Date: Saturday, January 16 - Sunday, January 24, 2010
Location: Cobo Center
The NAIAS is one of the premier international auto shows in the world and the public show is where you get to see it all. This year the show features more than 700 vehicles, representing the most innovative designs in the world, with over 30 of those being worldwide introductions. Don't miss it for the world.

Children's Book Week has been celebrated since 1919 as a way to promote a love of reading in children.  There are book parties, storytelling festivals, special author and illustrator appearances...whatever communities feel will inspire young readers to read more. The idea for Children's Book Week really began in 1913 when Franklin K. Matthiews, librarian for the Boy Scouts of America, began touring the United States to promote higher standards in children's books. He enlisted the help of others in the publishing and library fields and a great event was born.

As the April 15^th Tax Deadline fast approaches don’t forget about the American Opportunity Credit. This credit which was part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act modifies existing education credits and makes them available to a broader range of taxpayers. It also adds required course materials to the list of qualifying expenses and allows the credit to be claimed for four post-secondary education years instead of two. Many of those eligible will qualify for the maximum annual credit of $2,500 per student. For more information visit IRS.gov.

Google is the biggest search engine in the world, but offers much more. Want to learn more about Google and how its [generally-free] technologies can increase your productivity, even on the go?

Check out our upcoming program, Google Apps Work for You, on Thursday, March 25, from 7:00-8:30PM. We'll cover search, docs, Gmail, and many lesser-known tools that work well for you or your business.

The presentation isn't complete, but you can get an idea of what we'll be talking about:

The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers has, as part of the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI), presented the K-12 standards's draft which is now available for public comment. The draft standards, developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators, and experts, seeks to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce. Public comment is encouraged and can be made until Friday, April 2, 2010.

CantonWiki is having a meetup at the library on Wednesday, March 10 at 7:00PM. The goal is to meet CantonWiki people and to figure out ways to make the site better. Come to the Purple Room (in the Children's Library). You can see the agenda and RSVP on the wiki.

Photo by katielips used by Creative Commons license.

Language blogs can help you learn about another culture as well as words and meanings that have altered, adapted or changed from one country to another.

Living abroad isn’t for everybody, but it just might be for you! It’s never too early to start collecting information that could change your life. Did you ever think of just picking up and moving to another country? Travel book publisher Moon has expanded their "Living Abroad", series. New volumes describe living in Panama, South Korea, Guatemala, China and Spain. Also the website "Living Abroad,"  offers free information, news and resources to help you on your way.

by entering the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Sweepstakes. IF you win (which you may not if you are at all like the Wimpy Kid...or if you do....something will go awry) you will win a special advance screening of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie with the film's cast AND the Jeff Kinney himself for your entire school on March 18th. Learn more by going to the movie sweepstakes website. Also check out fun and factual stuff at the official Diary of a Wimpy Kid website. The library has many copies of these terrific books, and will soon have one about the making of the upcoming movie as well. Let's hear it for the Wimpy Kid!

To demonstrate their tremendous enthusiasm for crime, mystery, and thriller fiction, the British are planning their first National Crime Fiction Week, to run from June 14 to 20, 2010. This event is sponsored by the Crime Writers Association. CWA members will take part in readings, discussions, readers' group events and workshops all over the country. Your favorite authors are already planning Murders in Libraries, Bodies in Bookshops and Strawberries and Crime at Village Fetes. For more information check out the National Crime Fiction Week website.

Do you know how much food you throw away each year? Ever wonder how much that's costing you? A new website, Love Food Hate Waste, has a ton of great information about how we can save money by wasting less. There are tips for making fresh produce last longer, recipes for using up the little bits of various foods you might have left over, and you can even add your own tips and join the community of folks to discuss and ask questions.

Photo by svacher used under Creative Commons license

MatchCollege.com is an excellent free website that helps you find the information you need about college, financial aid, tuition, admissions, and more. This website also lists the top careers (librarian came in respectfully at #141), and gives information related to salary, job condition, and employee satisfaction. Chosing a college can be a hard decision, but this website gives you plenty of information to make the choice a little easier.

