Adult Programming @ your library

2010-06-05T15:50:00.000-07:00

IT'S BEEN A WHILE
With all the changes like new management and new projects at the Florence Branch I've neglected to write anything in my blog since January. And what a bitter cold January is was! Just feel the heat now and you know that summer is here.

My Women & Finance Book Club is going great, here are the books we've read so far:

Women & Money: owning the power to control your destiny by Suze Orman
Money, a Memoir: women, emotions, and cash by Liz Perle
Rule #1: the simple strategy for successful investing in only 15 minutes a week by Phil Town
Pay It Down?: from debt to wealth on $10 a day by Jean Chatzky
Live Well on Less Than You Think: guide to achieving your funancial success by Fred Brock
7 Money Mantras for a Richer Life: how to live well with the money you have by Michelle Singletary
Pilgrimage to Warren Buffett's Omaha by Jeff Matthews
Make Money, Not Excuses: wake up, take charge, and overcome your financial fears forever by Jean Chatzky
Half the Sky: turning oppression into opportunity for women worldwide by Nicholas Kristof

Maybe you like basking in the sun with a hot new read, or perhaps you'd rather chill with a cool one. Granted, our atypical book club doesn't read steamy romances or bonechilling thrillers but we're learning a whole lot about money and finances and investments.

For example, Phil Town's Rule #1 taught us how to use free online resources like Yahoo Finance and MSN Money to research businesses to determine the best business to invest our money. He advocates in the style of Warren Buffett -- buy a good company that you know well, and buy it for less than it's value.

Town also showed us how to use simple formulas to figure out a company's future probabilities based on its 10-year history. I applied some of his principals and selected Sprint. I like Sprint Nextel. I'm a long time customer and they've provided me with and excellent product and superb service. That was a good start for me on selecting a company. The next thing I did was find the annual report and read the CEO's letter to his investors. I liked his style of writing and sensed that he was down to earth and honest about disclosing information that wasn't misleading.

I also found, on Yahoo Finance, the executives who are investing in Sprint; its history; its P/E (price per earnings ratio); and a lot of information that helped me determine that this was an good company whose stock was less than the value of the company. Hence, I made my first investment on my own through a local brokerage firm. Very exciting for me, especially since the stock has risen in value more than 10 percent in less than two months! I feel I made a good investment.

The book we're reading now for our June 15 discussion is a little different from what we've been reading. Half the Sky is a story about the harrows of women's sufferings around the world and how women are learning to break away and become self sufficient with the help of organizations that provide micro-loans to set up micro-businesses. With the cards stacked against them, these women are being empowered and learning to take control of money matters. It is said that if you educate a man you educate the man, but if you educate a woman you educate a village. Women are powerful creatures and we can all learn something from each other.

This well-written book is enlightening and inspiring. I hope you'll read it and join us for our next discussion on Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. at the Florence Branch Library.

Best,

Cynthia

2010-01-13T12:46:00.000-08:00

Rule #1 Investors
This month (January 2010), we’ll be discussing Phil Town’s “Rule #1: the simple strategy for successful investing in only 15 minutes a week.”

The author breaks ground by discussing the “myths” of investing, such as “you have to be an expert to manage money.” Then he helps shatter these myths by explaining that Rule #1 investors should live by four straightforward steps:

1. Find a wonderful business.
2. Know what it’s worth as a business
3. Buy it at 50 percent off
4. Repeat until very rich

The point of Town’s book is to teach us how to find a wonderful business that we can “buy” for half of what it’s worth. Sound simple? Well, the way he spells it out, yes, it’s simpler that any regular Jane might think, but it does start to get a little tricky when he introduces formulas to determine what he refers to as “The Big Five” numbers – ROIC (return on investment capital); Sales Growth; EPS (earnings per share); Equity; and Cash. He assures us that with a little practice we can become a whiz at doing the math either with pencil and paper or by using the nifty calculators on his website, ruleoneinvestor.com, or at other online resources.

