The Mahogany Project members Merri Anne Osborne, Tina Austin, and Robin Dawn performed a piece about how easy it is to fall into a cycle of debt and poverty during the annual Urban Poverty Forum, Sunday, Feb. 22, at Town Hall.  This year’s forum focused on the New Debt and how it effects the poor (particularly people of color) in the Pacific Northwest.  The featured speakers included Eddie Rye, host of the Urban Forum Northwest on 1150 AM Radio; Jonathan Grant, executive director of the Tenants Union and  Pamela Banks, president and chief Executive officer for the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle.  Susan Fried photo

Friends of the Public Library Provides Free Books to Seattle Teachers

More than 100 Seattle elementary school teachers will receive free books at the Friends of The Seattle Public Library’s annual Books for Teachers book sale this Saturday, Feb. 28.

The free books are made possible by a $15,000 grant from the Renee B. Fisher Foundation. The foundation offers grants to provide books to teachers in Title 1 schools where at least 75 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced lunches. Currently there are 36 Title 1 schools in Seattle.

The Friends’ Books for Teachers program has helped fill classroom libraries throughout Seattle since 2009.

At the book sale, each teacher will have vouchers to buy up to 100 books for classrooms. Two children's librarians from The Seattle Public Library will be on hand to help the teachers pick out books.

For more information about the Books for Teachers program, contact Maggie Taylor from the Friends of The Seattle Public Library at 206-612-8469 or maggiefishing@gmail.com.

Seattle Central Encourages High School Girls to Pursue IT Careers

More than 80 young women from seven area high schools will visit Seattle Central College on Friday, Feb. 27 to learn about IT careers as part of a special event called GLITTER – short for Get Launched in Technology through Education and Resources. Now in its eighth year, the half-day event allows participants to connect with women who have built successful IT careers, both on campus and in the private sector.

The event will feature a variety of workshops on technology, working in the IT field, applying to college and the navigating financial aid system, among others, to encourage those who want attend to start thinking about higher education. Current IT students will also offer a day-in-the-life look at what it’s like to study at Seattle Central. During lunch, the girls will hear from a panel of women currently employed in the IT field.

The program is hosted in partnership with local non-profit IGNITE (Inspiring Girls in Technology Evolution). The organization establishes chapters in schools across the globe to connect young girls with female mentors and role models who have careers in STEM fields. For more information go to www.seattlecentral.edu.

Free help with Tax Forms at the Rainier Beach Library

The Seattle Public Library and AARP have consolidated the free tax preparation service available in southeast Seattle. Tax help is no longer offered at the NewHolly Branch, but remains available at the Rainier Beach Branch.

Drop-in tax help at the Rainier Beach Branch, 9125 Rainier Ave. S., 206-386-1906 is offered on a first-come, first-served basis from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays through April 11.

Due to federal budget cuts, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is unable to provide the Library with certain tax forms and instruction booklets. Most IRS forms are available online at www.irs.gov. Black-and-white prints of the forms may be printed from Library computers for 15 cents per page. To request forms by mail, order online at IRS.gov/orderforms or call 1-800-829-3676.

Tax help at the Rainier Beach Branch is provided by AARP.

For more information, call the Rainier Beach Branch at 206-386-1906, visit spl.org/taxhelp, or www.spl.org.

Learn How to Start a Business at the Seattle Public Library

Entrepreneur and business coach Jeff Levy will present an overview on how to start and run a business from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 5 at the Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium.

Library events are free and open to the public. Seating is limited and registration is suggested. Parking is available in the Central Library garage for $6 after 5 p.m.

At the workshop, Levy will share stories from his experience as a business owner and manager. Attendees will learn the fundamentals of starting a business, including incorporation, financing, stakeholder development and how to write a business plan. After the presentation, there will be a question and answer period.

Levy is a nationally recognized consultant and coach to individuals interested in exploring self-employment. Levy was a founding member of Windswept Capital, president and COO of Spider Staging Corporation, an officer at Flow International, and executive vice-president and principal of SafeWorks LLC. He is the co-author of "Making the Jump into Small Business Ownership."

This event is co-sponsored by the Small Business Administration (SBA) Seattle District office.

For more information, call the Central Library at 206-386-4636 or www.spl.org.

Network with Government Contractors at Regional Forum

The Seattle Public Library and other regional government entities will meet and greet businesses and organizations at the 2015 Regional Contracting Forum (RCF) from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 10 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, 800 Convention Place, Seattle.

The event is free and everyone is welcome. Registration is required.

Representatives from the Library will be at the RCF to talk about free tools and resources that support business information needs. RCF attendees will have the opportunity to meet government contracting representatives and network with contractors, consultants, and suppliers all at one event.

For more information, call the Library at 206-386-4636 or www.spl.org.

Semi-Finals for The 2015 Global Reading Challenge Start March 3

Thousands of elementary school students from 54 Seattle public schools are gearing up for the 20th anniversary of The Seattle Public Library’s 2015 Global Reading Challenge, where students will compete as teams after they read and discuss a set of 10 books. The seven semi-final rounds will take place from March 3 through March 13 at The Seattle Public Library, Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium.

Library events are free and everyone is welcome. Registration is not required. Parking is available in the Central Library garage at the regular rates.

Dates and times for the semifinals in the Central Library's auditorium are as follows:

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 3 - Round 1

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 5 - Round 2

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Friday, March 6 - Round 3

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 10 - Round 4

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 11 - Round 5

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 12 - Round 6

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Friday, March 13 - Round 7

According to Global Reading Challenge rules, questions are read and repeated once. Teams have 30 seconds to write down the answer to a question.

A series of in-school challenges will take place in February at participating elementary schools. See the Library’s website for the list of participating schools. The top team from each school will then compete in semifinals against other top teams, and the winning schools from the semifinals will go on to compete in the city final. Adams Elementary School’s "The Little Team That Could" won the 2014 Global Reading Challenge.

The books for the 2015 Global Reading Challenge include:

"Home of the Brave" by Katherine Applegate

"Because of Winn-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo

"Orphan Trains: An Interactive History Adventure" by Elizabeth Raum

"An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

"How Tía Lola Learned to Teach" by Julia Alvarez

"Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything in It" by Sundee Frazier

"Seaglass Summer" by Anjali Banerjee

"The Game of Silence" by Louise Erdrich

"One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia

"Half and Half" by Lensey Namioka

The Library has also launched a suspenseful first episode of the Global Reading Challenge Book Team video. Will the Global Reading Challenge be shut down forever by the Evil Ignore-Ant and his Ignore Ray Machine? Will Book Team get kids to read again? Learn what’s at risk by watching the video on the Library's website and watch out for those laser beams!

The Global Reading Challenge is made possible by funding from The Seattle Public Library Foundation, The Norman Raab Foundation, Northwest Literacy Foundation, and the Ballard and Fremont Rotary clubs.

For more information, call The Seattle Public Library at 206-386-4636 or www.spl.org.