Month: April 2020

Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)

~ Sam Bardarik ~ Leave a comment

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA or Act) requires certain employers to provide their employees with expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19.  

The United States Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division administers and enforces the new law’s paid leave requirements. These provisions will apply from April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. Please go to https://www.uc.pa.gov/COVID-19/Pages/FFCRA.aspx for fact sheets and more information to determine if you are eligible.

How to Access Benefits during COVID-19

~ lshupp13 ~ Leave a comment

If you lost a job or your hours were cut because of COVID-19, you may be eligible for SNAP (food stamps), Medicaid, cash assistance (TANF), or heating bill assistance (LIHEAP).

If you need to apply for benefits or need to apply for additional benefits, please apply online using Compass, by downloading the MyCompass mobile app, or by calling 800-692-7462. All of Pennsylvania’s County Assistance Offices are closed to the public, but they are processing applications.

If you don’t have paperwork from your job (such as pay stubs or a letter about your hours), you should explain your loss of income in your own words. You can do that in the comments section of Compass.

If any of your benefits are cut (Social Security, SNAP, TANF, Medicaid, and / or LIHEAP) or your application is denied, contact Legal Aid of Southeastern PA or call their helpline at 877-429-5994 for free legal aid.

For more information about what is needed to apply, check out this video by Maternal and Child Health Consortium.

100 years ago in the Philadelphia Inquirer

~ Book Club Mom ~ Leave a comment

The front page of the April 2, 1920 Philadelphia Inquirer reports that a Milford man, missing for 30 years, has returned “From Foreign Lands, Wealthy.” Inside, the “Housewife’s Economy Calendar” column offers advice on how to sew a blouse.

In the ads, Easter hats were $1.89 and men’s ties were $1.00.

And in the business section, American Can was trading at $48 a share.

Through our Philadelphia Inquirer Collection with Historical database, this and past issues of the Philadelphia Inquirer are available to view with your library card. We have scanned copies of the complete issues from 1829-1922 and January 2018 to current, including advertisements, classified, obituaries, etc.  Search the entire issue or current page; export features include citation format, print, e-mail, and download. Read full text of articles from 1981-current.

Sign in here with your library card and explore the news from the past!

 

Library Update April 2

~ Jenna P ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to Stay Connected with Chescolibraries. The Libraries are closed until April 30. Please do not return library materials at this time. All due dates have been extended to May 5, and current overdue materials will not continue to accrue fines until we reopen. To apply for a library card, please visit our Library Card Help page. For help with eBooks and eAudiobooks and OverDrive/Libby, please visit our OverDrive Help page. For any other questions, please visit our Contact Us page.

People® Magazine and more!

~ ccllauras ~ Leave a comment

People® Magazine is a favorite read for many, and digital copies of People® Magazine and over 80 other magazine titles are available from the library through Flipster to read from home! Read the most recent issue, or enjoy browsing through older issues.

To start exploring and to view a full list of titles on your computer, visit chescolibraries.org, select “Downloads,” scroll down the page to click on the Flipster button, and then enter your CCLS library card number. You can also download the Flipster app to get started on your mobile device.

Kids’ Update: E-Books for Kids (Teens, Too)!

~ clancygirl1 ~ Leave a comment

Our friends at Junior Library Guild have made their resources available for you to enjoy! On their JLG @ Home website you’ll find e-books, activities, virtual author visits, and much, much more. Just click and enjoy! AND thanks, to our friends @ JLG!

Do you have a Hula Hoop? This story has some tricks you might want to learn from The Hula-Hoopin’ Queen!

The Youth Services Staff at the Chester County Library and Hankin Branch are presenting Virtual Storytimes beginning April 27th. They will be for three different ages groups — 0 to 2 Year Olds, 3 & 4 Year Olds, and 5 & 6 Year Olds. Registration is required via the Events Calendar at https://chescolibraries.org/. Virtual Storytimes are not registered as multi-week sessions; you will need to register for each storytime individually.

LGBTQ+ Youth Support Groups

~ lshupp13 ~ Leave a comment

The Phoenixville and West Chester area LGBTQ+ youth support groups (also known as SPOT and Rainbow Phoenix) are continuing to meet virtually via Zoom! 

These meetings will be primarily for LGBTQIA+ identifying youth ages 14-18 and are facilitated by trained staff and volunteers from Planned Parenthood Southeast PA in partnership with the LGBT Equality Alliance of Chester County. If you are interested in joining our virtual meetings or have any questions please contact us at spot@ppsp.org 

Read and Search ‘Consumer Reports’ from Home!

~ makohl10 ~ Leave a comment

Doing your homework to be an informed consumer before making purchases is always a good thing. The library provides access to Consumer Reports through a database called MasterFile Premier. Once signed in with an active library card, you can simply click Publications on the top toolbar and then enter “Consumer Reports” in the second search box that appears. After clicking on the “Consumer Reports” record, you can browse all issues by year on the right-hand side or click “Search within this publication.”

If you are in need of help with accessing articles and ratings from Consumer Reports while the library is closed, please contact a librarian with your questions or requests by email (ref@ccls.org), voicemail (610-344-5957), or simply fill out the form on the Contact Us page. We’re here to help!

Happy Census Day!

~ Jamie ~ Leave a comment

Census DayHappy Census Day!

Has your household completed the Census yet? According to the map below from the U.S. Census Bureau, 46.6% of Chester County residents have responded to the Census so far. Replies to the Census determine the number of seats our state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives, how billions of dollars in federal funding is allocated, and even how your local library receives funding and allocates collection resources. For more information on how the U.S. Census Bureau is handling the Census during the COVID-19 pandemic, and general information on why the Census matters and how to respond, they’ve posted an update on their website here.

You can complete your household’s Census at my2020census.gov using your Census ID from your invitation letter or your home address, or you can call the Census Bureau and speak to a Census representative in the language you’re most comfortable with.

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