This book is packed with valuable information which I’m excited to discuss with my Women & Finance book club members. Hope to see you at our meeting next week – 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 19, at Florence Branch Library.

2009-12-16T11:00:00.000-08:00

Seasoned and Beginner Investors
Last night, at our Women & Finance Book Club meeting, six of us met to discuss two books, "Pay it Down" and "Live Well on Less Than You Think." There are some pretty saavy ladies in our group and one member in particular offered a wealth of information that went beyond the credit and debt issues and shared with us information about buying stock, U.S. Treasury bonds and different types of insurance. For example, she told us that the most sage piece of advice she's gleaned was that buying insurance should be easy to understand. If an insurance agent is trying to sell you whole or universal life insurance (or any kind of insurance) and you're not sure what he or she is talking about, DON'T BUY IT! Term insurance seems to be the most reasonable investment for most people. A book I recommend is "The Insurance Maze: how you can save money on insurance and still get the coverage you need" by Kimberly Lankford.

Our next meeting is Tuesday, Jan. 19 at the Florence Branch Library. We will read the book "Rule #1: the simple strategy for successful investing in only 15 minutes a week!" by Phil Town. Reserve a copy online or at any Omaha Public Library and join us.

2009-12-10T10:21:00.000-08:00

Breakfast With Santa
Several hundred children and parents attended Breakfast With Santa, a holiday family event at Florence Branch on December 5. The kids made christmas wreaths, and clever little birdfeeders made from pine cones, crisco, and bird seed. Donuts and beverages were another highlight and Santa was the biggest hit of all! The Florence Branch and the Recreation Center collaborated and co-hosted the event.

2009-12-10T09:55:00.000-08:00

Dashing Thru The Snow
Well, maybe not dashing but trudging rather. Blizzard-like conditions over the past two days meant trudging through the snow to get anywhere -- if you were brave enough to go out. If you headed to the library you found the doors locked because all locations were closed for two days. My Publisher computer class on Tuesday evening was therefore cancelled. Watch for the class to be rescheduled.

2009-11-23T14:51:00.000-08:00

The Holidays are Here
On a tight budget? Learn to make charming holiday cards on Publisher that will delight your friends and family. Register for a Microsoft Publisher Basics class scheduled for Dec. 3 at Omaha Public Library's Florence Branch. The cards are so easy to make. And Publisher is loaded with greeting card templates that you can customize with your own designs. You can make cards for Hanukkah, Christmas, Ramadan, Kwanzaa, New Year's, or any celebration you can imagine. Print them at your local print shop, on your home printer, or, if you're printing a small quantity on white paper, you can even print them at the library. Click HERE to register for the class.

2009-11-18T12:10:00.000-08:00

Women and Money, Money, Money

THANK YOU to all who were able to attend last night’s discussion, our second meeting, which went even better than I had anticipated. With nine of you in attendance, we discussed Suze Orman’s Women & Money: owning the power to control your destiny and a couple of other books from our reading list, including Jean Chatzky’s Pay it Down: from debt to wealth on $10 a day. Some of you are interested in becoming better at budgeting. Others of you are interested in learning more about how to set up trusts and the proper way to create a will and other important legal documents. Still others are interested in learning more about saving money, managing stocks, and investing wisely for the future. I am thrilled with the participation and the enthusiasm I witnessed last night. And thank you to Lora Mae Frecks for bringing the fabulous poppy seed cake, it was delicious!

READ ABOUT MONEY: One thing Suze Orman suggests women do to develop their money “acumen” is read money and finance related literature. Just once a month, she suggests, pick up a magazine (eg: Money, Newsweek, Kiplinger’s) or a newspaper (eg: The Wall Street Journal) and read any article that piques your interest. These periodicals and others are available at any Omaha Public Library, and you can actually check out the magazines and take them home for two weeks at a time.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Next month’s meeting is DECEMBER 15, 6:30 P.M. at Omaha Public Library's Florence Branch, 2920 Bondesson St. (Call 402-444-5299) Our meetings will last no longer than an hour, though you’re free to hang around until we close at 8 p.m. We’ll discuss one or both of these books, the choice is yours: Pay it Down: from debt to wealth on $10 a day by Jean Chatzky, and Live Well on Less Than You Think: guide to achieving your financial success by Fred Brock. Both books are available at OPL, reserve a copy now by calling 444-5299 or visit the online catalog at omahapubliclibrary.org.

