Donate your vehicle to support the Library District

Have a car, truck, or boat you’re no longer using, but don’t want to go through the hassle of selling it? The Library District accepts all donations of vehicles or vessels, running or not — including aircraft! You may even qualify for a tax deduction with your donation. To find out more about donating your used vehicle, visit Cars For Charity or contact Director Tamara Meredith at 360-385-6544.


Can You Spot a Scam?

The most common types of scams will target you through fake emails, text messages, voice calls, letters, or even someone who shows up at your front door unexpectedly. No matter which technique the scammer uses, your best defense is to know the red flags.

Three signs you’re being scammed:

  1. You’re told to act immediately
    Imposters want you to act before you have time to think. They may pretend to be a relative in need, a utility company, or even the IRS.
  2. They ask for your personal information.
    Never share codes, pin numbers, or personal information when contacted unexpectedly by phone, text, email, computer alert, or social media.
  3. You’re asked to pay in an unusual way.
    Be wary if asked to pay by wire transfer, gift card codes, or payment apps.

How to help protect yourself from scams:

  • Be cautious if being pressured to respond immediately — this is what scammers want you to do.
  • Be wary of unfamiliar calls, computer messages, texts, or emails requesting money or personal information.
  • Verify you are sending to a trusted recipient by calling a trusted or verified phone number from a recent bill or receipt, or by visiting an official website.
  • Never send money or provide credit card or online account information to anyone you do not know and trust.

See if you can spot a scam. Take a quiz!

Learn more ways to protect yourself.

Still not sure about something?

Ask a Librarian online or call us at 360-385-6544. We’ll help you verify!

2022 Tax Preparation

Image of hand holding pen writing the words Income Tax and a link to Preparation and Assistance.

 

Library staff can help you locate and print tax forms. We cannot provide tax advice or assistance with completing tax returns. The tax filing deadline is April 18, 2023.

IRS Resources

Free Tax Preparation Assistance

The AARP Foundation is providing free tax assistance and preparation through its Tax-Aide program. Click the link to see a location near you that provides assistance.

Free Tax Preparation in Jefferson County

IRS-certified tax assistance volunteers provide free tax preparation and e-filing services to low and middle-income taxpayers of all ages from January 30 – April 18, 2023. Appointment required.

Tax Information for Small Businesses

Tax and management resources for small businesses in Washington State.

MyFreeTaxes.com

MyFreeTaxes is a safe, and easy way for individuals and households earning less than $66,000 to file their federal and up to three state taxes for free. United Way partners with H&R Block to provide its premium online tax filing software to help you easily and accurately file your taxes from your smartphone or computer.

Citizenship Resources

Prepare for U.S. citizenship with these helpful resources, including a guide to naturalization, practice materials for the citizenship exam, and legal assistance to help you with the naturalization process.

Jefferson County Immigrant Rights Advocates
Free / Low-cost Legal Services through a collaborative agreement with the Kitsap Immigrant Assistance Center (KIAC). 

Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
Promotes justice by defending and advancing the rights of immigrants through direct legal services, systemic advocacy, and community education.

Washington Law Help 
A guide to legal information about your rights and responsibilities, community education events, and how to get help in Washington state.

CLINIC Citizenship Test
This study guide for the U.S. citizenship test explains the naturalization testing requirements and contains study units on U.S. history and civics.

USCIS – United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (en Español) Oversees lawful immigration to the United States. USCIS offers a civics practice test to help you test your knowledge of U.S. history and government.

Citizenship Multilingual Resources
100 civics test questions and answers for the naturalization test in English, Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

2022 Election & Voter Information

Election and Voter Information

FactCheck.org

Monitors the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases.

Vote Smart

Useful tools for voters, including voting records, politician biographies and contact information, interest group ratings, a collection of public statements, and campaign finance records.

 

Find an official drop box location near you.

Find local information about elections and voting.

Secretary of State Elections & Voting Information 

Information on voting in Washington from the Secretary of State.

Find Your Legislator

Find your legislative district, statewide and congressional district maps, and information about your legislator.

MyVote

Check your voter registration status, view your personal voting history, print a ballot, or check your ballot status. Find drop box and voting center locations.

Vote411

See the races on your ballot, compare candidates’ positions side-by-side, build your ballot with an online voters’ guide, and much more. 

 

 

COVID-19 Test Kits Available for Qualified Persons

COVID-19 Test Kits Available if you Qualify

January 12, 2022

The library is partnering with Jefferson County Public Health to distribute COVID test kits to persons who have had a direct exposure or have symptoms. Kits are not available to meet travel needs or other requests.

Each kit contains two tests as well as information on how to use them, where to report positive results, and the COVID Testing Flowchart.

To receive a kit, use the library’s or Bookmobile’s Curbside ServiceAfter arriving, simply call the Curbside phone number and staff will deliver the kit(s) to your vehicle/person, just like regular Curbside. No personal information will be taken other than the location of your vehicle to assist with kit delivery.

Jefferson County Public Health: COVID-19 Testing Information

Questions? Call or email us!
(360) 385-6544 or information@jclibrary.info

A Letter from our Trustees about Vaccination

October 13, 2021

Recently, the library district has been asked about its approach to COVID vaccinations multiple times, which suggests that it would be useful for us to share the answers as widely as possible; to keep our community informed, and to invite other questions you may have.

