If you are looking for the answer to a question which involves the laws of the state of New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated might be the first place to look. These statutes are usually referred to as the New Hampshire RSAs. They are primary laws enacted by New Hampshire's General Court. They are then signed by the governor or allowed to become law.

The New Hampshire RSAs are available in print or in an online searchable version. The observation has been made that the only way to find something in the online version, is to first find it in the print version. In addition to being difficult to search, the online version comes with a disclaimer which users are advised to read. The online version is not the official version of the RSAs. It is posted by General Court Information Systems, and while it is assumed to be updated and complete, neither the Office of Legislative Services nor the West Publishing company, who publish the official version, assume any responsibility for its content.
In addition, the online version is updated only once a year just like the print version.

If you decide to use the print version, you will find all of the volumes on the reference shelves at the Nashua Public Library along with a general index. When searching the RSAs, you will need to find the title of the volume, the chapter number and the section by looking up the subject in the general index. For example: to locate what services the state library should be providing for its citizens, you would look in the general index for state library and then under that listing for services. The information under services reads 201- A:2. That means CHAPTER 201-A: THE STATE LIBRARY which will be found in Title 15 - 16 Education and Libraries, and finally, Section 201-A:2 Services of the State Library.

RSA volumes are updated yearly with the addition of a "pocket part" which is added to the back of the book. Entire RSA volumes are reprinted on a rotating schedule, so a set of RSAs could have years of publication ranging from 1997 - 2009 and all still be current thanks to the pocket parts in the back of each volume.

Some sections of the RSAs have been published as separate books by the state. This makes them much easier to search and read. Laws on banking, motor vehicles and boating, land use, and landlord - tenant dealings are all found in separate volumes in the Nashua Public Library reference section.

If you have any questions about the RSAs or are unable to find the section that you need, stop at the reference desk. We don't give legal advice, but we will gladly help you find what you need.

There's something notable about the Hugo and Nebula Award nominees this year. Check out the Hugo Award Nominees and the Nebula Award Nominees yourself and see if you can spot it.

Or read on to be spoiled on the answer!

In the past, the short fiction has mostly been drawn from 'The Big Three' magazines. This would be Asimov's (which you can borrow from the Nashua Public Library!), Analog, and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (F&SF). Even other notable print magazines didn't necessarily get a lot of love, such as Realms of Fantasy and Weird Tales.

But this year, there's a great diversity amongst the short fiction (novella, novelette, and short story) categories. A number of stories that were nominated for both awards first appeared in anthologies. Even cooler, a fair few of them were published in online venues.

What does this mean? It means that the people nominating for the awards (professionals in the case of the Nebula and fans who paid for WorldCon memberships for the Hugos) are reading more widely. Not only that, but they're finding good stories when they do.

But what does it mean for you as a reader? It means you can read a lot of these really cool stories. Online. For free!

And as a bonus, a lot of the sites also have podcasts, audio fiction. If reading on a screen isn't your thing, there's plenty of excellent science fiction and fantasy out there to listen to.

The one online magazine that appears over and over on both ballots is Clarkesworld. If you have the same interests I do, you may have seen ads for them on Facebook or other sites you visit. Clarkesworld in particular has some really cool artwork.

Another big name is Tor.com. You may recognize that name from the cover of a favorite book.

Some sites you may be less familiar with, but who are publishing some really cool stuff are:
Strange Horizons, Ideomancer, Fantasy Magazine, and Expanded Horizons. Most of these are well-known amongst science fiction and fantasy short story writers. Many of them pay pro or semi-pro rates (meaning slightly more than a pittance) and/or are read by professionals in the business, so getting published there will get you noticed. Plus, writers are readers as well, and we love to read this stuff!

Perhaps the best-known site for fantasy fiction podcasts is PodCastle. Go. Have a listen.