Here's an updated BOOKLIST.

2009-10-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

Autumn Computer Classes

It's autumn and there's no time like the present. If you want to develop your computer skills by all means join me. I'll be teaching two beginning computer classes for the fearless and the fearful this November --- Internet Basics at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 10 and Microsoft Publisher Basics at 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 21. Basic keyboard and mouse skills are a prerequisite for the Internet Basics Class. Basic familiarity with Publisher is required.

If you need to hone your keyboard skills or improve your coordination skills in handling the computer mouse, we have some terrific tutorials on our website. While you're there, check out all of Omaha Public Library's computer classes and register for one (or more.)

All computer classes at Omaha Public Library are free!

2009-10-29T08:36:00.000-07:00

Thank you ladies for your interest!

Wow! I imagined there would be at least a little interest in the topic of women and money, but I didn't expect such a wonderful response -- so far there are 19 people signed up! I have room for one more.

Usually, a book club would enjoy a full attendance, but in this case I am sort of hoping that not everyone shows up at once. I do hope everyone reads the books though, whether or not they're able to attend the discussions. Because the women in my club have such varied interests we've decided to select two books at a time. The first book, as I've mentioned in my previous posts, is Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny by Suze Orman, and the second one is Pay It Down: From Debt to Wealth on $10 a day by Jean Chatzky.

In her book, “Women & Money,” Orman says that women have a “dysfunctional relationship” with money. Women have made extraordinary progress over the last four decades; but Orman’s investigation discovered that when it comes to money, very little has changed – women “hand over money matters and refuse to take responsibility as they do in no other area of their lives.”

These are terrific books. I carefully selected the books so that we'll be reading books on varied topics. Another book, Money, a Memoir: Women, Emotions, and Cash by Liz Perle, reads like a novel and is very well written. I look forward to our upcoming discussions.

Have a great day!

2009-10-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

Our First Book Club Meeting

With wonderful ladies in attendance, our first meeting last night was a productive and delightful gathering. Aside from getting acquainted, we discussed my proposed BOOKLIST (a final version). We decided to select two books in advance to read over the next two months, and this is how we will continue to select the books to read, two at a time. As you may know, our first read is Suze Orman’s Women & Finance, which we’ll discuss in November. The second book is Pay it Down!: from debt to wealth on $10 a day by Jean Chatzky, which we’ll discuss in December. You can reserve a copy (or copies) of the book(s) online, or call us at 444-5299, or drop by any Omaha Public Library. Register HERE.

Women have made extraordinary progress over the last four decades yet Suze Orman’s research reveals that when it comes to money very little has changed. Women are quick to hand over their money matters to others. This book club belongs to its members and the purpose is to learn and share information about women and finances – from money management and debt reduction to investments; budgeting; building wealth with little money; the economy; the health care crisis; and any other topic that might interest you in particular. The material will be varied and interesting.

If you would like a copy of my final booklist and a meeting schedule please call me at 402-444-5392 and I can email the information to you, or stop by the library (Omaha Public Library's Florence Branch, 2920 Bondesson, Omaha) to pick up copies of the information.

Feel free to drop by our book discussion (every third Tuesdays of the month) as your schedule permits. We welcome your participation. Post a comment -- I’d love to hear from you.

Have a great day!

