Library News
By Sharon Blank

First things first, and the first thing we'd like to do is to give a big "thank you" to everyone who came to hear the stories during Christmas in Millen. It's always good to see old friends and make new ones!

This is the busiest time of the year, and one of the most stressful - why not take a few minutes to relax, enjoy yourself and catch your breath before diving back into the holiday rush? The library has a great collection of magazines, plenty of computers to check your email or play a quick game, and comfy chairs to sit in. If you'd rather do your relaxing at home, we've also got lots of books and videos to take home with you, too!

If you know someone who's a real bookworm, come in and check out our great book sale! It's a dime for a paperback, a quarter for a hardback or $1 for a whole bag of books!

Don't have time to read to the little ones? We have our great story time every Wednesday at 4 p.m. Your child will get to listen to a seasonal story, do a creative craft and generally have a lot of fun while learning to be a lifelong learner!

The works of children's book illustrator Michael White will be on display in the library throughout the month of December.

The library will be closed starting Monday, Dec. 24, and will reopen Friday, Dec. 28.

Now, on to the books!

I DARE YOU: EMBRACE LIFE WITH PASSION by Joyce Meyer. Over the centuries, millions of people have asked why they are here. One of the country's favorite evangelists shares her view of the answer.

LOWCOUNTRY BOIL by Carl T. Smith. Sam Larkin was a merchant marine and an environmental officer in Louisiana … until he was unjustly imprisoned by an ambitious judge. He was finally released, and has started an art school in South Carolina. But the upper crust of Covington, S.C. is hip-deep in dirty money, and he finds himself an ally of an undercover agent who's trying to track the drugs flowing through the Carolina coast.

Links to these and other great sites can be found at www.sjrls.org or at sjrls.blogspot.com

Tax Reform at the Peach Pundit

Want to know what the fuss is about with Georgia Speaker Glenn Richardson's great plan? Want to know why so many people are speaking out against cutting property taxes? Here's a page with links to articles from all over Georgia so you can check them out yourself.

Philanthropy Statistics

Recent statistics on charitable giving in the U.S. Topics include percentage of households that give, average amount of contributions, types of giving (such as arts, education, health and social services), types of corporate donations, number of charitable organizations in the U.S. , number of religious congregations, volunteering activities and related data. From the National Philanthropic Trust.

URL: http:// www.nptrust.org/philanthropy/ philanthropy_stats.asp

Well, that's it for now - see you at the library!