Who Are the Executive Officers of h.h.gregg?

"Who are the executive officers of h.h.gregg?  I also need the phone number and address in order to contact them."  The Newton Falls Public Library staff often gets questions for the contact information for companies from people who wish to express concerns, give positive feedback, or for investment purposes.

We were able to find the list of officers our patron needed at h.h.gregg's investor relations' website.  The address and phone number were located by our staff at www.hoovers.com.

Patrons seeking information about companies or investing are encouraged to examine our online research databases.  Go to our library's homepage, select Library Databases, then Clevnet Databases.  In the Business and Consumer Information section, patrons seeking information of this type will find several useful sources of information including Morningstar Investments. "Morningstar Investment Research Center provides independent, in-depth research and recommendations on 11,000 stocks, 24,000 mutual funds, and 950 exchange traded funds."  There are also a variety of books on investing that can be borrowed from the library, including  Worth It-- Not Worth It? Simple & Profitable Answers to Life's Tough Financial Questions by  Jack Otter and What Would Ben Graham Do Now? A New Value Investing Playbook for A Global Age by Jeffrey Alan Towson. Library patrons may also borrow Forbes, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, and Money magazines.

What is the Phone Number for Small Claims Court?

“What is the phone number for Small Claims Court in Newton Falls?” the individual on the phone asked.  The Newton Falls Public Library staff found the number for Municipal Court in the phone book, but wasn’t sure if it would be the same for Small Claims.

Searching online for ‘”small claims court Newton Falls” took us to the Municipal Court’s website, newtonfallscourt.com.  Here the patron may find Small Claims Information.  There is a wealth of useful information for those both filing the claim and having a claim filed against them.  Included are: General Rules, Introduction, How to Begin, Place of Hearings, Preparing Your Case, Going to Court, Present Your Best Case, Decisions, Satisfaction of Judgment, Collecting a Judgment, Default Judgments, Lists of Assets and Liabilities, Judgment Debtor, Exams / Personal Exam, Garnishments, Limits and Exceptions, Execution, Exemptions, and Liens.

If our caller had wished, a copy of Everybody's Guide to Small Claims Court by Ralph E. Warner or How to Win Your Case in Small Claims Court without A Lawyer by Charlie Mann could have been borrowed through our shared Clevnet catalog.

Can You Find Me the Phone Number for Grey Duck Garlic?

“Can you find me the phone number for Grey Duck Garlic?” This was a question the Newton Falls Public Library librarians received earlier this year. “I want to sell the garlic I grew this summer and I’m not sure how much to charge for it.  Can you tell me how much organic garlic is selling for?” The staff, seeing how well the Library Sprouts’ garden was growing, could understand how the questioner was finding that he had enough to sell.

GreyDuck Garlic is certified organic and sells thirteen varieties of garlic. We were able to obtain their phone number and online order form for our patron.

Searching online for “mahoning valley garlic farm” we were able to answer the second question.  Miller’s Garlic Farm, a locally owned farm, has a small retail store at The Coin Shop located at 5160 Youngstown Poland Road. Their garlic may be ordered online.  The medium sells for $15 a pound, the large and extra large for $17 per pound. Our patron was happy to have the information he needed in order to price his product.

If you are looking for ideas for using your garden produce, check out the library’s Harvest display.  There is also a large selection of cookbooks which may be borrowed.

Questions Needing Simple Answers

The librarians of the Newton Falls Public Library enjoy finding the answers to the questions asked by our patrons. During the day, many of the questions asked are of a similar type needing simple answers.

Some examples of these questions are:

·     

           “What is the phone number for AT&T corporate headquarters?” The www.att.com page for investor relations includes their main telephone number and a note explaining that “while corporate headquarters are in Dallas, the main telephone number uses a San Antonio area code.

·     

           “I need the plus 4 numbers following the 44444 zip code for my address.” The postal service website, www.usps.com, has a link to Look Up a Zip Code. Typing in the full street address with the 5 digit zip code brings up the additional 4 numbers specific to that address. The library’s full code is 44444-1608.