Q: Are Library staff required to be vaccinated?
A: No, our Library staff do not fall under either state or federal vaccination mandates.
Our library district is an independent junior taxing district governed by a local Board of Trustees. Trustees could choose to mandate vaccination or offer incentives but have chosen not to do so.
Why? Because 100% of the Board, staff, and volunteers are already fully vaccinated.
Each has made the decision that being vaccinated is the best way to protect themselves, their families, their work colleagues, and their community. Additionally, this choice reduces risk for the library district. It better protects our assets—our staff—and helps ensure continuity of operations, with less possibility of multiple staff needing to quarantine or require medical attention should an outbreak occur.

Q: Does the library district require proof of vaccination to enter the Library or Bookmobile?
A: No, the library district does not ask for proof of vaccination status to use our facilities.

Local and regional mandates requiring proof of vaccination are designed for those businesses where patrons take
off their masks to eat, exercise, etc. It does not apply to library facilities, where staff and patrons are fully masked and socially distanced while indoors.

Library staff are dedicated to combatting misinformation, disinformation, and other “fake news” by applying their
years of training in media and information literacies. In libraries, it is not “trust, but verify” – it’s “verify, then trust.” The fact that all of the library district’s staff, volunteers, and Trustees have placed their trust in vaccines, masks, and social distancing is a strong endorsement.

Public libraries are founded on the principles of freedom of speech, the right to privacy, and equitable access.
Maintaining that focus during a public health crisis has been challenging, but we believe the district has achieved
a balance that respects personal freedoms while providing services that meet our community’s public health needs
in the safest manner possible. We encourage you to continue asking our library staff questions – as author Neil
Gaiman noted, “Google will bring you back, you know, a hundred thousand answers. A librarian will bring you
back the right one.”

Stay safe and healthy,

The Jefferson County Library District Board of Trustees
Michael Kubec, Chair
Hal Beattie, Vice-Chair
Joan Chapdelaine, Secretary
Raj Rakhra, Trustee
Cheri Van Hoover, Trustee

Libby and OverDrive System Requirements

October 1, 2021

As of September 30, 2021, users of older Apple devices may have trouble using OverDrive desktop or mobile apps (including Libby). OverDrive has reported that the web certificate provider Let’s Encrypt is ending support for older operating systems and browsers. These certificates are relied on for secure connections for websites. As a result:

  • The Libby app will only function in iOS 10 and higher. To use Libby on an iOS device, users are required to update their device’s operating system to iOS 10 or newer, if possible. Steps to upgrade your device’s operating system can be found here. Please note that some devices, including most produced before 2012, cannot be updated and will no longer be able to run OverDrive/Libby apps.
  • The legacy “OverDrive for Mac” desktop app is now only supported on macOS 10.12.1 through 10.14. If possible, update your computer to one of these macOS versions. Note that if you update to macOS 15 or higher, you will be unable to use the legacy “Overdrive for Mac” app. Steps to update your computer’s operating system to a supported version can be found here.
  • Using older web browsers may result in problems loading the Washington Anytime Library (http://anytime.overdrive.com) or other Libby/OverDrive sites. Users should upgrade to a newer browser version.

If you are using a device that cannot be updated (such as an older iPad) your options for accessing Libby and OverDrive include:

  • Installing the Libby app on a different, newer device (mobile phone, tablet, etc.).
  • Accessing OverDrive materials through your computer by going to the Washington Anytime Library.

Please contact the library’s One-on-One Tech Help Online for assistance with accessing e-content or downloading the Libby app onto a newer device.

For more information about the Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate and the consequences of this change you can visit, DST Root CA X3 Expiration (September 2021) – Let’s Encrypt (letsencrypt.org)

Contact-Free Library Services

 

 

Library Services to Keep You SafeThe library is committed to providing exceptional service to our patrons, even during these unusual times. We continue to work behind the scenes, including ordering and processing new materials, creating virtual online programming, establishing new ways of assisting you, and more. Here are some of our contact-free library services, designed to keep our community safe.

Contactless Holds Pickup

Place items on hold, then let library or Bookmobile staff deliver them to your trunk, rear seat, or on a designated table for pickup. Service Hours

Personal Picks
Don’t know what to read, watch or listen to? Fill out our new Personal Picks form and let library staff hand select items that match your interests!

WiFi Hotspots
Need internet access at home? The library has mobile Verizon Jetpack “MiFi” hotspots available for patrons to borrow. Reserve a MiFi

Wireless Printing
Let us print your digital files for you to pick up curbside from the library or Bookmobile. More information

3D Printing
Print a tool, a household item, a replacement part, or even a toy! Visit our 3D Printing page for information about how to search for designs, and how to submit them for printing.

One-on-One Tech Help
Get personalized technology assistance from the comfort of your own home. Register for a 30-minute tech help session with trained library staff.

Short-term Laptop Loans
Borrow a laptop for use on library property. Short-term checkouts are available Tuesday – Saturday when the library is open.

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