If short stories aren't for you, maybe you want something shorter? Here's two places that publish fiction in the form of tweets. Thaumatrope and Tweet the Meat. Add them to your twitter feed for a regular dose of short short short fiction.

The Nebula Awards will be handed out on May 15th at the Nebula Awards Banquet in Florida.

The Hugo Awards will be awarded in early September at this year's WorldCon in Australia.

As I listened today to one of our patrons complain about problems she faced at work, I thought of how rewarding it is to work in an environment where people are friendly, helpful and also interesting. But as we all know, there are all types of people in the world and thus all types of people in the workplace. Whether you make lattes at a coffee shop or work out of a corner office in a skyscraper, odds are at least one of your co-workers or superiors drives you crazy. Here are some books and websites to help you deal with difficult people.


Working with you is killing me : freeing yourself from emotional traps at work / Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster.
These authors offer an exit strategy--a highly practical guide to making situations with coworkers and employers workable. Readers probably will be be able to identify themselves and others in some of the example scenarios.

Dealing with difficult people / Harvard Business School Press part of the Results Driven Manager Series.
Helps managers develop skills to deal with difficult personalities and learn to work productively with them. Learn such skills as managing anger and negativity, using feedback to improve a situation, knowing when and how to hold people accountable for their actions and motivating underperformers.

Problem people at work : the essential survival guide to dealing with bosses, co-workers, employees, and outside clients / Marilyn Wheeler.
Develop strategies to deal with problem people through effective communication. The approach used throughout is how to get along, not get even. This book is a survival guide for dealing with difficult bosses, co-workers, employees, and clients.



201 ways to deal with difficult people : a quick-tip survival guide / Alan Axelrod & Jim Holtje.
Looks at real-world situations you face every day and provides strategies for turning "close encounters of the worst kind" into productive and profitable interactions.

Some additional resources to look at are:
> About.com's Rise above the fray: Options for dealing with difficult people at work,
> Dumb Little Main''s 9 Useful Strategies to Dealing with Difficult People at Work and
> About.com's The five (difficult) people you meet at work ... and how to get along with them.

Even though workplace weirdos make for amusing characters on shows like The Office, it's not so funny when you feel like you have a real-life Dwight Schrute bothering you all day. It's even less funny in a bad economy on days when you've had it and can't imagine any other possibilities that would cover the rent. Try to focus on the pieces of the situation you can control and acknowledge the ones that you can't.

Hollywood movie musicals have been around since the first talky – The Jazz Singer – was released in 1927. An offshoot of the stage musical, movie musicals are generally lavish, colorful, upbeat and fantastical. Happy, not sad; funny, not scary; a “reel” escape from reality for the movie-goer (or DVD watcher) who could use a break come Friday night.

The 1930s

Musicals were extremely popular in the 1930’s, with the Depression in full swing and the nation down and out. Director/choreographer Busby Berkeley attracted audiences in droves to his films, including:

Girl Crazy (1932)
The Gold Diggers of 1933
42nd Street (1933)
Footlight Parade (1933)
Dames (1934)
The Gold Diggers of 1935

Another major draw was debonaire dancer Fred Astaire and partner Ginger Rogers, who did everything Fred did but backwards. See them in:

The Gay Divorcee (1934)
Top Hat (1935) - a "must see" Astaire and Rogers dance film
Swing Time (1936)
Follow the Fleet (1936)
Shall We Dance (1937)

The decade culminated with the timeless hit musical, 1939’s The Wizard of Oz.