·         “I’m writing a paper and I need journal articles about substance and drug abuse.” The library has access to a wonderful online database which patrons can use to find a wealth of print resources stored electronically. This patron was directed to the library’s homepage, www.newtonfalls.org. Selecting the Ohio Web Library link, the patron next needs to select Resources; then in the section Magazines and Newspapers choose MasterFile Premier (EBSCOhost). By typing in the needed topic, expanding the search to related words and within the full text of the articles, and limiting the results to full text only the patron should be find all she needs. When citing information for papers, the bibliographic citations are also included. 

I'm Having a Problem with My Cable Company

“I’m having a problem with my cable company and can’t resolve the issue. I was told to contact my local franchise authority, but I can’t seem to locate a contact number. Can you help me?” Many of the Newton Falls Public Library staff also have cable service and were curious to see what could be found to assist this consumer.

Doing an Internet search of “local franchise authority cable Ohio” brought up the link [www.szd.com/media/news/media.1194.pdf] to the article Local Franchising of Cable Television in Ohio: A Review of SB 117 by Greg Dunn, Attorney, Schottenstein, Zox & Dunn. In the article it states “In the future, cable franchising in Ohio will be referred to as video

service authorization (VSA). The Ohio Department of Commerce will ultimately handle all of the cable television licenses (i.e. franchises) in Ohio.”

Taking this information, we searched Ohio.gov and found www.com.ohio.gov/admn/vsa. The page about Video Service Regulation includes links to the article Consumer Service Standards and File a Complaint. The latter link was for the flyer, The Cable Consumer Hotline [www.com.ohio.gov/admn/docs/admn_Cablehotlinecomplaint.pdf]. This had the information our patron needed for contacting someone about her problem.

• “Call toll free (800) 686-7826, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

(The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) Call Center will answer

your call and pass the information along to the Department of Commerce.)

(TTY/TDD: 1-800-750-0750)

• Fax a copy of the completed complaint form to (614) 644-1469.
• Email the completed complaint form to VSA@com.state.oh.us.
• Mail the completed complaint form to:

Ohio Department of Commerce

Attn: Video Service Section

77 S. High Street, 23rd Floor

Columbus, Ohio 43215

A copy of the complaint form is available at:

http://www.com.ohio.gov/admn/vsa/complaint.aspx”

How to Contact the President of the United States, Senators, & Congressmen

Sometimes the Newton Falls Public Library staff members are asked similar questions by different individuals. The following queries were made in the last few days and could be answered by using one site. “What is the phone number for the White House?” “Where can I send a letter to the President?” “How can I have the White House send a letter of recognition for special events like a 50th wedding anniversary or a 100th birthday?” “I want to contact my senator and representative. Where can I find that information?” www.whitehouse.gov is a wonderful resource for such questions.

At www.whitehouse.gov/contact you can find the following phone numbers - Comments: 202-456-1111, Switchboard: 202-456-1414 and FAX: 202-456-2461. At this site you are also able to contact President Obama and his staff electronically using the online form. For those preferring to contact them through the mail, the address is The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500.

The Office of Presidential Correspondence handles letters of greeting to United States citizens. The website www.About.com gives the following detailed instructions on how to ask for letters from the White House. Greetings can be requested for “a 50th, 60th, 70th or later wedding anniversary, birthday greetings for individuals turning 80 or older or veterans turning 70 or older, wedding (send your request after the event), baby's birth or adoption of a child, retirement after at least 30 years on the same job, Eagle Scout Award, Girl Scout Gold Award, or Bar/Bat Mitzvah or equivalent religious occasion. When you make a request, be sure to send it so that it is received at least six (6) weeks in advance of the event date. (Greetings are generally not sent after the event date, except for wedding congratulations and newborn acknowledgments.) Include the name and home address of honoree(s), form of address (Mr., Ms., Mrs., Dr., Miss, etc.) exact date of occasion (month, day, year), age (birthdays) or number of years of marriage, your (the requestor's) name and daytime phone number, any specific mailing instructions if other than to honoree's address,” and for a wedding include couple's married names and current or new address). Send the required information to the White House Greeting Office by mail or fax (address and fax number above). About.com notes that the office is presently swamped with requests and it is currently taking several months for the request to reach the office and to be mailed out.

Besides information about the current administration, this site also includes facts about all the presidents and first ladies; the White House; the executive, legislative and judicial branches of our government; and other links to resources such as the Senate, House of Representatives, CIA World Factbook, and USA.gov.