Manchester City Library

         John Michael Crichton died unexpectedly on November 4th ”after a courageous and private battle against cancer”. Crichton was a well known novelist and filmmaker, famous for works like: “The Great Train Robbery”,  ”Coma”, “Jurassic Park”, “Lost World”, “Timeline”, “Congo” and the hit television series ER.  One of my fondest memories is one of those rare moments;  a sibling adventure whereby my brothers and I went to see Jurassic Park together in the new theatre multiplex in Concord.  Together we watched a furious and berserk Tyrannosaurus rex trash the museum and scientific laboratory that created it.  My younger brother watched in awe as the dinosaurs that he loved to study came to life in front of him–his bag of Reese’s Pieces forgotten in his tensly clutched hand.  One wonders how the Museum of Science in Boston or the Currier Museum would fare against such a T.rex onslaught???  Crichton excelled at weaving stories that melded futuristic science with fantasy, adventure and added a dash of thrill and horror that could leave readers on the edge of their seats or hiding under their beds. The worlds and scenarios that Michael Crichton brought to life on page and screen were rich and descriptive and his stories were engrossing, compelling and adventurous.  I hope that I am not alone in thinking that the world is a somewhat smaller and darker place without Michael Crichton and his creative talent in it. 

                                                                                        ~Yvonne~

Bringing you our Library events via RSS over the last year or so has meant duplicating efforts between two systems: our calendar and our blog. Blessedly for us, our calendar provider has added RSS capability saving us a lot of work.

• If you follow events via an RSS reader, please change our address to the new one.
• If you follow events via .ical (I know there’s at least one of you!), unfortunately, the new system doesn’t handle .ical. But please contact me to let me know that you used and/or will miss the service - if there’s enough of you, I will start to look at ways to reinstate it.
• If you follow our events via email, you should be all set - I made the appropriate change on our side last week.

I don’t remember much from my childhood, but I still remember tagging along with my parents when they went to vote in the 1988 presidential election.  I was seven, and thought it to be a strange and fascinating ordeal.  What I remember most clearly is when a friend of the family, who was exiting the polls, suggested loudly that we vote for Bush.  My parents just shook their heads.  I can’t say I knew much about what was going on, but it certainly made an impression.

Today’s parents can do more than just bring their kids when they go to vote—children can cast their own votes, thanks to the Kids Voting NH program.  All the Manchester wards are participating in the program, which is geared toward youth in grades K-12.  To help your child make an informed choice when they vote, Scholastic News Online is one example of a website that has helpful resources for youth and parents.  You can also consult our Oct. 24th post for grown-up voting information.

If your children are too young to understand the role of elected officials, you can still introduce them to the concept of voting by bringing them to the library.  From now until November 29th, kids from preschool to 3rd grade can vote for their favorite nominee for the Ladybug Picture Book Award 2008.  You can help your little ones make an informed choice of their own by visiting the online catalog or calling the children’s room at 624-6550 ext. 328 to reserve some of these titles.

-Amy G.

Just a friendly reminder to “fall back” this weekend. Daylight savings ends on November 2nd.

Are you ready to vote? Below are answers to questions you might have:

1. How late can I register to Vote?

Per the city website:
Last Chance To Register Before Election Day is this Saturday, 10 / 25 / 08.
Or, you can register on election day.

Bring 2 pieces of identification. However, it is wise to AVOID LONG LINES ON ELECTION DAY! REGISTER EARLY… You may register at the City Clerk’s office during normal business hours this week (8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday) or at the Voter Registration Drives Wednesday, October 22 from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm at the City Clerk’s office, or on Saturday October 25th from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm at the City Clerk’s Office.

The City Clerk is located in the City Hall at One City Hall Plaza, Manchester.
For Questions on how to register to vote, please call (603) 624-6455.

2. Where Do I Vote?

3. I hate going into the booth and seeing all these names I’ve never seen before. Can I get a sample ballot that I can use to research local candidates beforehand?
Manchester City Ballots by Ward
Lists links for city ballots by Ward. Also includes absentee ballot request form and where to mail it. Need a ride to the poll? This is the place to find out.

4. I need information on absentee voting for uniformed and overseas citizens. Where do I go?
Federal Voting Assistance Program

5. I can’t decide who to vote For. Where do find FACTUAL information on the Presidential and Congressional Candidates?

OpenSecrets.org: Money in Politics — See Who’s Giving & Who’s Getting
Opensecrets is brought to you by the good folks at the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington D.C., founded in 1983 by U.S. Senators Frank Church (D-Idaho) and Hugh Scott (R-Pa.).
This site gives information on who is contributing to presidential and congressional candidates. For instance, if you click on the tab “Politics and Elections”, then click on “Presidential”, then choose a candidate you’d like to know more about by clicking on the name appearing below their picture, then click the smaller tab called “industries”, you can see a break-down of how much that candidate is getting from the top 20 industries. Try it! Website is updated monthly.

Project Vote Smart - American Government, Elections, Candidates and Voting
What is Senator Sununu’s entire voting record on the environment? What is Carol-Shea Porters entire voting record on business and consumer issues? These questions can be answered here. Save yourself time pouring over newspaper articles on the candidates and get to the answers you want quickly. Votesmart is set up for the voter and the voter only!

6. How do I get Information on local candidates?

After an exhaustive search on several state web sites, as well as the 2 major party state web sites and after consulting with my faithful co-workers, the result is: there’s no easy answer here. I found information at candidate web sites (although this information won’t be impartial) and by Googling their name. One candidate is even on Wikipedia! The good old newspaper will also have information on local candidates, too.

7. I have other questions, like, I’m a student in New Hampshire–Where do I vote?
What district am I in? Who ran for governor in 2004 and how did they do in my county? Where do I get a list of all registered lobbyists in New Hampshire?
Below is Miscellaneous New Hampshire Voter Information
New Hampshire State Election Office

The presidential and congressional voting information can also be found on the government documents section of the library website.
At the website, go to: Research>Government Documents

Most important thing? Please don’t forget to vote on November 4.