2009-10-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

Get a Handle on Your Computer Skills

Computer classes are scheduled for this fall and winter. If you want to learn how to use the Internet, or get creative with a desktop publishing program, or just brush up your skills, consider taking a free computer class at the Florence Branch Library. Classes are an hour long and packed with information you can use immediately. There are only three computers on which to teach a class but get on the waiting anyway -- if you don't mind buddying up we'll pair you with a partner.

Register HERE.

2009-10-10T14:55:00.000-07:00

Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny

Suze Orman, author of many books on personal finance, discovered that a surprising 90 percent of women who were surveyed in 2006 (by Allianz Insurance) rated themselves as feeling insecure when it came to their finances. According to the same survey, women are nearly twice as likely to retire in poverty as men.

Orman’s book, Women & Money: owning the power to control your destiny, is the first book we’ll read for our Women & Finance book club. I am excited that six women so far have signed up for the club. If you are at all interested in money matters stop by and join us at our first meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Omaha Public Library’s Florence Branch, 2920 Bondesson St. Call 402-444-5299 or CLICK HERE TO REGISTER. Request a copy of the book now and get started reading it. We’ll discuss it at our November meeting.

By the way, here’s a short list of money related books:

1. Women & Money: owning the power to control your destiny by Suze Orman (15 copies)

2. Money, a Memoir: women, emotions, and cash by Liz Perle (5 copies)
3. Rule #1: the simple strategy for successful investing in only 15 minutes a week! by Phil Town (11 copies)
4. Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich: 75 avoidable mistakes women make with money by Lois P. Frankel, PhD (9 copies)
5. Pay It Down!: from debt to wealth on $10 a day by Jean Chatzky (10 copies)
6. Investing Made Simple: the complete guide to understanding personal finance and individual investment opportunities by Anthony Loviscek (8 copies)
7. Live Well on Less Than You Think: guide to achieving your financial success by Fred Brock (10 copies)
8. The Long Tail: why the future of business is selling less of more by Chris Anderson (12 copies)
9. The Motley Fool You Have More Money Than You Think: the foolish guide to personal finance by David and Tom Gardner (9copies)
10. Freakonomics: a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything by Steven D. Levitt (20 copies)
11. Girl, Get Your Credit Straight: a sister’s guide to ditching your debt, mending your credit, and building a strong financial future by Glinda Bridgforth (6 copies)

2009-10-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

Autumn Computer Classes

It's autumn and there's no time like the present. If you want to develop your computer skills by all means join me. I'll be teaching two beginning computer classes for the fearless and the fearful this October --- Internet Basics at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 10 and Microsoft Publisher Basics at 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 21. Basic keyboard and mouse skills are a prerequisite for the Internet Basics Class. Basic familiarity with Publisher is required.

If you need to hone your keyboard skills or improve your coordination skills in handling the computer mouse, we have some terrific tutorials on our website. While you're there, check out all of Omaha Public Library's computer classes and register for one (or more.) All computer classes at Omaha Public Library are free!

2009-10-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

Open House to Feature George Walker

This season we have a special holiday event planned for all of our wonderful customers and friends. On December 23, from 4:30 to 6 p.m., Omaha's own George Walker, jazz musician, will be featured at our annual Holiday Open House at Omaha Public Library's Florence Branch. He will entertain us with his own jazz arrangements of standard holiday music as well as some traditional holiday tunes. George has worked and recorded with Lou Rawls, Bill Cosby, Barry White, Paul Humphrey and many more.

Our Holiday Open House is our way of saying thank you and spreading a little holiday cheer. When the threat of Florence Branch closing seemed immenent, so very many of you rallied to keep the library open. You voiced your objections and raised more than $35,000! Your efforts paid off and your library will remain open. We hope you'll make a note to stop by for some great holiday music and refreshments.

2009-09-29T10:23:00.000-07:00

BOOK LIST: Money, Money, Money!

This BOOK LIST, for the Women & Finance Book Club (see previous post), contains an abundance of titles that are appropriate for our purposes. We will select 11 books to read throughout the year. All book clubs teach us about something. The goal is that this book club will teach us something about respect for money.

