I am committed to the truth, and to asking the questions that enable me to determine what the truth is. janet jai Vision and Values Saving Our Public Libraries or How I Spent My Summer I believe in libraries. In Spring 2010, I began to get more and more concerned about the difficult situations facing the Carnegie Library of PIttsburgh because of funding cuts. I am now a member of the Friends of the Lawrenceville Library and the Friends of the Main Carnegie LIbrary. As my involvement grew locally, I learned that libraries across the nation are facing similar challenges. At a time when they are needed more than ever, libraries are losing hours of operation, staff, branches, and more because of lack of funding. My concern grew to the point that I took a break from writing about voting issues to write: Saving Our Public Libraries, Why We Should, How We Can. Since this issue was so critical, I set myself a deadline of Fall 2010 to complete the book, and the book is now available. Saving Our Public Libraries empowers libraries and library supporters by providing many ways to get funding to keep library doors open. It includes the best library fundraising successes, practices, and ideas from more than 50 library experts across the U.S. Some are traditional fundraising methods. Many are extremely innovative. The book also provides library supporters with a basic understanding of how library funding works in the U.S. today. To learn more about Saving Our Public Libraries, Why We Should, How We Can or to purchase a copy, click here. jai Will Your Vote Count This Time? by janet jai Ms. Magazine, Winter 2008 Reprinted here with permission of Ms. magazine, copyright 2008. Click here to read the article in pdf format. janet jai is a Judge of Elections (Allegheny County, PA) and a journalist/speaker. She has been writing and reporting about voting issues since 2002. She has reviewed grants for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) in Washington, DC, and was an appointed member of the Allegheny County Citizens' Election System Advisory Panel. She has also taught "Voting in the U.S. Today" at the Chautauqua Institition in New York. jai's writing credits include: Ms. Magazine ,The Christian Science Monitor, alternet-org, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh Business Times, WQED Educational TV (Pittsburgh PA), and the Rochester (NY) Democrat & Chronicle. She is currently writing a book about voting in the U.S. today. jai's TV/radio reporting credits include: "Your Morning" on CN8-TV (covering a nine-state region out of Philadelphia), reporting from the polls for NPR in 2004 and 2008, The Ralph Bailey Show on KNZR Radio (CA), The Scott Leffler Show on WLVL Radio (NY), The Bob Cudmore Show on WVTL Radio (NY), and Life Lounge on KDKA Radio (PA). Why Vote? How To Protect Your Vote Voting Best Practices Saving Our Public Libraries Vision and Values Vision and Values is jai's firm, which is dedicated to communications that make a difference. It recently celebrated its 12th anniversary. jai is also a poet-artist (www.poem-of-the-month.com) and an antiques dealer. She says, "I have a patchwork quilt of a life, and I love every piece of it." A highlight of jai's writing life was covering the Nobel Peace Laureates Centennial in Oslo, Norway in 2001 on assignment for The Christian Science Monitor. She also wrote an op-ed about the Centennial called 2-1/2 Days. Vision and Values 842 North Euclid Ave. Pittsburgh , PA 15206 jai@vision-and-values.com