Central Library

For hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina, the most terrifying moment of the Rwandan genocide came early. On April 9, 1994, two days after the killings began, a squad of soldiers drove onto the front yard of his home and demanded he let them into the luxury hotel he ran. Rusesabagina agreed, on the condition that he also could bring his family and a van-load of "relatives" from the neighborhood. When the caravan reached a lonely spot on the road, an army captain ordered Rusesabagina out of the car and led him to a place where corpses were piled.

The Howard County Central Library, 10375 Little Patuxent Parkway, will observe Holocaust Remembrance Day at 7 p.m. April 21. Edith Cord will recount the story of a youth spent hiding from the Nazis. Born in Vienna in 1928, Cord was the second child of observant Jewish parents. She and her family left Vienna for Italy in 1937 and subsequently fled to France, where her father was arrested as an enemy alien. Eventually, her father and brother were sent to Auschwitz, and Cord lived hidden in Vichy France.

TODAY, LIBRARIES around the country begin the annual celebration of National Library Week. "Read, Learn, Connect @ the Library," the theme for the week, describes the contemporary public library, a place filled with books for enjoyment and research, programs for all ages, and free access to a vast array of electronic resources. Libraries continue to provide opportunities for lifelong learning and connect people with ideas, information, and each other. The services and legacy of the Pratt library exemplify how libraries can support literate, productive and informed communities.

In the Enoch Pratt Free Library's first major shake-up since Carla D. Hayden took control in July, the longtime head of facilities has been transferred to the Department of Public Works and his old department has been radically restructured.Edward Bogier, who made $56,400 a year at the Pratt and supervised a staff of about 50 people, joined the Bureau of Water and Waste Water last week. Although Dr. Hayden and Mr. Bogier said the move was voluntary, the public works director said Dr. Hayden had asked him whether he could take Mr. Bogier.

Drug clinic not right for Oakland Mills I am outraged and angry at the idea of having a methadone clinic in Oakland Mills, next to the village center. It is unbelievable that a facility that will attract recovering drug addicts should be allowed to exist in the middle of an area that countless school children must walk by on their way to and from school. Forget political correctness for a moment. Would you want a methadone clinic in your neighborhood, within walking distance of three schools?

In Baltimore City Good Samaritan takes precautions against infection An increase in patients with flulike symptoms has prompted Good Samaritan Hospital in Baltimore to take added precautions to protect staff, patients and visitors from viral infection, a spokesman said yesterday. Hospital officials noticed an "uptick" midweek in the number of emergency room patients suffering from diarrhea and vomiting, said Ken Walsch, director of quality management there. More than two dozen patients and staff members have been affected by the illness, and lab results are pending, he said.

The River Hill Community Association will sponsor its sixth crab feast, an adults-only, all-you-can-eat event, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Aug. 17 at the River Hill pool, 6330 Trotter Road. The cost is $35. Tickets, which are available at the River Hill village office, must be purchased in advance. Information: Lystra Braddy, 410-531-1749. Central library to offer an Internet workshop The central library, 10375 Little Patuxent Parkway, will offer a workshop on effective techniques for navigating the Internet, using search engines and evaluating Web sites.

In 2004, Howard County Library contracted with Providence Associates Inc. to develop and present the Howard County Library Facilities Assessment and Master Plan: Facilities and Services, 2005-2030. Providence convened focus groups to assess community needs and desires, which were incorporated into the Program of Requirements (POR) for an 82,500 square feet Charles E. Miller Branch and Historical Center to replace the existing 23,500 square feet branch. Two years later, the county purchased 10 acres of land for our most pressing project: the new Miller Branch.

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation announced a $500,000 donation to the Enoch Pratt Free Library yesterday to provide free wireless Internet access at the Central Library and five other branches across Baltimore. The foundation is providing the money because it says about 40 percent of city households don't have access to the Internet. "For most of them, the only way to go online to get information they need to live and grow is to use one of the 500 public-access computers here at the Pratt libraries," said Pratt CEO Carla D. Hayden.

THE CLOSING of branches of the Pratt Library and the curtailment of other library services have produced a great public outcry.There have been meetings, editorials, feature stories, letters to the editor and an eloquent statement signed by 27 Baltimore writers.But nowhere have I seen any reference to the Friends of the Library, an organization that for almost two decades has been helping the Pratt in a way which, while modest, has been very real.In early November in the Poe Room of the central library, the Friends of the Enoch Pratt Free Library held their 18th annual meeting.