Alessio, Amy J., LaMantia, Katie, and Vinci, Emily. A Year of Programs for Millennials and More.

American Library Association. June 2015. c216p. index. ISBN 978-0-8389-1332-1. $49.00.

In this thoughtfully- conceived publication, Alessio, LaMantia, and Vinci, all librarians at the Schaumburg Township District Library in Schaumburg, Illinois, offer a year’s worth of customized and focused library programming for “millennials” and individuals in their early 40s. Taking an age- expansive approach to people comprising the “millennial” generation—this group is typically comprised of men and women who were born in the 1980s, 1990s, and the early 2000s-- the authors briefly introduce these library patrons in terms of their age cohorts, lifestyles, interests, and the ways in which libraries better can serve their needs. In the twelve following chapters, one for each month of the year, they then present an average of four, start-to-finish, sometimes month- specific, library programs for millennials and others. Each program guide sets forth pertinent information pertaining to organizing, coordinating, and effecting the program, not limited to preparation time, length of the program, size and age range of the targeted audience, a shopping list, setup guidelines, “make it happen” tips, program variations, and promotional ideas. The authors include many programs that have proven to be very popular and fun such as old school gaming, Oscar night, March Madness, Realistic Summer Reading and Media Programs for Adults, Literary Speed Dating, Shark Week Celebration, and writing workshops. The 13th chapter describes ten, quarterly or monthly, library clubs with ideas for sessions, crossover programs, variations, and more. While unfortunately this handbook omits the very important budgetary costs for each program, overall it will serve as a useful, go-to, how- to guide for many public librarians, who may be responsible for adult library programming. Written by experienced public librarians, it is very highly recommended for many public and some academic library book collections. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, American Library Association, Barnes & Noble.com

Goldsmith, Francisca. Libraries and the Affordable Care Act: Helping the Community Understand Health-Care Options.

ALA Editions. 2015. c112p. ISBN 978-08389-1288-1. $24.00. E-book B00ORWJ076 (Kindle)

Since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law in the United States, many public libraries have attempted to provide access to information about the law while educating communities about it. In this guide, the first of its kind written for library staff, Goldsmith (Consultant and Instructor at Infopeople; author of Graphic Novels Now and Crash Course in Weeding) provides best practices, advice, examples of libraries’ responses to the implementation of the new law, and more. Seeking to help libraries define the expectations and limitations for support roles as the new law is implemented, she offers an overview and context for the Affordable Care Act, basic information about health insurance and the health insurance exchanges, ways to know and assess community needs, functional library strategies and tools for building health awareness, discussions pertaining to ethical and legal matters, as well as considerations relating to health- and healthcare- related reference interviewing, programming, ongoing training, and advocacy. Including appendices of resources as well as end-of-chapter “to do lists,” this ambitious, short, general but not comprehensive, informative guide, while not a detailed how-to-manual setting forth how to implement health insurance, healthcare, and health awareness support programs and services in libraries, nevertheless may be of considerable interest to librarians and other staff members. As a basic, first “go-to,” reference resource, it is highly recommended for many public and other library book collections. Availability: Amazon.com, American Library Association, Barnes & Noble.com

Book Review: Rosen, Martin B. and Leibowitz, Abbie, M.D.. The Healthcare Survival Guide:

Cost-Saving Options for the Suddenly Unemployed and Anyone Else Who Wants to Save Money. Health Advocate Publishing. 2009. c.75p. illus. ISBN 978-0-9840696-0-6. $6.95. Kindle Edition (e-Book). $2.95

Written with the goal of helping Americans “’survive’” the current healthcare system that is not yet affordable, transparent, or accessible, this brief, clearly-presented, easy-to-read, practical publication, by Rosen (Cofounder, Chief Marketing Officer, and Executive Vice President, Health Advocate, Inc.), an accomplished marketing executive with broad-based experience in brand building, and Leibowitz (Cofounder, Chief Medical Officer, Executive Vice President, Health Advocate, Inc.; M.D.; Board Certified, Pediatrics; Fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics), a nationally recognized authority on managed care, clinical management, quality assurance, and medical data and information systems, purports to be a complete guide for unemployed workers who have lost their employer-based health insurance, those persons struggling to find affordable healthcare, and others striving to save on their medical costs. Divided into eleven short chapters averaging five pages each, it covers COBRA, low-cost health insurance and medical services, government programs including Medicaid and Medicare, comparison shopping for coverage, cost-cutting strategies, reducing your medical bills, discounted and free medications, taking charge of your health, and much more. Its attractive graphics, charts, illustrations, and periodic updates complement and supplement the text, which is available free for a limited time from the book’s companion website. Timely, informative, useful, and inspiring, this publication is highly recommended as a very basic resource for most, if not all, public library collections. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com

Papafagos, Diane. An Easy Computer Guide for Seniors and Beginners.

RoseDog Books. 2005. c.108p. illus. index. ISBN 978-0-8059-9407-0. $13.00. ISBN 978-0-8059-9407-0. $8.00 (E-book).

In this computer guide, intended for seniors and beginners, now retired Papafagos, with over twenty-four years of experience working with computers at Sweet Home Schools in Amherst, New York, The Research Triangle Institute in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and Lockheed Martin in Rivera Beach, Florida, introduces readers to computers, word processing, the Internet, and e-mail by means of easy-to-understand instructions and short, graphic dialogue boxes displayed in a step-by-step manner. Using the Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system and Microsoft Word, the author covers the aforementioned subjects in forty-one, brief chapters, averaging 2 pages each. In the first two sections of her publication, which comprise almost three quarters of her book, Papafagos sets forth information on the Windows operating system and word processing. She discusses numerous topics, not limited to computer hardware and maintenance, navigating within Windows, changing settings, the control panel, keyboarding shortcuts, formatting documents, saving, editing, and printing documents, working with multiple programs or documents, and manipulating computer files. In the last twenty or thirty pages, the author then proceeds to cover the Internet, searching the Internet, and Email. Her chapter on email is the longest one in the book at eleven pages, but it is not necessarily the best. It presents information on composing email, sending, receiving, replying to, and forwarding email, using the address book, uploading and downloading attachments, chat rooms, message boards, and newsgroups. While this publication has many features that make it a good guide for beginners, it also has other characteristics that limit its effectiveness and usefulness. Concise, clear, well-written, and adequately- illustrated, it also is slightly disorganized, outdated, and in need of additional content. The author needs to consider revising the order of the chapters so a more intuitive approach is taken. She should consider grouping chapters by sections and moving some chapters such as the one on “Internet Favorites” to appendices. Papafagos needs to adopt standard book publishing conventions, including a table of contents, sections, and numbered chapters. She needs to redo the index and reorganize it so that index terms do not consist of chapter headings beneath which subheadings are found. Index terms should be keywords that are filed alphabetically. The author also needs to update this edition to cover newer operating systems, software programs, and Internet applications. A chapter on Microsoft Excel would be useful. Papafagos may need to modify the book’s title or include more content for seniors. Its current title is slightly misleading since the book has not been customized for older readers. Finally, the author needs to include screenshots that are better labeled, a back-of-the book glossary of computer terms, a select bibliography, and appendices. This reference guide by an experienced computer professional will best serve readers who only possess basic computer skills and are learning computers on older operating systems and by means of older software packages. In need of reorganization, updating, and revision, it is not recommended for libraries. Review Copy. Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book as a member of the Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team. Visit dorrancebookstore.com to learn how you can become a member of the Book Review Team. Availability: RoseDog Books