and occupied, seniors and neighbors connected, and much more. In a city with only seven trained school librarians (as of last year), public libraries are relied upon even more heavily to provide critical information literacy instruction to Philadelphians of all ages. Restoring service positions (such as school librarians) in all of our city departments must be a priority for our city.
As budget season looms, we call on all decision makers to remember that the human capacity to “do more with less” has limits. Fully funding public services means listening to the workers embedded in our neighborhoods, who hear the day-to-day concerns of Philadelphians, and who have the creativity and experience to meet crucial needs. Investing in public services is the only way forward and out of the devastation the coronavirus pandemic has wrought upon us.
Judith Everitt is a retired Reference Librarian in New Jersey public and school libraries and the president of the Friends of the Philadelphia City Institute Library. Erin Hoopes is a Free Library of Philadelphia worker.
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IRS NEW DEADLINE MAY 17, 2021
SEEKING FREE HELP WITH YOUR TAXES?
Check out these resources
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To prepare please bring the following:
* current driver’s license, state ID, passport, Green Card, or Employment Authorization card AND birth dates for all household members
* Social Security card (or other SS document with full SSN on it)
* W-2 and 1099 forms for income, pensions or Social Security, or unemployment received last year; plus your previous year’s tax return (if available)
* Year end statement for childcare expenses AND Social Security Number or Employer Identification Number of the provider
* 1098-T form for any college/ trade school expenses paid
* 1095-A statement (if applicable) AND Total all expenses plus bills/receipts for medicine and doctor’s visits as backup
* Property tax statement
Or call: Monday through Friday 10 to 4 at 215-454-6483.
Get Free Tax Prep Help from IRS
The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs offer free tax help for taxpayers who qualify. Find a provider near:
ProviderDistanceDatesHoursLanguagesAppointmentTzu Chi Foundation Philadelphia VITA Site
107 N 9th St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-627-1915
Volunteer Prepared Taxes
03 APR 2021 English
Chinese
Cantonese Chinatown Development Corporation (PCDC)
1001 Vine Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Volunteer Prepared Taxes
MON9:00AM-4:00PM TUE9:00AM-4:00PM WED9:00AM-4:00PM THU9:00AM-4:00PMFRI9:00AM-4:00PMSAT9:00AM-4:00PMSUN9:00AM-4:00PMEnglish
Cantonese
Mandarin
Chinese
Neighborhoods for Social Justice
846 N Broad St
2nd floor
Philadelphia, PA 19130
Volunteer Prepared Taxes
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PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY RESOURCES
(Click on links twice to get to web pages)
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Resources for Food Assistance
If you are out of work without pay, you may be eligible to receive food sourced from an ongoing food bank or food pantry here in Pennsylvania
For more information, Click on organizations.
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Returns & Curbside Pickup Underway
Drop off library materials (ONLY) in our dropbox:
Monday - Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Call us to schedule a pickup time for your library materials once you've received your notice
Monday - Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
You may now place hold on library materials
online or by calling 215-685-1758
Monday - Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
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Monday - Thursday
Free Books outside the library - while supplies last
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LIVE ON Fumo Library FACEBOOK |
Story time with Mr. John: Tuesdays @ 10:00 AM
Chair Yoga: Fridays @ 10:00 AM
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Phone numbers and Websites for you during COVID -19 |
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