Posted on 07/01/2013 5:17:15 PM PDT by drewh
The White House is turning to the network of public libraries to deliver Obamacare information and advice to the nation.
As it begins promoting the program that will require all Americans to have health insurance or pay a fine starting next year, the administration is dealing with the biggest hurdle in its effort: Where Americans go to get information on the new program.
Enter public libraries, already the go-to site for many Americans looking for tax forms every April. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which is in charge of Obamacare, has teamed with the Institute of Museum and Library Services to get librarians ready to help citizens learn about the new system.
According to the Centers, "the initiative will provide public libraries with information about the health care law and connect librarians with CMS navigators and certified application counselors to help their patrons understand the options for enrollment in the health insurance through the marketplace."
Under Obamacare, "navigators" will help Americans sign up for the health insurance program beginning October 1. The hope is that the nation's 123,000 libraries will help connect Americans with the navigators.
"People will likely turn to libraries to learn about the Marketplace, and we want to make sure that library staff has access to the tools and the information to respond to people who want to sign up and enroll for coverage on October 1," said Medicare's Marilyn Tavenner.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
IF library staff have so much free time that can be applied to helping people sign up for 0bamacare,
We need to cut back that headcount to an affordable level.
Why are so many library staff folks sitting around with time on their hands.
Or, will they ignore their normal assigned work???
I look forward to your posts.
I cannot believe library folks are sitting with their hands in their pockets, waiting to be assigned work.
IF they are, they have to find another job!
Where are the library employees going to find time to help folks with 0bama care??
The library branch I use most of the time is staffed entirely by volunteers. If our entire system has 5 paid staffers I would be very surprised.
We have no more room for anymore books in our house. Except for gifts, we only buy books in the local thrift or vintage shops - and I’ve actually found some really neat books for gifts in them.
I understand your comment about the bums. Fortunately, my local branch doesn’t have that problem.
Our system also runs content filters. My daughter turns 15 tomorrow but cannot use a library computer without my written consent and that consent is in the system, but must be renewed every year.
Several of my friends are volunteers in the branch I primarily use and they have heard nothing about this happening in our system, but too a one all said they will stop volunteering in a heartbeat if they even consider participating.
Books smell good. Especially old ones. I go to the library and check out the big, fat ones about famous artists. I peruse them for hours, and then take them back for more. The complete works of Gustav Dore, Francisco Goya, Salvador Dali and Heironymous Bosch are among my favorites. And you can check out the current bestsellers if you think they’re worth reading. And science books. Recently I found a book at the library called “Parasite Rex” by a scientist named Carl Zimmer. It was scarier than any horror novel I’ve ever read, and it was REAL. When you wander through the aisles of a big library, you run across all kinds of unusual books. Especially back in the corners where they keep the esoteric books. Some of them are so dusty that you can tell that nobody has checked them out in years, maybe decades. And you get to lay in bed and read them in comfort, instead of burning your eyes reading a laptop.
Agreed.
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