The Environmental Protection Agency has released its plan to rescue and repair the Great Lakes to the tune of $2 billion over five years. A wide range of  programs is included in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which should be of interest to residents of the area.

Maybe you're just relaxing and browsing our web site at the moment. But, if a disaster strikes, you'll be glad that you bookmarked these sites. Every Boy Scout knows: Be Prepared! The American Library Association and the Wisconsin Library Association are helping to create a culture of preparedness in Wisconsin. DisasterAssistance.gov is a user-friendly web portal that consolidates government disaster assistance information in one place. ReadyWisconsin is an initiative of Wisconsin Emergency Management designed to educate and empower Wisconsinites to prepare for and respond to all kinds of emergencies including natural disasters and potential terrorist attacks.

Digital Vaults, from the National Archives, allows users to browse through the hundreds of photographs, documents, and film clips that are part of the Archives collections. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the nation's record keeper. Of all documents and materials created in the course of business conducted by the United States Federal government, only 1%-3% are so important for legal or historical reasons that they are kept by us forever.

Mead Library is now offering online access to the popular financial databases Morningstar and Value Line Research Center through links on our website. Check out the latest investment information free, from your library. Another new database is Selectory, a sales and marketing tool from Dun and Bradstreet available on computers in the library.