No print tax forms 4 u!

The Duncan Banner is reporting a little secret Oklahoma librarians have known for a while. And it's a secret that will impact those without H&R Block.

Traditionally this time of year has librarians are found sorting through boxes from the state and getting tax form displays ready for the public -- not this year though:

This tax season, people expecting to get their Oklahoma tax forms at the Duncan Public Library will be in for a surprise.

No state tax forms will be delivered to any libraries, post offices or banks in Oklahoma in the next tax cycle.

Instead, the tax forms will be primarily available online. The Oklahoma Tax Commission will continue to mail tax forms to residents.

Library Director Ann Brown said, “Basically, the State of Oklahoma has decided not to do the bulk mailing. It’s not that we don’t want to carry them. We can’t get them.”
Brown said the library gets quite a few people picking up forms each year and, because of this change, they’ll have to find a way to get the forms or locate a computer to use.

I know at the university we would get a lot of students wanting the paper (normally so they could take it home for mom and dad to help).

“There’s a lot of people who move and the form goes to their old house,” Brown said. “It always seems to penalize the people who can afford it least.”

She said she thought the state was trying to reduce costs by doing away with additional tax forms.

Now the thing to keep in mind - is that the forms themselves are only a few pages - at 10 cents a copy one form will probably cost you less than 50 cents. BUT the directions on how to fill out the forms will cost you because they tend to run many pages. Of course you can always be like me and furniture and say screw the directions and then wonder why you have an extra leg to a chair.

Despite the lack of Oklahoma tax forms, the federal tax forms will still be available at the library, she said. The change will affect only the state forms.

The federal forms will be available starting Jan. 2.

Brown said people can call the taxpayer assistance number at 1-800-522-8165 to request a tax form. The Oklahoma Tax Commission will begin taking requests for forms during the last week of December.

“People can not only request forms, but they can also state they are very upset,” she said.

“It probably won’t do any good this year, but might make a difference next year.”

Although the state tax forms will not be available to be picked up at the library, people can still stop by the library and fill their forms out online.

And don't worry you all don't have to drive to Duncan to use the computers to file your taxes - this applies to other Oklahoma libraries as well. :-)

Duncan talks library stuff

Duncan Banner reports that DPL reviews annual report

On average, Duncan residents visited the Duncan Public Library only 3.9 times each during the 2006-07 fiscal year, as figured by the number of checkouts.

This was just one of several statistics addressed in the library’s annual report, which was presented to the library board Tuesday during its regular meeting.

Other items mentioned in the annual report included figures on demographics, grants received and money spent on books.

Library Director Ann Brown said something reflected differently on this year’s annual report from previous years was state aid.

“I did have funds left from state aid,” Brown said. “It carried over to this year.

“Usually, I don’t have any state aid left over.”

The library received $18,205 in state aid and spent $16,396 in state aid. The library had $1,809 left over.

Grants received by the library included $50 in state grants for the Oklahoma Reads Oklahoma Author Program, and $5,952 in Library Services & Technology Act grants.

The LSTA grants included the Gates Grant, which was used for library computers....

Duncan Public Library sets 5 year plan

Duncan Banner | Tentative five-year plan set by DPL

Tentative plans for the next five years at the Duncan Public Library have been set and approved.

The library board discussed the long-range plan, which covers from the 2007-08 fiscal year to the 2011-12 fiscal year, at the regular meeting Tuesday.

Board members approved the outline with a few changes.

Library Director Ann Brown said, “It gives us an idea of where we want to go. It kind of gives us a destination, and we can set goals to see if we can meet it.”

Having a long-range plan is not only a way for the library to know what to accomplish, but is also a requirement set by the state department of libraries.

“We have to have a long-range plan to send to the state,” Brown said.

Before the plan can be submitted to the state, it had to be approved by the board, which occurred unanimously during Tuesday’s meeting....