As the relief effort continues in earthquake-ravaged Haiti, stay on top of developments there with the following websites: 

• The U.S. Agency for International Development, an independent federal government agency created in 1961, has a Help Haiti site. There you can read news updates about the Jan. 12 earthquake, find out how to make a donation, and check on the status of friends and family in Haiti.
• The U.S. Department of State has a clearinghouse of information about the disaster, as does the White House.
• Health issues posed by the quake are explored at the website of the United States National Library of Medicine. Among the links there are the many federal and non-governmental agencies offering help.
• To learn more about the earthquake itself, visit the U.S. Geological Survey’s website.
• If you want to check on a worthwhile source for your donations, the Council of Michigan Foundations' website has a list of organizations accepting donations for Haiti relief, and you can also visit Charity Navigator's website.
• For further updates, you can visit the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund to learn more about the two former presidents' efforts to help the victims and spearhead the rebuilding process.

It is tax time again and the library is your source for federal and Michigan tax forms. You will find them on the main floor in the alcove that houses the copier. Please note that a new federal law allows you to deduct certain charitable contributions for disaster relief in Haiti on your 2009 tax forms, as long as the money contribution is made after Jan. 11 and before March 1, 2010. Details are spelled out in Notice 1396, which can be accessed -- along with a wide range of 2009 tax forms -- at the Internal Revenue Service website.

The library also has received the Michigan tax forms for 2009. The state has posted 2009 tax forms at the Treasury Department website. Details can be found there, too, about two new energy credits being offered for 2009 -- the Energy Efficient Qualified Home Improvement Credit and the Energy Cost Recovery Surcharge Credit.  

Numerous resources are available to help you weather the challenging economic times in Michigan and possibly avoid losing your home to foreclosure. 

Save the Dream; a Response to Michigan Foreclosures, run by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, is aimed at helping at-risk homeowners. You will find information to help you save your home, better handle your credit, manage your debt, or learn about refinancing assistance. Call the authority's hotline toll-free at 866-946-7432 for more information and to find a housing counselor who specializes in foreclosure prevention.

If you watched TV in early 2000s, you might remember a clever spy show on ABC called Alias. You might also remember that several main characters on the show were revealed to be Russian spies. Who knew that life could (allegedly) imitate art?