The 1940s

Musicals continued in popularity in the 1940s, with new talent emerging in films like:

Ziegfeld Girl (1941) – with young Judy Garland
Holiday Inn (1942) – with Bing Crosby debuting “White Christmas”
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) – with James Cagney as songwriter George M. Cohan
Cabin in the Sky (1943) – a groundbreaking black musical featuring Ethel Waters, Louis Armstrong and Lena Horne
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) – Judy Garland again directed by Vincente Minnelli
On the Town (1949) – with Gene Kelly

The 1950s and 60s’ brought some innovation the musical formula, with films like:

An American in Paris (1951) – featuring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron in one of most exciting dance routines ever filmed; music by George Gershwin.
Singing in the Rain (1952) – with Gene Kelly; considered by many to be the best
Hollywood musical ever made. A real treat!
The Girl Next Door (1953) – an obscure but delightful film with Dan Dailey and June Haver.
A Star is Born (1954)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Guys and Dolls (1955)
The King and I (1956)
The Pajama Game (1957) – choreographed by Bob Fosse and featuring Doris Day. Where Michael Jackson lifted his famous dance moves. No kidding!
Gigi (1958)
South Pacific (1958) - with Mitzi Gaynor and Rosanno Brazzi; music by Rodgers and Hammerstein.
West Side Story (1961) – music by Leonard Bernstein
The Music Man (1962)
A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
Mary Poppins (1964)
My Fair Lady (1964)
The Sound of Music (1965)

The 1970's and beyond

The musical lost its allure beginning in the 1970’s as realism in film took a stronger hold. But musicals age well, and judging from Sweeney Todd and Mamma Mia, they always have a following.

If you’re looking for lists of the best musicals, click on:

AFI (American Film Institute)'s 25 Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time

Entertainment Weekly's 25 Best Movie Musicals of All Time (April, 2008 issue)

Many of the titles from both are listed above, so click on a marvelous musical, place a reserve, and enjoy!

Why does the library want your email address? If you let us use email for your overdue and reserve notices, we save money (your tax dollars!) on postage. It also save lots of staff time, since our computer system sends the emails automatically and no one has to stuff envelopes.

What's in it for you? You'll get your overdue notices sooner than you would by mail, saving you money on fines. If you give us permission, we'll also send you our weekly events newsletter so you'll know what films, lectures, computer classes, kids' crafts, and other programs are going on at the library.

What we won't do is share your email address with anyone outside the library.

Please take a look at your profile today and make sure we have your current email address. Or call the circulation office at 589-4634.

You don't need me to tell you that pregnant women gain weight. Although they are not supposed to double the amount of food they eat (not literally eating for two), expecting mothers are hungry more often and have to add fat and calories to their diets. I can assure you, the weight doesn't all magically disappear when the baby is born. While you have to put on a few pounds, you don't want to go overboard.

Aside from eating veggies instead of that second bowl of ice cream, what can you do to ensure you don't put on too many extra pounds? Adding that baby weight does not mean you cannot stay active. According to the website What to Expect, "Active moms-to-be tend to sleep better, experience milder pregnancy symptoms (less-swollen ankles and fewer backaches, to name just a couple), have an easier time with labor and delivery, and bounce back sooner (and recover their figures faster) postpartum."* The type and amount of exercise you do depends on your likes, your abilities, and your fitness level pre-pregnancy. This is not the time to take up a new sport or engage is something somewhat risky, but you can continue many of your regular workouts with modifications and less intensity. I swam right to the end of my first pregnancy. I was in the pool less than a week before my daughter was born. I have also taken prenatal yoga and pump (light weights) classes.

If you are interested in learning more about the advantages of exercise during pregnancy, take a look at the articles on the What to Expect site or links from MedlinePlus.

Nashua Public Library has some books and videos to get you moving. If you want videos, check out
Prenatal Yoga and
Prenatal Yoga with Mimi Solaire : gentle yoga for a healthy pregnancy

You can also take a look at our books on prenatal yoga and pilates:
Bountiful, beautiful, blissful : experience the natural power of pregnancy and birth with Kundalini yoga and meditation
Inner beauty, inner light
Pilates for pregnancy : safe and natural exercises for before and after the birth

*"Pregnancy Workouts: Options for Everyone." What to Expect. http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/keeping-fit/options-for-everyone.aspx (accessed April 26, 2009).