On Tuesday, Google announced Buzz, a new product that performs functions similar to twitter, friendfeed, facebook, and foursquare, all rolled into Gmail and integrated into many other Google products. To catch up on the hubbub, check out this video:

And these blog posts:

Hey Geography fans! Check out lizardpoint to find cool geography quizzes. Test your skills at locating states, countries, or capitals. See how many points you can rack up plus learn where some cool places are! Have fun!

Here are some great sites for frugal advice - all available in your feed reader:

• Lifehacker - for example, their article The Best Times to Buy Anything, All Year Round
• MintLife Blog - such as Ready, Set, Action! What TV Characters Teach Us About Money
• The Grocery Cart Challenge - Can your family's grocery bill be $60 a week?
• Money Ning - Has a frugality category for budget-centric advice
• Get Rich Slowly - Another personal finance blog, frequently with cost-cutting advice

Also, some books here in CPL's collection:

The complete Tightwad gazette : promoting thrift as a viable alternative lifestyle by Amy Dacyczyn, a.k.a. The Frugal Zealot

Suddenly Frugal : How to Happier & Healthier for Less by Leah Ingram

Chef on a shoestring : more than 120 delicious, easy-on-the-budget recipes from America's best chefs by Andrew Freidman

Apparently there's a larger-than-normal sporting event going on this weekend. If you're not quite ready for the big game, here are some links that may interest you:

• Slate magazine shows what it would be like if famous filmmakers 'directed' the Super Bowl [via kottke]
• Freakonomics Blog at NYT ponders what it would be like to play football without a helmet, among other amusing things
• Mental Floss tests your knowledge of the Bud Bowl in their latest lunchtime quiz
• Lifehacker suggests using baking powder to make restaurant-quality wings at home
• The Onion covers the Super Bowl the way only they can
• Macworld gives some pointers for setting up your HDTV for the Super Bowl and Olympics
• Macworld also collected a list of great Super Bowl-related iPhone & iPod Touch apps
• Cooking Light presents a Super Bowl menu makeover that looks quite appetizing

Here are some books that may interest you this weekend, available here at CPL:

Football for dummies, 3rd edition by Howie Long, John Czarnecki

The ultimate Super Bowl book : a complete reference to the stats, stars, and stories behind football's biggest game-- and why the best team won by Bob McGinn ; foreword by Michael MacCambridge

A little something : more than 150 snacks, hors d'oeuvres,and appetizers for every craving and occasion by Susan Epstein

There's a new video website in town and it's just for kids! Tired of finding strange and innappropriate videos on Youtube? Then try out www.kideos.com It has different categories to choose from, including book characters, Muppets, Cute Animals, and more. You can also choose videos based on your age, from 0-12 years old. Kids can upload their own videos too. The site claims to be closely monitored so there shouldn't be any nasty surprises. Take a look and tell us what you think!

Braintrack.com has a full database of colleges and universities. Not only can you search by school, but also by location or career. This website also has plenty of helpful articles about financial aid, transferring, and even college student stories. The best part about Braintrack is that it's free!

The Administration on Aging (AoA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently published A Profile of Older Americans: 2009. The annual Profile of Older Americans was originally developed and researched by Donald G. Fowles, AoA. Saadia Greenberg, AoA, developed the 2009 edition Just a few highlights from this report:

• The older population (65+) numbered 38.9 million in 2008, an increase of 4.5 million or 13.0% since 1998
• The number of Americans aged 45-64 – who will reach 65 over the next two decades – increased by 31% during this decade
• Over one in every eight, or 12.8%, of the population is an older American
• Persons reaching age 65 have an average life expectancy of an additional 18.6 years (19.8 years for females and 17.1 years for males)

If you haven't already, you may want to check out what Time Inc. is calling Assignment Detroit, a year-long project with the intention of chronicling the life of the city of Detroit. It began in the Fall of 2009 and will continue until Fall 2010. The magazine has actually bought a house in Detroit and moved reporters and editors there from various magazines. Although the response has been mixed, you can follow the project via their blog, Detroit Blog, and view some videos about Detroit's economic plight including "How to Survive in Detroit?"
[Photo courtesy of eLibrary]