Friday, August 27, 2010

Localvore’s Delight

Localvore (or locavore) is a relatively new term. It essentially refers to people who support local community businesses, farmers, and more. If you live in Kansas City, you’re in luck. Take a walk through downtown Kansas City near the library and you will see plenty of independently owned businesses. We’re talking restaurants, stores, and even community organizations such as Workforce Partnership. Talk about diversity!

If all the BBQ in Kansas City tasted the same, we’d be in trouble. Truth be told, I didn’t even like BBQ until I moved to Kansas City. It’s a local delicacy and the sauce out here is world class. In the meantime, you’ll find a plethora of cookbooks at your public library. Learn about the best ways to cook all sorts of food. You may even discover some of the best ingredients come from local grocery stores, butchers, and so on. Remember those cookbooks from the library? A personal favorite is the City Market on the weekends as well as the downtown farmer’s market. Whoever said fresh vegetables are a pricey luxury, doesn’t shop there. We’re talking a veritable cornucopia of veggies. Purchase in large quantities and it’s possible to save even more. You’ll look like a pro when you use a good cookbook and the taste can’t be beat. Essentially, that’s the essence of the localvore mentality. Good, healthy, and local things are worth it. You support the community and those farmers support you right back with nutritious food. Interestingly, these things also help you directly. Eat better food and chances are you may find you have more energy. You’ll get exercise walking through a farmer’s market. Hear stories from the farmer who actually grew the food. It can be a lot of fun. Don’t be afraid of the prices either. Local markets can often be good places to try a little haggling too.

With me, I have enjoyed writing this column for the last two years or so in Kansas City. Now I’m off to a new adventure in New York. I’d like to continue writing this column periodically as long as it makes Kansas City, Kansans happy and I don’t run out of steam. Next month, I will entertain you stories of driving a moving truck on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Until next time, catch me in the library.

Monday, August 02, 2010

Learn About Investing at the Library

People often get confused when it comes to the stock market and mutual funds. As a librarian, I’m often asked if one investment is more desirable than another. Honestly, if I knew all the answers when it came to investing, I probably would not be working as a librarian. Also, as a librarian I am unable to give any real investment advice. That kind of thing is best left to a financial advisor.

The good news is that at the library you can get books and access online resources to widen your knowledge base. Interested in the stock market? Check out Value Line. Available in print and online, it’s a fantastic way to locate current information on virtually any publicly traded company. Value Line even has a top ranked stocks list. This can give you a pretty good idea of companies that Value Line has determined to be potential winners.

Mutual funds are an entirely different matter. Try out Morningstar. Available in both print and online, Morningstar has information on a variety of funds. Learn about any fees, the top five holdings for the fund, and even find out who manages the fund. These things can be more important than you may realize. For instance, the analyst’s report can be a great help. Likewise, the commentary in Value Line can be helpful too. While a librarian may not be able to provide an opinion on a stock, these two guides are happy to provide an earful. For instance, some mutual funds encourage “shareholder advocacy” and Morningstar provides commentary on the picks. Okay, that may sound a little different. That’s because some fund managers actually seek out and encourage suggestions from fund owners. Essentially, it’s a feedback box where you can suggest new companies to buy. Stocks offer an even greater say for shareholders. Think of proxy statements. If you own shares of stock, often you get the opportunity to vote in corporate governance. Owning a little bit of a company can be quite an adventure.

In terms of programming, we have an additional presentation from Donnelly College on Tuesday, August 10 from 6:30-7:30 pm. If you missed the first presentation on business education, here’s a great opportunity to catch it again. The focus of the presentation will be on business education. The talk will take place in the second floor auditorium at the Main Library on 625 Minnesota Avenue. Until next time, catch me in the library.