2009-09-28T14:25:00.000-07:00

Women & Finance Book Club

All new! There is enough expressed interest that we're going ahead with our Women and Finance book club. We'll read Women & Money: owning the power to control your destiny by Suze Orman, and a variety of other current titles on finance. "After years of conversations with women, Suze Orman came face-to-face with this difficult truth: Despite the remarkable social advancements women have made over the past four decades, very little has changed in the way women deal with money. When it comes to matters of personal finance, women hand over control and refuse to take responsibility as they do in no other areas of their lives." The book jacket goes on to say what goes into a book with the title Women and Finance is "penetrating insight into how we arrived at this condition and a careful assessment of the far reaching consequences of this reckless behavior -- for ourselves and for our daughters."

This book club, like all book clubs, is about learning, camaraderie, and fun. Our first meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 20 at Omaha Public Library's Florence Branch, 2920 Bondesson. Our phone number is 402-444-5299. Bring your ideas and join me on this adventure.

2009-09-24T15:47:00.000-07:00

Book Groupies for Your Book Club

Omaha Public Library’s BOOK GROUPIES is a service that loans books (in a nifty canvas bag with a discussion guide) to book clubs, both in and outside of the library. Think of the convenience of not having to run all over town looking a copy of whatever book your club has assigned. Below is a list of the titles currently available, but if you’re interested in checking out a bag of books and they’re already reserved ask for other titles, we have dozens and dozens of great reads. Here is a list of our 2009 titles. Visit Omaha Public Library's BOOK GROUPIES page for more information.

Waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly by Robert Dalby

The Cleanup by Sean Doolittle

Red Queen by Margaret Drabble

The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan

Middlemarch by George Eliot

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Prairyerth by William Least Heat Moon

Clue for the Puzzle Lady by Parnell Hill (mystery)

Stranger House by Reginald Hill

I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb

Killing Mister Watson by Peter Matthiessen

The Lost Boy by David Pelzer

The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard (mystery)

Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier

The Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

The Turk and My Mother by Mary Helen Stefaniak

The Little Friend by Donna Tartt

The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler

2009-09-24T14:15:00.000-07:00

Book Tease - "Lottery" by Patricia Wood

"Patricia Wood asks readers to experience life in an unexpected, sometimes uncomfortable, often humorous way. The consistent voice and emotional logic of the first-person narration anchors readers securely in Perry's world, gently prodding them to reexamine intelligence, capability, and at what point money affects society's perceptions. Lottery simply reads like a real story about real people in the best possible way, leaving readers with a memorable character whose voice and world linger in one's imagination." -- The Miami Herald

Visit Reading Group Guides for more information on this wonderful book. I hope you'll read it and join our discussion on October 28 at Omaha Public Library's Florence Branch (444-5299).

2009-09-22T16:39:00.000-07:00

Join Our Florence Branch Book Club

Florence branch is proud to be sponsoring a very active book club which was established years ago. Facilitated by Lillian Wunch, former manager of the Florence Branch Library, the club features a new read every month. The October read is Lottery by Patricia Wood. Anyone is welcome to join the discussion at any time. The club meets every fourth Wednesday of the month (except in November and December, so ask for the dates.) Just stop by the Florence Branch to get a copy of the book. Of course, you'll need to check it out with an Omaha Public Library card. If you don't have a card simply fill out an application and get one, they're free. We look forward to seeing you!

2009-09-22T16:37:00.001-07:00

Proposing a New Kind of Book Club

WOMEN & FINANCE BOOK CLUB Financial literacy is the ability to understand finance. I am proposing to start a new and different kind of book club, in addition to Lillian's club (see previous post), that will feature money-themed books. I know, I know, who ever heard of a book club that reads only books about money and personal finance? Let's give it a try. Our first meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on October 20 and if there's enough interest we'll meet every third Tuesday. Let's read, learn more about money matters, and make friends too. I hope you'll join us.